For some reason I feel the need to introduce this recipe with a bit of explanation. Now, if I were one to associate negative terms with food I might call this post “Fattening Friday”. However, I try not to do that because I feel like even high calorie, low produce cultural foods should be savored. So instead I’ll go with “Culture-filled Friday” because if there is one entrée you will find on almost every menu in town it is Strogonoff de Frango (Chicken Stroganoff).Stroganoff is a dish of Russian origin, but this area of Brazil has embraced it as its own. It is made differently due to the absence of sour cream, and has a topping of batata palhas (match stick potatoes). It can be found in many different forms – over rice, over a baked potato, on a pizza – you name it. I honestly think every restaurant has some version of it on their menu except for the sushi places. Heck, they would probably even make it for you if you made a special request.
While I’m not a huge stroganoff fan, my husband loves it. Here is a picture of his stroganoff potato from a stuffed potato restaurant in the mall. Huge, huh? And they say portion sizes are big in the U.S.
About a year ago I was spending the day with the wife of one of my husband’s coworkers and she made us Strogonoff de Carne for lunch so I was able to witness the process. It is a rather simple dish and hers had wine in the sauce as well as Worcestershire sauce. Most often when my husband orders it he orders the chicken variety so when I wanted to make a meal for him recently, I decided it would be culturally-correct of me to finally give stroganoff a try.
To be honest, the recipe I ended up finding for the chicken variety was tasty and this is coming from someone who isn’t the biggest Brazilian stroganoff fan. Something I think made a huge difference is that I had some spicy brown mustard on hand and I used it instead of yellow. It gave the dish a robust, tangy flavor that really stood out. I’d recommend that substitution. I served ours over potatoes because I had a few that needed to be used up.
So if you are looking for a stick-to-your ribs dish of Russian origin, but Brazilian flare – here you go!
3 chicken breasts, sliced or cubed
1 clove garlic, minced
2 tbsp mayonnaise
1 tbsp butter
1 medium onion, finely chopped
½ cup ketchup
1/3 cup mustard (I used spicy brown)
1 cup jarred mushrooms, sliced
1 cup heavy cream (original recipe calls for crème de leite so if you can get the Nestle table cream often found in Latin food markets, use that)
Match stick potatoes
1 clove garlic, minced
2 tbsp mayonnaise
1 tbsp butter
1 medium onion, finely chopped
½ cup ketchup
1/3 cup mustard (I used spicy brown)
1 cup jarred mushrooms, sliced
1 cup heavy cream (original recipe calls for crème de leite so if you can get the Nestle table cream often found in Latin food markets, use that)
Match stick potatoes
In a bowl, mix together the raw chicken, garlic and mayo. In a deep skillet or soup pot, melt the butter and add the onions, cook about three minutes. Add the chicken and cook until golden brown and cooked through. Mix in the mushrooms, ketchup and mustard. Stir in the cream and remove the pan from heat. Salt and pepper to taste. Serve over white rice or a baked potato and top with the match stick potatoes.
That does sound culture packed! Glad to know the US isn’t the only country with larger than life portions 🙂 Best, Emily
Thanks for the insights, if I were to see it in a restaurant in Brazil, I definitely would not understand the connection. I love the flavor combo, but to your point on portion size that looks big enough for 2.
I agree- everything in moderation! Good to experience different foods….although a dish with butter and mayo? Paula Dean must LOVE this
yummmmmmm! That is a big plate of food – but it looks delicious!
TriWidows – Our Brazilian friends here try to complain about the portions in the U.S. when they visit. We have no idea what they are talking about. The portions are huge here! It is just that whole media influence about our portions and weight I’m sure.
OysterCulture – Brazil is much more of a melting pot than I realized. Lots of cultural food influences, yet different than those found in the US.
Erica – Eh, what’s 3 tbsp? Ha, ha! Actually it is funny you mentioned that. I hadn’t noticed the connection. 🙂
Gaby – They don’t seem to skimp when it comes to the stuffed taters.
Lori – I seriously love learning about all of these Brazilian foods (I think I’ve told you this before but my dad lived in Brazil for 2 years) and I love being able to talk to him about these foods!
Looooove stroganoff! I’m not sure that I’ll be able to convince my family that they’re eating a Brazilian dish when I serve this! So interesting how other cultures invade each other.
I love stroganoff so this looks like a fun indulgence to me. 😉
I had no idea that Stroganoff was so popular in Brazil! I love this recipe with Brazilian flare, excellent. Mine is a classic recipe with beef (although we often substitute bison now) but unlike in most recipes you see, I serve mine with fried potatoes instead of noodles. According to the legend, the count himself had it with potatoes in the original version 🙂
Emily – I’m so glad you like it! It will definitely continue for the time being. I’m trying to do a lot of last minute absorbing or culture. 🙂
cathy and Deb – I’m so glad to see there are some fans of this dish! Honestly, even though it isn’t from here it was a new food for me. I knew of it, but had never had it.
5 Star Foodie – I bet the bison substitute is great. When I was reading up on the dish I did notice the mention of topping it with fried potatoes. In fact, I almost mentioned that it was a difference in Brazil, but then read that and realized things aren’t so far off. 🙂
i like knowing about cultural- traditional food….this one looks like it can be adapted very well…n you said they serve it many ways right!!
that portion is really big……..
That is huge!! I’ve never heard of chicken strogonoff only beef. This looks delicious!!
I had no idea that there were Russian influences in Brazil. That’s so interesting. I knew that Americans weren’t the only ones who served huge portions!
I am Russian, so I do like me some good stroganoff, sour cream and all. That looks like an interesting interpretation of it, especially served over that baked potato.
sangeeta – Yes, you can find it in many forms. They do a good job of adapting it considering we don’t have sour cream here.
Reeni – Isn’t it?! I have to admit it is never all that appetizing to me when he orders the restaurant variety. 🙂
Akila – Glad you stopped by. I love your blog! This is the only Russian influence I’ve discovered. I need to research if there is more somewhere.
Marianne – Yeah, it definitely isn’t spot on with the lack of sour cream, but it is good and I do like it over a potato. 🙂
First of all, I’d like to say that I love your blog! I’m an American who has been living in Sao Paulo for a little over 2 years and love how it’s forced me to make so many things from scratch that I used to just buy off the shelf at home, as well as sending me on some real adventures looking for ingredients or good substitutes. Still don’t think I eat as well as when I was living in France, but getting there.
Here’s a recipe (in Portuguese) I found for Beef Strogonoff (although I’m sure chicken or even tofu could be substituted) without processed ingredients that sounds like it would be right up your alley! I haven’t tried it yet, but I’m excited to have found a recipe that doesn’t call for ketchup and mayonnaise.
http://pat.feldman.com.br/?p=121
Zoe – Thanks for stopping by and for your kind words. I felt the same way about Brazil. I used far fewer processed ingredients. However in some cases it didn’t mean they weren’t there and I have to say that I don’t think I ate as healthfully as in other places as you mentioned. Europe and SE Asia come to mind.
Thanks so much for that link. That will be great to try out.
I love brazilian food! I’m from Venezuela and I love to try all this different cultures here in USA. I can say that the one that stood out for me has been the brazilian. My husband work for a brazilian company for 12 years and even that he is not currently working with them anymore when I have the opportunity i will go to a brazilian restaurant. there is three dishes that i love: stroganoff do frango, feijol tropeiro and salpicao (chicken salad). this are the best!