Well, who doesn’t know what chuchuk is? Foreigners, having tried this national delicacy just once — a divine harmony of finely combined fat and horse meat — prefer it over all our other dishes. At the most stylish receptions, one can observe the scene where satiated VIP guests, with joyful exclamations of “Oh, it is my favorite chuchuk!” completely ignore sandwiches with red caviar and shrimp. Truly, its unique taste will please even the most refined gourmet.
As for your correspondent, until recently, there was no place for me in these dense rows. To be honest, I have always been indifferent to dishes made from offal. All those intestines, stomachs, and other organs instilled real horror and disgust. Having watched the process of extracting and cleaning liver (not the most pleasant sight) since childhood, I completely refused to consume it. Fortunately, this “honorable” mission in our family, as in many others, is traditionally entrusted to daughters-in-law. However, at one family event, I had to literally take the initiative into my own hands, namely — the entrails of the slaughtered animal. To make delicious chuchuk, the most important thing is to thoroughly clean the intestines, which are then stuffed with meat and fat in equal proportions. It is clear that experience is required in everything, but in washing offal, it is simply catastrophically necessary. The advice from experienced baybiche helped, and the “wires” entrusted to me were clean as a tear after multiple rinsing. And — no smell. And what did it cost?! After undergoing this “combat” baptism, I only vowed that I would not participate in such matters again. Never say never. A reader called our editorial office, who had recently moved to Bishkek from Russia, and earnestly asked us to tell on the pages of “Vechorka” how to prepare chuchuk, which she had heard about back in her historical homeland. We could not refuse her request and turned to a great specialist in Kyrgyz cuisine, Aliman Usupova. — What is there to tell? Just words, and nothing more. You have to try it yourself, then you will understand, — she said. — Come over. I’ll show you and teach you. “Oh God,” I thought, “again!” But journalistic duty compelled me.
