h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Entry: Goulash - A36663023
Author: Gnomon - U151503

Do you think this needs to include instructions on how to cook rice?

If this needs a section on how to cook rice - The Guide needs an Entry on how to cook rice.

I looked and there are a few Edited Entries, but I am not sure any of them provide what you need I saw one for fried rice an another for rice cookers, but I don't think either are what you are looking for.

I have always associated Goulash with elbow macaroni, but that is probably an American thing.

I am sure a good rice cooking recipe will be linked from dozens of other Entries.

I intend to try your recipe in the next week or two, sounds

F S

I can see that I forgot to say how many people this recipe is for.

Do you really eat Goulash with rice in the UK?

Also, I've never seen the meat being cut so small, usually it's rather chunks of 2-3 cm.
Also, I've never heard about it being put into an oven, usually it's just boiled for a very long time.

Also, while the original Hungarian version of Goulash is more like a soup, the Austrian version for instance adds flour at the end to make it more creamy. We eat it with dumplings, Nockerl or bread rolls.
There are also more spices in it like majoram, caraway and of course pepper and salt. We also use not chopped tomatoes but passata.

You can also use veal or pork for goulash, not only beef.

Oh, and then there's potato goulash which has no meat at all but sausages and potatoes. Which makes me remember that boiled sausages with goulash is also quite good... probably also an egg to go with it.

And you can add beans or green beans.

What I personally don't like about goulash is the meat (they sell 'goulash meat' everywhere here). It has often fat and hard stuff.

I I don't know what they eat goulash with in the UK, Tav.

Sorry, yes, I mean, do you always eat it with rice in Ireland?

It's not a common dish here at all, so people wouldn't know what to serve it with. But rice is the normal accompaniment for any gooey "meat in a sauce dish".

Maybe you could give some alternatives? As FS says many people also eat it with noodles.

And maybe you could add that what is known as Goulash in other countries is usually a bit different from real Hungarian Guylas, which is basically a soupy stew with any meat that is available, much onions, garlic, bell pepper, paprika and whatever else is there at the time of cooking, like potatoes. It was usually made by herdsmen in a pot hanging over an open fire (Guylas actually means 'herdsman' I think).

Goulash is also a standard food of the army here and in nearby countries like Germany. The field kitchen is called 'Gulaschkanone' (goulash cannon).

... sorry, it's Gulyas of course.

Not sure what you mean by "noodles". Do you mean oriental egg noodles, or what we would call "pasta"?

I mean pasta.

Maybe a way forward, rather than try to adapt this to other versions of recipes would be to give this a longer title. As it stands, this is very similar to variations of goulash that I have eaten in the UK. It looks quite good to me!

As with any recipe, the method and ingredients vary from place to place, but this one seems to be one that I'd recognise (as a Brit). In fact, thanks for putting this into Peer Review. I wanted to make a goulash recently but could only find ones that had mustard as well as paprika. Suddenly I am allergic to mustard, so your recipe, Gnomon, will be one to try out.

I think rice is the norm, whenever I have had it, so I'd stick to that. As for a rice recipe, we have this comprehensive Entry A695379, although the basic method described looks a bit sketchy - we could do with an updated paragraph there.

Then, of course, we could have more versions of goulash - I know that Tav could write us some wonderful recipes as separate entries.

I've just compared this recipe with various ones offered (by google.uk), all called something like 'Traditional beef goulash' and they're all really similar to this, both in ingredients and method.

Yes, I should probably write my own Entry, you are right. Will give mum something to do...

I've reworded this slightly to mention Tav's Hungarian herdsmen and their cooking pot with various meats, to give the option of pasta instead of rice, and to say why it's a good idea to cook it in the oven.

I've renamed it Basic Beef Goulash.

I haven't yet found my original notes to determine how many people I cooked it for, but I think it was rather a lot.

I need to say how much a carton of cream is. I think it is 250ml, but I'll check.

That amount of meat would serve at least six hungry people at least!

In Germany (and probably in Austria) the cheapest cuts are sold as "Gulasch" which is the generic term for stewing steak. It is usually a mixture of pork and beef. These are chunks of about 2 - 3 cm as Tav describes.

I always cut them into smaller chunks as instructed in your recipe here, removing fat and sinews (which is what you get with the cheaper cuts used here in Central Europe).

The English way is to coat the pieces of meat in seasoned flour before cooking (as instructed here). It is said that it prevents burning (never had that problem). It also ensures that the flour and seasonings are evenly distributed throughout. Best done by shaking the meat and the flour in a small plastic bag or plastic container. However, this nifty method is not heard of on this side of the Channel.

Cooked on a pot over a fire or on the hob, as is traditional, gives a watery gravy, I find. Cooking in a casserole in the oven results in a darker colour and a more intensive taste. Having said that, the main difference between a goulash and a stew is that goulash should never have any water in any form added. The liquid should come entirely from the onions (which are usually quite proliferous). The tin of tomatoes is an acceptable alternative, however, and it also gives a good colour.

The other difference is the sour cream, which you mention, quite rightly, right at the beginning.

That's my on the actual making of the stuff. The best results are a mixture of the Hungarian (ingredients like lots of onions and paprika) and the English/Irish (cooking in the oven and coating the meat with the flour.)

This phrase is somehow not your style, Gnomon: >>but you'll have to work out the quantities yourself<<. Simply "To taste" would suffice at that point, but to make the style still h2g2-esque, perhaps it could read "to your preferred strength" or something.

By the way, stews and goulashes do surprisingly well in the microwave (come out as tasty as if done in the oven) - details on request. And, of course, it's a classic dish for the slow cooker - the meat becomes really tender that way, and the gravy takes all the tastes of the spices and other ingredients in a succulent way.

As for serving - I would use potatoes. Also great are Tav's dumplings, and if you order it in a restaurant or canteen in Southern Germany, the main choice of accompaniment would be spätzle. : A63875794

The simplest is a chunk of baguette, possibly toasted or crisped up in the oven.

In this forum (in German) each post brings a new suggestion:

http://www.chefkoch.de/forum/2,1,303868/Welche-Beilage-zu-Gulasch.html

Boiled potatoes
mashed potatoes
dumplings - all the different kinds
spätzle
Potato salad
Rice as a very last resort.

And don't get me started on the vegetables they are suggesting. From cucumber salad to red cabbage...

Interesting. Well written and easy to understand. I can't help wondering if the recipe would work exactly the same with different types of meat. I can't think of a way of vegatarianising it at all at the moment. But leave it with me and I'm sure I will eventually.

Not saying that you should include a vegetarian option of course, it's clearly a meat dish so a vegetarian option would be total nonsense

Nice accessible recipe - thanks Gnomon.

Just one point:

{If you're not familiar with paprika, don't be put off by it. }

Why do you say this?