I think I just found out what pyrohy are. How are they different from a pot sticker as you would get at a Chinese restaurant or gyoza that you would get from a Japanese restaurant?

By the way, my wife makes superb gyoza and I make the best dipping sauce!

Pyrohy are a true gift from God, the pinnacle of all food pyramids!

All other food merely enables one to crawl through the day to the next meal. :p

Survival without satisfaction.

Nothing could ever beat grandma's pyrohy. Of course, Mrs. Dr. Eric could say the same for her grandma's gyoza!

I remember an unimpressive-looking Chinese restaurant whose menu began with "Chinese perogies" - they were heavenly, as was everything else on the menu. The chef was newly arrived from Malaysia. He's probably running a super-expensive Chinese eatery these days.

Incognitus

These foods have a common origin actually, although the pyrohy/pierogies are more doughy.

After the Mongols and Tatars overran the region of eastern Europe some of the foods they commonly ate were introduced into the Slavic countries.

So the extension of pyrohy across the map of Europe could be a good marker for the extent of the disruption and suffering caused by that horrible invasion.

Other foods came west in the same way, for instance kapusta (saurkraut) which is nothing but fermented cabbage (the Tatars would bury cabbage in holes and recover it the next time they rode through the area). This kind of food has been known to cause disruption with or without the Tatars present.

+T+
Michael

I'm a pilmeni fan myself (the Russian pyrohi). Same thing, just the meat in the middle is solid, like a meatball, instead of more mushi hamburger. I'm also not a fan of anything in the pyrohi except for meat!

I learned how to make pilmeni in Siberia (obviously the Siberian type, meat only). My wife and I will make a batch once in a while. Great with sour cream.

I've actually never been to a church function that had meat pyrohi. What's the deal?

So make some pelmeni for your next church function!

Incognitus

The Chinese restaurant I frequent has a much larger food that I prefer. They call them baos. Very doughy buns with a central filling. Everything imaginable can be put inside. Chicken, pork, seafood, veggies, custard. (Not all at once.) Really delicious! http://practicalmadness.com/./images/bao.jpg

However, the pirohy at the last church function was a dumpling of its own class. Mmmmm. We like to eat it with applesauce. Is that weird?

Amber's grandma doesn't make gyoza. Amber's grandma is a WASP not Japanese.

Pat I'll have to try your grandma's pyrohy!

Gyoza are filled with ground chicken while pot stickers are filled with ground pork. Except in Malaysia and some of the Muslim circles in China where they're filled with ground beef!

XB!

Some assorted observations from a Chinese POV:

- There's a curious phenomenon to be observed amongst those Russians and Ukrainians whose families took refuge in China at some point after the Revolution: they often eat their pyrohy/pelmeni with soya sauce and/or black vinegar (which the Chinese do). This is of course, doubly amusing, if pyrohy are of Chinese/Mongol origin, as it then represents a second cross-fertilisation!

- There exist in China, Dumpling Restaurants, where nothing except dumplings are served. Of course, these are usually boiled in hot water (which the chinese then call Jiaozi) but also cooked in a pan with a little water which evaporates, letting the bottoms get slightly burned (Chinese call these Guotie, Japanese call them Gyoza). This may sound boring, but I was amazed when I saw the variety available! Basically anything that could be chopped up and put in a dumpling... pumpkin, egg, seafood... they even had dessert dumplings (not eaten with soy/vinegar of course).

- I believe our dear Incognitus has a recipe for dessert pyrohy... would he be so kind as to share it with us?

Fantastic!

Guotie is wor tip? I've seen pyrohy done both ways - just boiled (then covered with butter and onions) or finished by frying with butter and onions. Has to have the wok hay, I think.

Here\'s [pierogiesplus.com] a place in the old country that has a few varieties, and I think I've seen site for a place in Cleveland that was even more adventurous. No seafood, though. That will be a breakthrough.

How about strawberry pyrohy with a fine balsamico?

That recipe for dessert varennyky is simple enough. First, make the varennyky with wild blueberries, sweetened to taste (but remember, the sauce is coming). Keeping them warm, in a double boiler combine SWEET butter, powdered sugar and Grand Marnier, again to taste. Reduce this appropriately and apply sauce to varennyky. Enjoy!

It's wonderful - the trick is to find the wild blueberries and someone adept at making varennyky with them. For that matter, it's possible to use cherries instead, but be sure you get the all the pits out!

Incognitus

The Harbinzi (the real Shangrila) also deep fry their Pyrohys and put things like vermicelli etc in them...yum! China certainly influenced the food of those who lived there.

ICXC
NIKA

Beware - the Vyg fathers listed piroshchenie as a sin to which monastics are apt to fall. Presumably this goes for 'boiled' as well as baked!!!

Fr Mark

I'm confused now. In the thread about John's change of Rite. Some were writing that they put mashed potatoes in pyrohy. I thought that they were meat and vegetable filled dumplings. Are there recipes on line anywhere?

Potatos and onions are the primary ingredients I've seen, though other ingredients can definitely be used. The Polish apparently also put sauerkraut in it. As I am no chef, I'll leave the recipes for others.

Here are a few:
Pyrohy recipe 1 [www2.uwindsor.ca]
Pyrohy recipe 2 [scorpius.spaceports.com]

Well, the filling of the Eastern European variety surely has more calories and cholestoral and therefore tastes better...

My Protestant coworker goes to my church to acquire pirohi on Fridays during the Great Fast. He wonders how they can taste so good and not be sinful.

I'm a fan of both pirohi and potstickers. Most potstickers have less substantial dough and tend to be filled with healthy colorful things. Pirohi tend to be filled with good yellow stuff, like potatoes and cheese and onions.

Pirohi taste good with sour cream. My late father (an Irishman) used to eat them with jam. Potstickers do not go well with either sour cream or jam. They do better with sweet and sour sauce.

Both have their charms and both find their way onto my plate more than they should.

Btw, the only people I know who put meat in their pirohi are Russians. I'm sure others do. My coworker makes excellent ones (he's of Polish descent) with decidedly American cheeses. potatoes and onions. My mom never made them with meat, because we ate them pretty much during the Great Fast.

You also have Ravioli in this category, since that's a stuffed dumpling of the Italian variety. Although it's best served in vodka sauce, and the ravioli stuffed with ground Italian Sausage. Seems to make sense. Although that's a Latin Rite food, for sure. I'm sure the Eastern Catholics in Italy do prefer pierogies to ravioli there. Although now with the Philip's Fast, I'm sure the pierogies and/or ravioli are filled with mushrooms and garlic, and possibly topped with either vodka sauce, or mushroom sauce.

Y'all I bought these to use for our daughters wedding. THEY ARE AWESOME!

The big one makes 18 at a time, so easy!!!
http://www.kitchenniche.ca/perogie-maker-p-671.html?osCsid=1588e765d4bf137c6eb8a6473470633f.

And they have it on sale too. I havebbeen meaning to buy the smaller one, or the one to make the smaller dumplings. Since it is on sale, those may have to be part of the kids Christmas presents. That way their families each have one. People come to help some times and I end up buying more, cause mine goes home with them. They cut you labor by half or better time wise.

Dear Rose,

What kinds of pyrohy do you make? I bet they are delish when they are homemade and fresh!

I usually eat them during Lent--the potato and onion ones. I once brought them sauteed and seasoned to a Lenten supper at our church, and they were a HUGE HIT!! Everyone was asking me about them and where they could buy them. No one had ever thought of them as a Lenten food!!

The men especially liked them, because they have that 'stick to the rib' quality!

I should try the cheese ones one of these non-fasting days!

I'm sure there's a Phillip's Fast variety of pyrohy recipe that should be followed. I think one with sweet potato and cinnamon filling should be a great wind down using leftovers from Thanksgiving. I don't think there's anything wrong with using leftovers on the Friday after Thanksgiving that follows the fasting and abstinence guidelines.

Great, now we have a theme over the next month regarding pyrohy made using the Thanksgiving leftovers, as well as those recipes catered around the Phillip's Fast, and leading to the Nativity Feast.

Sweet potato peroigies (Polish guy here) are great. Make then for lent. Other Polish main stays as filling, Potato and framers cheese, just plain framers cheese, kraut and onions, and muchrooms and onion.

Yes. Although to make it feel like a Thanksgiving leftover, I'd top those sweet potato pyrohy with cranberry sauce, and possibly sour cream.

Whenever I have been out for supper, I am always amazed by the pyrohy. They are always semicircular.

My baba and mother cut long strips and made perfect triangles which when boiled and give butter onions and given loads of smutana/sour cream, were fantastic.

As kids we fought about eating the 3 corners which we called ears and would hide them on our plate....but not for long. I often wonder...where did the circle idea come from.

Kolya

Yeah. I hear that. Traveling through some Latino neighborhoods in town, and trying the Mexican cousin to the pyrohy in the Empanada, I'd have to say, as much as I've liked that, it has nothing on the beauty of the Pyrohy in terms of having that healthy factor, as well as having the taste really come through in the way it was intended. Although it still was worth comparing it to.

Just came back from a Polish restaurant this afternoon, and I noticed that they had some good dessert pyrohy using pumpkin, which would have a similar taste to a sweet potato, pretty much (considering that a pumpkin pie would have a similar taste to that of a sweet potato pie). I'm gonna dig into this a little later today, and see how well of a job they did.

When nothing is available Mrs T's, fried in onions, not too bad

Oh Alice, I have no idea of where this came from in my husbands family, because his grandmother and aunts made the very traditional pyrohi. I knd of think it had something todo with his mom being Irish, or maybe the German ancestry. Definitely not a Lenten version .

They cut up really good salt pork, brown it well with onions. Then add the sauerkraut into the pan, and simir it for awhile. Then they mixed it all together with he potatoes. After boiling, then they fried them in onions and salt pork. Being raised in the south with salt pork being a main stay. Well I thought I was in heaven.

They always made he traditional, potatoes and cheese, sweet cabbage, potatoes and onion too. I always loved his grandmothers cottage cheese and prune.

I had some with blubbery recently that a Polish friend made, not to mention her mushroom ones. Oh to die for! Well almost

Who could forget the old Parma Pierogies restaurants? Man, this brings back memories of when I went there, and saw all the different flavors available. You couldn't talk me out of that place. Not to mention trying the different flavors could get expensive and you'd get a big tummyache. Wow, those were the days.

Well... Seems like now that the Nativity Fast is over, we can concentrate on other ideas for pierogi, and what it can be used for... I was being rather inventive, and thought, well, now with New Year's coming, and a good way to celebrate the Circumcision of the Lord and the Feast of St. Basil, I'd make pierogi with sauteed mushroom and onion filling, and have that served along side a good top sirloin. Now I know that you usually have sirloin topped with sauteed onions and mushrooms, sure, but to have that topping as a side dish in pierogi form, that, imo, is far, far better.

We now have the Great Fast coming its way in another week and change from now, and I was looking for something better than potato or sauerkraut pyrohy, but still falling into the fasting code. Now, as stated, ravioli, the Italian cousin to the pyrohy, can take on various different fillings and different flavors to make the pasta casing. Now I see that lobster ravioli in a sun-dried tomato or spinach pasta shell would be something. However, is there a way to do this with a pyrohy? I'd like to see pyrohy with seafood fillings with flavored dough, but within Great Fast specs, that could be something to consider... Let's entertain ideas based on this.

I really think you can use just about any filling, the fluid content would be what to watch for. The kids made some last summer with Kielbasa and kraut in them. They were good.