Fish Soup, also known as Ukha or in Russian “Уха”, is a very popular soup in Russian culture. In most cases, you’ll see people using fish with bones or even a fish head, I know, pretty gross. This is probably the reason why my husband seemed to dislike this soup.
Recently, we’ve visited one of my friends, where her husband made this salmon soup and got us hooked. I craved it all week and couldn’t wait until I made it. Tim was going for seconds and our boys loved it. The best part is that there was no bones in it. This is our new staple soup – loving, loving it!!
Other Traditional Russian Soups to Try
Recipe
Ingredients
Instructions
- Prepare ingredients for the soup.
- Dice onion into tiny pieces, carrot into half ring and potatoes into small cubes.
- Bring 5 quarts of water to a boil. Add in rice and season with salt. Add in carrots and onions. Let it all simmer until all ingredients are cooked. Add in Salmon and potatoes, let it simmer until it's fully cooked.
- Add herbs to the mixture and turn off the soup.
- Serve soup while it's still hot,
Nutrition Facts
Fish Soup aka Ukha
Amount Per Serving
Calories 93
Calories from Fat 18
% Daily Value*
Fat 2g3%
Saturated Fat 1g5%
Cholesterol 21mg7%
Sodium 25mg1%
Potassium 369mg11%
Carbohydrates 9g3%
Fiber 1g4%
Sugar 1g1%
Protein 9g18%
Vitamin A 965IU19%
Vitamin C 5.8mg7%
Calcium 22mg2%
Iron 1.6mg9%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
Wonderful recipes! I’ve been browsing on your blog for a while enjoying them, thank you for so much! I have been reminded of so many great meals I’ve been growing up with! This “Ucha” also looks very interesting even though it is as far from the original ucha as I’m from Siberia :)) please do not take offense but I could not pass this one. Ucha has been invented as fisher’s meal and has always been cooked using all the edible parts of assortment of fishes, not just fillets or just heads. Fishers would just cook whatever they caught in a pot over the fire with any addition they have (potatoes, millet or both, bay leaves and a must - whole black peppercorns). Often a little vodka would be added to the broth. Once the fish is ready, a chopped onion would be thrown in for a minute or too, followed by lots of grated black pepper and that’s the ucha! Super easy, super flavorful and not exactly easy to eat :)) But the home made version Included an extra step to remedy that: the fish was sorted into two groups: fillets and whatever else you’d like to see in your plate would go into one group and everything else (tiny fishes, bones, heads and tails) into another. Then a strong broth would be made from the second group + bay leaves and whole peppercorns. Once the broth is ready, it would be strained, the fish mass discarded and THEN the original recipe followed! This is the classic ucha, it’s still very easy to make, is deeply satisfying and packed with wild flavors (add a drop of liquid smoke for more resemblance to the version made over the open fire). And yes, no parsley, just dill.
I love the frugality of using the whole fish parts! And we know how good those Omega 3s are for us.
Hey Deborah, you can also do that. My kids prefer the boneless versions but my mom use to make one with whole fish parts.
Hey Natalia, thank you for sharing your story about Ucha, this is really interesting. I enjoyed reading it.
Hello again and the best to you and Family ,,happy mothers Day !! ya know Love to live cook and learn ,,been cooking for 70 years ,,I have many great recipes from those years. so many not used by todays your adults ,,,I would love to share some with you ,If you would like ?? this fish soup inspired me today to want to give you a recipe Learned in the Bajamas ,,so so good ,I have commented lately several times ,,on potato sausage ,bread and cabbage soup ,,your kielbasa recipe like my moms ..ya know no one ever uses Swiss chard recipes on line ?? my garden is growing great here inTexas this year ,all Heirloom veggies and a river and lake a short away ,bin here since Dec 2019 workin on dat garden daily ,,live in a 33 foot motor home wit my dog Barlee Rose ,we love it here GOD has blessed me with many gifts ,Prayer is powerful ,Peace be With You. mr. Joseph
Thank you, Joseph. Yes, I did see all your comments. Thank you for stopping by!
That looks lovely, Natalya. Just winter ingredients that I can find locally here in Montréal! I love fish soups. Hope you are enjoying the New Year, in both calendars! I always use the salmon head, which is full of gelatine - you can remove it if it disgusts any of your guests. I even make stock from salmon heads (which are very cheap at the fishmonger's) and freeze the stock for soup.
Yeah my mom uses a head but I like the boneless part. I like the stock idea, thanks for sharing with me.
I haven't had this in a while! My mom made the best version with everything just roughly chopped and placed in a pot to boil. Thanks for reminding me - now I want some
No problem at all 🙂 Ukha has been out of picture for us for the longest time. I am glad to find this recipe 🙂
I can't figure out if ur husband us russian or american?? Lol
He is totally Russian 🙂 from Siberia