Beef Stroganoff
This is one of the western dish that I need to tackle badly. I had cook some really bad beef stroganoff (I mean really really bad like no one want to even look at it and taste it). My husband always complained about how bad my stroganoff taste. There was one time that he washed the cooked stroganoff because he can’t bear the thought of throwing the unwanted dish down the bin. He recycled the beef into other dish. Since then, I have been traumatized to cook another beef stroganoff. Every time I found the courage to try, he forbid me and offered himself to cook stroganoff instead (talking about some support and encouragement huh…).
There were no difference for this time as well. He offered himself and remind me of my last stroganoff (oh how supportive you my dear…). I said to him that I had been doing some research on the net and looking at few recipes on stroganoff. I choose the Masterchef recipe because I watched the show. However I didn’t have all the ingredients needed. Without him knowing, I just started to prepare everything in the kitchen. He actually caught me on coating the meat with the flour. He said that my last stroganoff failed because of the flour coating. I said I think I didn’t shake the excess flour last time and this time I shake it off thoroughly. He said his stroganoff doesn’t need the flour to coat (yeah you right because the sauce that he cook came from the instant packaging.. and I am doing everything from scratch.. come on, can’t he understand the difference???)
Because I wanted to cook the stroganoff so badly, I didn’t write the recipe on paper as I always do. I was sort of remembering the steps on my head. I did all the instructions as I remembered and VOILA the beef stroganoff minus paprika powder, Worcestershire sauce, beef stock, and sour cream (used thickened cream instead). My verdict wass not bad for a beginner but as usual I received complain from an “instant packaging Stroganoff sauce” expert.
The week after, I tried to cook another stroganoff. This time I used beef stock and paprika powder, but still didn’t use Worcestershire sauce and sour cream(as I thought creme de fraiche was thickened cream… LOL I found out that it was sour cream instead after reading Dorie Greenspan cookbook… what a coincidence). The verdict was much better from my previous one. I think it is probably best to stick to the original recipe. So I would try to cook it one more timeaccordingly for the sake of perfecting my stroganoff.If you would like the recipe, click here.
Culinary tradition: Russian
Please leave your comment/suggestion if you find this recipe useful. Can’t wait to hear from you and Thank You!!!
I’ve never made beef stroganoff before but I’d like to because it tastes really good.. I had no idea it was so complex to make from scratch! Good to see two comparisons of two recipes
Hmm… I think it is just me having this ‘kind of thing” with stroganoff. Some people find them really easy to make. I need to learn a lot on how to create a simple western cuisine. They are so simple that simply make them hard to make
Instead of sour cream or heavy cream, try it with mascarpone cheese.
Uhhh interesting, will try it next time. Thanks for the input Theressa
Hi Linda,
I just found your site and would love to try some of the Eastern dishes. They look so fresh and I always feel that our food here (at home) gets to heavy and cumbersome. If you like Stroganoff, you may want to look at the “Two Fat Ladies” episode, where it is made. Lovely dish! The women insist that it must always be made with beef filet and nothing else. Have a pleasant evening.
Tuck Burnette,