Campfire shulyum in a cauldron

Cooking method

1. Step 1:

   

   Prep the meat, vegetables, and seasonings for the shulyum. Which meat is best? Lamb or beef is ideal for a rich, thick soup, but you can also make a tasty shulyum from pork or poultry — chicken or duck. For this recipe I used boneless rib meat from young beef.

2. Step 2:

   

   Wash all the vegetables well in clean water. Trim the stem ends off the eggplants.

3. Step 3:

   

   Rinse the piece of meat under running water and pat it dry with a towel or paper towels to remove excess moisture.

4. Step 4:

   

   Peel the potatoes, onions, carrots, and garlic, and remove the stems and seeds from the peppers. Cover the potatoes with cold water so they don't darken while the meat and vegetables cook. You could peel the potatoes right before adding them to the cauldron, but I find it handy to prep everything ahead.

5. Step 5:

   

   Cut the eggplants into large pieces and the tomatoes into wedges. If you like, peel the tomatoes first: pour boiling water over them for a minute or two, then slip off the skins (it comes away easily).

6. Step 6:

   

   Cut the meat into medium pieces, trimming away any sinew. Chop the carrots and onions however you like, but don't cut them too small — they cook for a long time and could turn to mush. I cut the carrots into fairly thick rounds and the onions into wedges.

7. Step 7:

   

   Light a fire and set a clean cauldron over it to heat up. Pour in the vegetable oil and wait until it's hot. Using a slotted spoon, carefully splash the boiling oil up the sides of the cauldron. Careful — don't burn yourself!

8. Step 8:

   

   Add the beef to the cauldron.

9. Step 9:

   

   Stir and fry the pieces until they take on a nice golden color (about 10 minutes).

10. Step 10:

    

    Next, add the carrots and onions to the cauldron.

11. Step 11:

    

    Keep stirring constantly and cook this way for another 5 minutes. Keep a strong fire under the cauldron so everything fries rather than stews.

12. Step 12:

    

    Pour about 5 quarts (5 liters) of water over the meat. Out in the field you can use cold water; if you can boil a kettle, pour in boiling water instead.

13. Step 13:

    

    Once it boils, cook the beef, covered, for about an hour. If the meat is young it may need a little less time. Keep the fire moderate at this stage.

14. Step 14:

    

    When the beef pieces are tender, add the potatoes, eggplant, and pepper to the cauldron. Add seasonings and salt to taste (I used a teaspoon each of khmeli-suneli, oregano, ground coriander, and sweet paprika). Add wood to build the fire back up — we need to bring the cauldron back to a boil.

15. Step 15:

    

    Now cook the shulyum, covered, until the potatoes are almost done (about 15 minutes).

16. Step 16:

    

    Meanwhile, chop the herbs and cut the garlic however you prefer.

17. Step 17:

    

    Add the tomatoes and garlic to the cauldron.

18. Step 18:

    

    Cook for about 10 more minutes, until the potatoes are fully done.

19. Step 19:

    

    Add the herbs to the soup. By this point there should be no flame under the cauldron, just smoldering embers. Let the shulyum rest a while.