Csikós tokány – Wrangler’s pork stew

by | Nov 12, 2021 | Meat dishes

Tokány is a typical Hungarian dish that everyone knows, and everyone has their own concept how to cook it. For this reason there’s no standard recipe for tokány, you can’t apply a general schema to it. According to its etymology presently accepted the word tokány comes from the Rumanian term tocána that translates as “chop or hash something into small pieces”. Thus, there’s only one thing, which is certain about tokány: the meat is diced or cut in strips. All the other elements of tokány are subject of debate.

Wrangler’s pork stew is a popular tokány; it’s made with pork, seasoned with marjoram and parsley leaves, and thickened with flour and sour cream. This pork stew is generally served with nokedli, but it also goes well with any other type of pasta.

Csikós tokány - Wrangler's pork stew
Csikós tokány – Wrangler’s pork stew – photo: zserbo.com

Ingredients:

  • 100 g (~3 1/2 oz) smoked pork fat, chopped
  • 1 big onion, finely chopped
  • 3-4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
  • 800 g (~1 3/4 lbs) boneless pork
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 1 tsp sweet ground paprika
  • 1/2 tsp marjoram
  • 1 tbsp finely chopped parsley leaves
  • 2 heaping tbsp sour cream
  • 1 heaping tbsp flour

Cut the pork in strips.

Boneless pork cut in strips
Boneless pork cut in strips – photo: zserbo.com

In a pot fry the chopped smoked pork fat until it releases enough lard and becomes crispy. Add finely chopped onions, a bit later add finely chopped garlic and sauté. Add the meat and stir fry until each side turns white and it releases liquid. Pour in 300-400 ml (~1 1/4 – 1 2/3 cups) of water, cover the pot and over low heat slowly simmer until tender (add more water if needed). Once the meat is done, whisk together 100 ml (~1/2 cup) of water, sour cream and flour. Ladle some hot liquid from the stew to the sour cream mixture, then stir it in the stew. Add finely chopped parsley leaves and cook the stew for 1-2 minutes. Serve with nokedli or pasta.

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Hungarian cottage cheese

This is what Hungarian túró looks like

You often ask me what kind of cottage cheese (or curd cheese or farmer's cheese - call it what you want) I use in the recipes. In Hungary the store-bought cottage cheese is dry and crumbly as you can see in the picture. So if a recipe calls for túró, I mean this type. If you can't obtain túró, you can try to make your own from whole milk. Click on the link below.

Metric system vs cup

In Hungary metric units are in use, all the recipes on this website are based on this system, so a kitchen scale is necessary. Since I’m not familiar with cup as a measurement unit, I convert grams to cups by using an online converter. The values in brackets, therefore, are only approximate volumes, so, please, double-check them before you start cooking.

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