Shchi is sauerkraut soup. Plain and simple. In Russia of the 16th and 17th centuries it was a very common dish, and is still prepared often today. The word, "shchi" apparently used to mean soup, but now it means the specific soup made from sauerkraut and cabbage.

An old saying about shchi: "A good wife is not the one who speaks well, but who cooks schi well." Ho ho. Love that old misogynistic folk wisdom!

In any case, it is a sour soup and can be eaten hot or cold. In the summer cold shchi is apparently quite refreshing. Sauerkraut is brilliant food for your belly, in case you haven't heard all the recent hoopla. It's chock full of good bacteria. There's also some compelling evidence that it may help ward off breast cancer.

Here's a recipe, found on russian-recipes.net. You can make it with or without meat:

1 1/2 pounds of beef (brisket or flank)
1/2 pound of ham
1/2 pound of broth veg. (carrots, leek and parsley)
1 medium onion, chopped
salt & pepper
2 tablespoons of dried mushrooms
1 tablespoon of butter
3 Bay leaves
1 dozen black peppercorns
1 tablespoons of flour
1 pound of sauerkraut
2 tablespoons of bacon fat
1 cup of sour cream


Prepare a broth using the beef, ham, broth veg. and about 1 1/2 quarts of water, add salt to season.

Soak the dried mushrooms, rinse, simmer for about 10 minutes and then strain.

Squeeze the Sauerkraut, keeping the juice, then blanch in boiling water, drain and chop.

Saute the onion lightly in butter before adding the sauerkraut and cooking for a further 15 minutes. Use the peppersorn and bay leaves to season.

Add the broth and simmer for about 1 hour until the Sauerkraut is tender.

Mis 1 tablespoon of mushroom broth and the flour and add them to the soup to thicken, then bring to boil and simmer for another 5 minutes.

Season with salt and pepper, adding extra sauerkraut juice if the mix is not sour/sharp enough for taste.

Chop the mushrooms and then add the mushrroms, beef and chopped ham to the soup, then cook for another 10 minutes.

Serve with sour cream.