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Cabbage soup with pork

Shchi — Cabbage Soup with Pork

Made from simple ingredients — easy, quick, and so tasty! Shchi (a classic cabbage soup) made with fresh cabbage and pork always turns out delicious, hearty, and fragrant. It's not hard to make at all; you'll nail it on the first try. A wonderful first course from Russian cuisine!

Julia M.

Recipe author

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Composition / ingredients

Servings:

Pork

500

Cabbage

200

Potatoes

200

Onion

Carrots

Tomatoes

Water

Tomato paste

Vegetable oil

Salt

Dry spices

Translation table of volumetric measures

Nutrients and energy value of the composition of the recipe

By weight of the composition:

Proteins 33 % 3 g

Fats 44 % 4 g

Carbohydrates 22 % 2 g

55 kcal

GI: 100 / 0 / 0

Cooking method

Step 1:

How do you make shchi with fresh cabbage and pork? Gather everything you need. You can use any cut of pork; for soup I always use a bone-in cut so the broth comes out richer.
Step 2:

Cover the pork with water, bring to a boil, and skim off the foam as it rises. Simmer the pork for about an hour, until the meat is tender. Then take the meat off the bone and cut it into pieces. Strain the broth, return it to the pot with the meat, and bring back to a boil.
Step 3:

Peel, rinse, and cut the potatoes into small pieces. Thinly shred the fresh cabbage. Add the potatoes and cabbage to the broth with the meat and let it cook for 15 minutes.
Step 4:

Meanwhile, make the vegetable sauté. Peel and rinse the onion and carrot. Grate the carrot and finely chop the onion. Pour a little vegetable oil into a hot skillet and fry the onion and carrot for 2–3 minutes.
Step 5:

Dice the tomatoes and add them to the skillet. Stir in just a little tomato paste, too — it gives the broth a nice color. Fry everything together, stirring, for 3–5 minutes, then transfer the sauté to the pot.
Step 6:

Cook everything together for another 10–15 minutes. Add salt and spices to taste. Take the finished shchi off the heat, cover, and let it rest a few minutes.
Step 7:

When serving, add a little fresh chopped herbs to each bowl. Enjoy!

Besides pork, you can use any other meat in this soup. Just keep in mind that the cooking time, flavor, and calorie count will change — beef, for example, takes longer than pork, while chicken or turkey breast cooks faster.
Important! Whether or not the recipe gives an exact amount of water, it's best to go by your own preference (thick or thinner soup), the size of your pot, and the ingredients you're using. Keep in mind that the author has their own idea of how much meat, potato, grain, and other ingredients belong in the soup, and it may not match yours. In practice, if you're cooking for the first time, don't make a whole pot at once. Make a tasting batch for one or two people: scale all the ingredients down to 1–2 servings and figure the water at roughly one cup per serving for a very thick soup, up to 1 1/2–2 cups for a thinner one. Remember that some liquid boils off as it cooks. After tasting a small batch, you can adjust both the amount of liquid and the proportions to your taste. Before long, like most experienced cooks, you'll be adding water and ingredients by eye.
For the best flavor, use neutral-tasting filtered or bottled water. Tap water can give the dish an off, characteristic aftertaste.