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Siberia

Siberia, a vast Russian region, stretches from the Urals to the Pacific, with Novosibirsk as its unofficial hub, a frozen expanse of taiga, tundra, and gulag ghosts. Known for fur, gas, and Lake Baikal’s depths, its economy hinges on energy, timber, and minerals in brutal cold. Its shamans and mammoths haunt its wilds. Siberia’s icy vastness awes.

Siberia

Featured Dishes from Siberia

Khvorost

Khvorost

Angel wings are a traditional sweet crisp pastry made out of dough that has been shaped into thin twisted ribbons, deep-fried and sprinkled with powdered sugar. Common to many European cuisines, angel wings have been incorporated into other regional cuisines by immigrant populations. They are most commonly eaten in the period just before Lent, often during Carnival and on Fat Thursday, the last Thursday before Lent—not to be confused with "Fat Tuesday" (Mardi Gras), the day before the start of Lent (Ash Wednesday). There is a tradition in some countries for husbands to give angel wings to their wives on Friday the 13th in order to avoid bad luck. In the various national cuisines, angel wings are referred to as:

Tarasun

Tarasun

Tarasun is an alcoholic beverage drunk by the Mongol Buryats of Siberia. Apart from being the national drink of Buryatia, it is also used by the Buryats in their religious ceremonies. The Buryat and his tarasun have been compared to a Scotsman and his whisky. Tarasun is a "highly alcoholic colourless liquid" prepared by distillation and fermentation of a mare's milk. It is described as a form of "milk whisky". Tarasun is considered to be the "Soma" of the Buryats. Offerings of tarasun are made in almost all Buryat festivals and ceremonies including marriages and childbirth. Libations of tarasun are offered during the traditional Mongol horse-sacrifice called Tailgan. Following the sacrifice, pieces of horse meat are thrown into the fire and the people assembled recite the following invocation to their deities while partaking tarasun

Stroganina

Side, Snack, Appetizer

Stroganina

Stroganina is a dish of the northern Russians and indigenous people of northern Arctic Siberia consisting of raw, thin, long-sliced frozen fish. Around Lake Baikal, the dish is referred to as raskolotka. Traditional stroganina is made with freshwater whitefish salmonids found in the Siberian Arctic waters such as nelma, muksun, chir, and omul. Rarely, it is made with sturgeon. This dish is popular with native Siberians, and is present in Yakutian cuisine, Eskimo cuisine, Komi cuisine and Yamal cuisine. In Kaliningrad it is made with Sarda. It is often paired with vodka. Frozen fish is used for the preparation of stroganina. The fish for stroganina is usually caught by ice fishing[a] during the late fall and fresh frozen in order to avoid the formation of ice crystals in the meat. Frozen fish can be glazed with near-freezing ice water in order to avoid dehydration and better-preserve the fish meat in a frozen state. The fish is typically frozen straight, without bending its body.