Chicken Paprikash {Easy And Yummy Hungarian Recipe} (2024)

FAQs

What is paprikash sauce made of? ›

This Chicken Paprikash is made from a few very simple, real food ingredients: chicken, onions and garlic, chicken stock, paprika, flour, and cream. Some cooks will add tomato paste or chopped tomatoes, whereas others argue that authentic chicken paprikash doesn't contain any tomatoes.

Chicken paprikash (Hungarian: paprikás csirke or csirkepaprikás) or paprika chicken is a popular dish of Hungarian origin and one of the most famous variations on the paprikás preparations common to Hungarian tables. The name is derived from paprika, a spice commonly used in the country's cuisine.

Chicken Paprikash is a famous Hungarian dish, known for its mellow flavor, mild sweetness, and tender chicken. Some might consider it a stew, and I'm not arguing that fact – honestly, it really doesn't matter. This stuff just tastes good. This dish is commonly served with egg noodles or spätzle-like dumplings.

Spanish paprika is typically of the sweet variety and is made from Spanish chiles. Hungarian paprika is often lauded as the most desirable and most flavorful iteration of the spice. It can be either hot or sweet and is made using ground Hungarian paprika chile peppers.

Both paprikash and goulash are paprika-based stews, but goulash is made with beef and vegetables, while paprikash is most typically made with chicken. Recipes vary, but goulash is usually not thickened with flour like paprikash is, and goulash typically isn't enriched with cream or sour cream.

Due to its smokiness, lively colour and the surprising fresh or even spicy taste of some varieties, paprika is a wonderful ingredient that's deeply rooted in the traditions of Hungarian gastronomy.”

The savoury side of Hungarian cuisine makes use of many spices, most notably paprika. However, Magyar cuisine uses many other spices as well with black pepper, caraway, dill seed, and poppy seed being some of the most common for savoury dishes.

The Backbone of Hungarian Cuisine

“It's an essential ingredient in Hungarian cuisine and it gives many dishes their brilliant, orange-red colour and intense, peppery flavour and aroma. Paprika can be sweet, hot and even smoked – and it comes in different grades of coarseness and colour.”

McCormick® Culinary® Hungarian Style Paprika uses only the highest quality peppers to deliver a sweet and slightly pungent flavor, and a deep red color.

Legend has it that paprika was first grown by monks who wept from its hot taste when they tried to eat it. A more likely origin of the word, however, is the South Slavic term 'papar', meaning pepper. The hotness of traditional Hungarian paprika is preserved in the world-famous Erős Pista.

What food is Hungary known for? ›

The rose paprika of Hungary is generally considered the finest variety. It is made from choice dark red pods that have a sweet flavour and aroma. A sharper Hungarian variety, Koenigspaprika, or king's paprika, is made from the whole pepper.

If a recipe calls for sweet Hungarian paprika and you don't have it in your spice rack, reach for ancho powder if you have it or chili powder. Both have a mild heat that closely mimics paprika.

Serve Chicken Paprikash with a lively, full-bodied white wine or a light-bodied red wine.

Paprika is a spice powder made from drying and then grinding the pods of several different types of Capsicum annuum peppers (and in Hungarian the word paprika, confusingly, also refers to the peppers themselves).

If a recipe calls for sweet Hungarian paprika and you don't have it in your spice rack, reach for ancho powder if you have it or chili powder. Both have a mild heat that closely mimics paprika. Ancho powder will add a bit of smokiness to your dish while chili powder—which is a blend of spices—carries earthy notes.