How to prepare ukrainian borscht

Fresh back from Whole Foods & I've acquired my ingredients. I went the more spendy organic route, you can however make this dish very inexpensively if you shop wisely

I want my Russian friends to enjoy this borscht, I'll be making the meaty version. Feel free to substitute your favorite veggie meat product.. You'll want to cut these into bite sized pieces

At this point I like to flash cook the meat in a wok until cooked rare, this will add some texture to the dish. The more traditional method is to add the meat to the water as you bring it to boil

Now it's time to get out your grator & start shreading. Go ahead & shred the beets, carrots, cabbage & cube the potatoes

Now fill a large pot with 2 quarts of water (a wok will work in a pinch) & bring to boil. Add the "meat product" & beets, cook for about 10min & then add the carrots & potatoes.

After 15 min you can add the diced tomatoes & cabbage

Heat up a pan & add a liltle oil, now cook the onion until it's tender. Add the tomato paste & water & transfer into the main pot. Stir & turn off the heat, let stand for 5min & enjoy

Salt & pepper are traditional seasonings, at this point I however stray from the recipe a bit & add Japanese chili pepper to give it a little kick. Feel free to add your own spices to taste

50 minutes later & here's the finished product, Typically served with a big dollop of sour cream, a sprinkle of parsley & pampushkas or rye bread

If you're anything like me, your kitchen will look something like this. Be sure to wash up quickly though, those red beets can stain both your counters & hands