No vodka or vinegar
It is a well-known fact that Kyrgyz people are very fond of meat. They don't need bread, as long as there is meat on the table. A lot of meat. There is a popular saying about this: do not tell the host that you have slaughtered a whole ram until you bring the ram's head to the dastarkhan (a traditional table). And the descendants of Manas the Generous consumed this protein-rich product in immeasurable quantities, I must say, not in a banal way. With feeling, with meaning, with arrangement. Among the Kyrgyz, there is an entire ritual for its preparation. Well, everyone surely knows about the traditional beshbarmak. But not many have heard of tash kordo — a favorite dish of ancient hunters. And not everyone has had the chance to try it. Meanwhile, Kyrgyzstani Rayimbek Jusupbekov has already eaten his fill. Because he has been preparing this meat for 17 years!
We had heard about Jusupbekov's culinary masterpiece.
— He cooks such meat — you will be amazed! Not just licking your fingers, but you will swallow your tongue. It's very tasty! — our storytellers, who once had the chance to try his cooking, were practically drooling. They intrigued us right away!
...It turned out that finding Rayimbek's chef was not so difficult. In the foothill village, there is a place where everyone can taste his meat creation. We caught Jusupbekov in the midst of preparing tash kordo. Rolling up his sleeves, he was marinating the meat. In a large pot, a whole lamb carcass, cut into pieces, fit. The room smelled of spices. And the aroma was so appetizing that it instantly increased salivation.
— My marinade is simple. Just garlic, salt, onion, tomatoes, cumin, and various spices. I run all this through a meat grinder and coat each piece. Then I pour boiling water over everything. And no vinegar or vodka! Many add them to soften the meat. But in the end, it loses its taste qualities, — says the chef, finishing the process.
While the ustukans (meat pieces) absorbed the aromas of the spices, we had time for a calm, unhurried conversation. At the dastarkhan, Rayimbek Jusupbekov talks about his life. He is an economist by profession, originally from Toktogul, from the village of Uch-Terek. He has lived there almost his entire life. His sons grew up and went to the capital to study. And when they returned to their small homeland, the head of the family always prepared his signature tash kordo for his children. And one day, his sons told him: why not feed all of Bishkek with your edible creation? Thus, he ended up in the capital.
