Gastronomic map of the region Sakhalin region

Traditional cuisine

Sakhalin cuisine combines Russian, Korean, Soviet, Manchu-Chinese and Japanese gastronomic traditions. The carriers of these cultures were confronted by the nature of Sakhalin with the fact: food habits need to be changed in many ways. Such products, as in the historical homeland, cannot be found here, but many new things have to be tried.

Koreans, for example, were initially upset that their favorite kim-chi cabbage (Beijing cabbage) did not grow here. Therefore, they began to pickle other plants in the same way. So there was a "Korean carrot", completely unknown before that in Korea itself, as well as young shoots of fern in spicy sauce, and pickled burdock.

Sakhalin unexpectedly brought Russian cuisine closer to European, because here, as in the Mediterranean countries, there were a lot of fish and seafood. And if the fish was quite typical for Pomors, Volzhans and Don Cossacks, the Russian immigrants mostly encountered edible mollusks for the first time.

By the way, locals learned the intricacies of preparing these dishes from the Japanese. In general, the extraction and processing of fish and seafood has always been one of the main sources of income for the region. Red caviar, crabs, shrimps, oysters, scallops, and trepangs are commmon on the Sakhalin table. Spring "highlight" - smelt fish, easily recognizable by the smell of cucumber. From various thick kelp (seaweed) people make all kinds of salads, which are really good for health, or else dry it.

Indigenous people of northern Sakhalin, in addition to fish and wild plants, eat wild deer meat. In the northern part of the island there are more traditional dishes prepared with local ingredients: stockfish (yukola) and frozen fish (stroganina), seal meat, bear’s meat, mushrooms and northern berries.

On Sakhalin, various syrups are made from wild berries (redberry, lemongrass, blueberry). Red juice helps in the treatment of colds, it improves digestion and has a tonic property, it is used in hypertension as an effective tool to lower blood pressure. Schisandra has a beneficial effect on the cardiovascular, respiratory system, stimulates the central nervous system, increases physical and intellectual performance.

Local alcoholic beverages are represented by beer, which is brewed in many cities of Sakhalin. The main producer is the South Sakhalin brewery Kolos, which produces more than a dozen varieties.