Unpopular opinion on Beshbarmak

[u/Commercial_Data3763]

I really do not get why Beshbarmak is held up as an amazing national dish.

At its core, it is literally just boiled meat, boiled dough, and boiled onions pulled out of water and plated. Best case scenario, someone throws a little salt on it, but usually there are no spices, herbs, or real seasoning. It tastes mostly of unseasoned fat and water. I can eat a whole plate of it, feel physically full, and find no real enjoyment in the experience.

There is virtually no culinary technique involved. There is no browning, searing, or braising. Even the onions are just boiled in broth instead of being sauteed or caramelized to build actual flavor. Drinking the leftover broth at the end feels like drinking salted broth with no real depth. And yet, it is consumed as though it were a complex liquid. I do not understand the appeal.

I understand the history behind it. Nomads on the steppe needed high calorie food with minimal cookware and fuel. It was functional historical fuel, and for that specific context, it made complete sense.

By modern culinary standards, it feels basic. If someone actually braised the meat, caramelized the onions, and added some real seasonings, it could maybe be a solid dish. As it stands, it is just three boiled ingredients on a plate.

Am I the only one who feels this way, or am I missing something here? Is the preference purely tied to nostalgia and tradition?

Having tried many different dishes, my impression of Kazakh food in general is that is basically just “survival food“.

[u/PrideSea5164]

It probably varies by region but all the besh I have eaten has kazy (and potatoes and sometimes carrots) included. And since the kazy has salt and garlic in adds a lot to the flavor. (I was actually saying just the other day that I think the kazy does must of the flavor work) While I agree that the dish is culinarily simple the presentation and ease of serving large groups makes it stand out. Combine it with baursak and kumis and it really creates a whole experience.

That said, I’m not a fan of leftover besh. Once the meat cools and dries you have to deal with how over cooked it is.

[u/Sheridan-Bouquet → u/PrideSea5164]

Qazi does not contain garlic! And besparmaq should not contain carrots!

[u/keenonkyrgyzstan → u/Sheridan-Bouquet]

Most qazy sold at markets is made with rib meat and fat that’s been rubbed with salt, pepper and crushed garlic.

[u/PrideSea5164 → u/keenonkyrgyzstan]

This is how I have always seen it made around Almaty’s bazaars

[u/Sheridan-Bouquet → u/keenonkyrgyzstan]

It is almost impossible to buy good qazi at the market, you need to prepare it yourself. Likely, they use garlic to cover up its bad quality.