By Avraham Fuzaylov
Cold, crisp, creamy—Salad Tashkent is one of those dishes that doesn’t need to shout to get your attention. Strips of boiled meat, fresh daikon radish, a handful of dill, creamy mayo to bring it together, and a heaping pile of sweet caramelized onions on top. That’s it.
You’ll find it today on the menu at just about every Bukharian restaurant in Queens and beyond. It’s a staple—familiar, refreshing, and rich all at once. But here’s the twist: it didn’t come from Tashkent.
Not even close.
A Salad Born in Moscow, ‘Dressed’ as Tashkent
This salad isn’t a centuries-old Bukharian family heirloom. It was invented in 1950s Moscow. During the Soviet Union’s push to showcase the cuisines of its republics, a wave of “national restaurants” opened in the capital. One of them was Restaurant Uzbekistan, opened in 1951, serving up a curated version of Uzbek food to the Soviet elite.
The problem—real Uzbek cuisine didn’t include mayo-heavy cold salads. That was a Russian thing. But Muscovites expected them, so the chefs improvised. They created a new dish using Central Asian ingredients—radish, beef, dill—but served it in a format that Moscow understood: cold, creamy, and composed.
Salad Tashkent was born. And it stuck.
It traveled from Soviet dining rooms to Bukharian homes, morphed and adapted over time. Today, it feels like it’s always been part of the Bukharian table. That’s the magic of food—it doesn’t care where it started, only where it feels right.
The Real-Deal Recipe
Ingredients (Serves TK):
- Boiled beef (any cut—brisket, chuck, whatever’s tender), sliced thin
- Medium Daikon radish, peeled and julienned
- 1/4 cup fresh dill, finely chopped
- 1/2 onion (sliced), caramelized in oil
- 2-3 tbsp Mayonnaise
- Salt and black pepper
Instructions:
- Boil the meat until tender. Let it cool, then slice into strips.
- Julienne the daikon.
- Mix the beef, radish, and dill. Add enough mayo to coat it all without drowning it. Season with salt and pepper.
- Top with caramelized onions right before serving.
- Chill it for 20–30 minutes. Then eat.
From Moscow Theater to Bukharian Reality
Salad Tashkent is a dish born out of performance. It was never traditional. It was never “authentic.” But it hit the right notes—bright, meaty, herbaceous, rich—and it earned its place on the table.
Today, you don’t need to know any of that history to enjoy it. You just need a fork and an appetite.
Bukharian Bites celebrates the rich culinary heritage of the Bukharian community, aiming to connect people through food. Founder Abe Fuzaylov shares recipes in each English issue of Bukharian Times, starting with issue 1176.