Chukchi cuisine

Sliced and prepared Ikiilgin (Икииԓгин)

Chukchi Cuisine refers to subsistence foods and cuisine traditionally prepared by the Chukchi people of the Chukotka Autonomous Okrug and surrounding areas in the Russian Far East.^[1] This cuisine is heavily dependent on meat, particularly reindeer meat and whale meat, due to the Chukchi's position in the tundra. Chukchi cuisine has also been heavily influenced by Russian cuisine. Preparation techniques include cooking on a hot stone, boiling, fermentation, and raw consumption.

The Chukchi, traditionally, were split into two groups, each with a different lifestyle. The Reindeer Chukchi, who called themselves the Chauchu ("rich in reindeer"), were semi-nomadic reindeer herders that inhabited the inland tundra of Chukotka.^[2] The Maritime Chukchi, on the other hand, who were called Anqallyt ("sea (people)"), were settled whale hunters that inhabited the coastal areas of Chukotka. In modern times, however, the Chukchi are mostly settled due to collectivization and regularly consume bread, vodka, and other foodstuffs introduced upon Russian conquest.

Chukchi Dishes[]

Some dishes prepared by the Chukchi include:^[3][4]

• Prerem-thinly sliced chunks of boiled reindeer meat mixed with reindeer lard, topped with bone marrow, and frozen.
• Ikiilgyn-frozen, sliced pieces of whale skin and blubber, eaten raw most of the time.
• Kopalgyn-chunks of walrus or seal meat, including the skin, placed into a pit and consumed after 6 months.
• Monjalo-half-digested moss extracted from a large deer's stomach, often eaten in a stew with blood, fat, and finely cut meat.
• Vilmulimul-reindeer stomach, filled with reindeer blood, boiled kidneys, liver, ears, fried hoofs, and lips with berries and sorrel, and stored for the winter for consumption.
• Opane-boiled pieces of fatty reindeer meat, with reindeer blood added during boiling.

References[]