Plov Isn't Just a Rice Dish. It Contains Multitudes
我第一次尝试过Plov.，在中亚曾经心爱的肉类和米饭掠夺，在皇后区的Rego Park的家庭餐厅。成长吃饭挤压,potato latkes, and other Eastern European Jewish dishes in suburban Chicago, I was equal parts surprised and thrilled to learn that New York City is home to tens of thousands of Bukharian Jewish immigrants hailing from Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan-as well as the dishes from home they brought with them. Amongst the unfamiliar riches on the table that evening were grilled lamb-fat skewers, savory pumpkin pastries topped with nigella seeds, hand-pulled noodle soups, and fresh pickled salads. But the cumin-perfumed rice, which came spangled with glistening cubes of meltingly tender beef, was the unrivaled star.
乌兹别克斯将Plov视为他们的全国菜，在假期和客人身上为客人提供服务，并将巨型大锅分成叫做Kazans，用米饭和肉类为婚礼和其他特殊场合。它是一个令人兴奋和感性的盘子，传统上与一个人的手从共享的中央船一起食用。最无处不在的版本用牛肉，羊肉或羊肉制成。黄胡萝卜的软化洋葱和火柴杆是标准的补充，如鹰嘴豆，整个大蒜头，以及包括苏丹拉斯或巴林斯的干果。
除了已经出色的基本版本之外，Plov系列中的宽度和范围是令人叹为观止的。有数十种，如果没有跨越不同的肉类和鱼类，蔬菜，水果和香料制成的中亚数百种变化。Quince和Chestnuts往往在季节出现外观，并且Plov有时散落着微小的彩虹色的煮鹌鹑蛋。“在阿塞拜疆，Plov获得了非常果味，”Caroline Eden，Travel作家和几种食谱包括的作者yabo电竞投注撒马尔罕：中亚和高加索的食谱和故事她共同撰写了埃莉诺福特。“水果在那里令人难以置信，你看到了像酸李，樱桃，杏子和苹果这样的东西。”
伊甸园已经吃了许多特殊的普遍，就像塔吉克斯坦的一个，带有多汁柠檬的小块，另一个在吉尔吉斯斯坦的首都比什凯克制作。在OSH（吉尔吉斯斯坦的第二大城市）中，一个名为Imenjon的普罗夫普罗夫厨师展示了如何通过掩藏在Plov之间的屈服大蒜丁香粉碎叉子，并通过米饭拖动糊状物，在桌子上添加另一层味道。
Plov分享一个共同的祖先（学者辩论是否是古老的波斯或南印度）与其他咸饭砂锅有无数。“这道菜走了....yabo电竞投注..沿着丝绸之路到中亚，其中每个国家都采用了一种形式，”吉尔克斯在犹太食品的百科全书亚搏电竞. So while Uzbekistan and Azerbaijan regard plov as a national dish, versions of pulao, polo, pilaw, pilav, or pilaf (among other names), show up on tables from Turkey to Mongolia, to Pakistan. Versions have made their way to England, France, and the United States. Plov may have also inspired rice-based dishes like risotto and paella, though Eden said if they are related, "they are more likely distant cousins than close ones."
As with any revered rice dish, plov cooks have strong opinions about which varieties are superior. Uzbekis insist on using Uzgen rice (called devzira), which grows in southern Kyrgyzstan. "The grains are short, reddish, and quite fat, but not overly sticky like risotto rice," Eden said. "It is a very flavorsome rice with a richness to it that takes well to the fat."
Uzgen-grown rice is difficult to source outside of the region, but Amnun Kimyagarov, who authored the cookbookClassic Central Asian Jewish Cuisine and Customs, writes that medium grain rice by the California-based brandKokuho, has "proven to be an excellent choice" for plov. Meanwhile, plov made in Azerbaijan is more commonly made with long-grain varieties, so a good-quality basmati is also appropriate.
Plov is prepared by skilled chefs called oshpaz, and traditionally only by men (though some women do make it, including the oshpaz who prepared the duck plov Eden tried.) Because it is such a prestigious dish, there is a performative element to preparing it. "It is quite a sociable thing," Eden said. "It takes a long time to make, so you see men in courtyards in Uzbekistan drinking tea and catching up around the open fire, surrounded by sacks and sacks of rice." As evening falls, the rice turns soft and shiny, the meat collapses into supple, butter-soft bites, and the air grows thick with oil-sizzled spices. The occasion hardly matters; the celebration is in the pot.