Shchi is one of the most popular Russian soups, made with sauerkraut, cabbage and potatoes. It's so hearty, tart and savory and the creamy sour cream and fresh herbs brings all these flavors together in the most perfect combination of flavors.
As early as the 9th century, Shchi has been a staple on the Russian table. Russians have a proverb that states "Щи да каша – пища наша." (Shchi da kasha - pishcha nasha "Shchi and kasha are our staples").
Not only does it have the sour taste that Russians love from the sauerkraut, but the ingredients of the soup are perfect for the long Russian winters. Cabbage, sauerkraut and potatoes are all ingredients that could be grown in Russia even with the short summer season and then stored throughout the long winter in the cellar.
Dry mushrooms were also used in many different ways and I absolutely love them in this soup. They add such an incredible depth and amazing flavor to the soup. You can use any kind of meat in shchi or even make a vegetarian version by omitting the meat and using vegetable broth.
Ingredients For Shchi
The main ingredients in this soup are sauerkraut, cabbage, potatoes and dry mushrooms.
The onion and carrots add more flavor to the soup and the fresh herbs are added at the end for a touch of fresh flavor.
I use both sauerkraut and fresh cabbage because it makes a nice combination of flavor and texture. The fresh cabbage dilutes the tart sauerkraut flavor a bit and adds a more mild and has a more tender texture.
What Type of Mushrooms Should Be Used in Shchi?
My favorite dry mushrooms to use in this soup are porcini mushrooms, but you can use any type of mushrooms that you like. I also like dry chanterelle mushrooms. Dry mushrooms have a completely different flavor and texture than fresh mushrooms, but you can use them as well. You can also omit the mushrooms if you prefer.
Chicken Broth For Shchi
I often have chicken broth in my freezer, so that's what I use it for the soup. You can use any chicken broth or vegetable broth for Shchi. You can also start the soup by making the chicken broth from scratch.
- Chicken drumsticks are perfect to make broth, but you can use any chicken pieces for the broth. Cook the broth at a low simmer, with some whole black peppercorns, a few dry bay leaves and salt to taste, for 35-45 minutes.
- Remove the chicken from the broth, take the meat off the both and cut it into bite sized pieces. Set aside to be added to the soup later.
- Strain the broth through a fine mesh sieve lined with a paper towel or cheesecloth. Take the chicken off the bone, and use a fork or knife to shred it into bite sized pieces.
Preparing Shchi
- In a large pot or dutch oven, sauté the onion and carrot on medium heat for about 5 minutes until they are tender.
- It is important to rehydrate dry mushrooms in boiling water before adding them to the soup. While the vegetables are cooking, place the dry mushrooms into a bowl and pour boiling water over the mushrooms. Set aside for about 5 minutes.
- Remove the mushrooms with a fork, leaving behind the soot in the bottom of the bowl. Wash the mushrooms throughly before adding them to the soup. Strain the mushroom liquid through a fine mesh sieve lined with a coffee filter or a paper towel. Add the mushroom liquid and the chicken broth the soup, bring to a boil, reduce the heat to a simmer and cook for about 30 minutes.
- Add the potatoes, cabbage and sauerkraut to the soup and continue cooking until the vegetables are soft and tender, 30-45 minutes. Add the water, making it as thick or thin as you like. Season with more salt and ground black pepper to taste, if needed.
- Add the chicken to the soup at the end, just enough time to heat it through. You can omit the chicken and make it vegetarian too by using vegetable broth.
Serving Shchi, Leftovers, How to Reheat
Garnish the soup with fresh herbs and sour cream when serving. Shchi is amazing with some Black Bread.
Shchi is excellent as a leftover, so I always make a big batch. You can easily halve the recipe. Reheat on the stovetop or microwave.
Shchi - Russian Cabbage Soup
- Prep Time: 20 mins
- Cook Time: 1 hour 30 mins
- Total Time: 1 hour 50 minutes
- Yield: 8
- Category: Soup
Ingredients
8 cups chicken broth
2 cups water, more or less depending on how thick you want the soup
1 Tablespoon butter or oil
1 large onion, chopped
1 carrot, grated
½ cup dry mushrooms, porcini
3 medium potatoes, peeled and chopped
2 cups sauerkraut
1 cup fresh cabbage, finely chopped or shredded
1 cup cooked chicken, cut or shredded into bite sized pieces
salt, ground black pepper, to taste
1 Tablespoon each, fresh dill and green onions, finely chopped, for garnishing
sour cream, for garnishing
Instructions
- If you have Chicken Broth, use it. If not, place a few chicken drumsticks (or any other chicken pieces - chicken wings, chicken breast, chicken thighs) in a large pot with some whole black peppercorns, a few dry bay leaves, fill with water and cook for 35-45 minutes. Season to taste with salt. Strain the broth through a fine mesh sieve lined with a paper towel or a paper towel. Take the chicken meat off the bone, cut or shred into bite sized pieces, set aside to be add to the soup at the end.
- Heat the butter or oil in a large pot or dutch oven and add the chopped onion and grated carrots. Season with salt and ground black pepper to taste. Sauté the vegetables on medium heat for about 5 minutes until they are tender.
- Meanwhile, rehydrate the dry mushrooms by pouring boiling water over them and setting aside until they get soft. Wash them really well, add the mushrooms to the soup pot. Strain the mushroom liquid through a fine mesh sieve lined with a coffee filter or paper towel and add it to the soup along with the chicken broth. Bring the soup to a boil, season with salt, if it needs it. Reduce the heat to simmer, cover and cook for about 30 minutes.
- Meanwhile, prep the rest of the vegetables - peel and chop the potatoes, shred the cabbage and chop the fresh herbs.
- Add the potatoes, cabbage and sauerkraut to the broth. Add them to the soup and add water to the soup to make it the consistently that you like. Cook the soup at a simmer, covered, until the potatoes and cabbage are tender, another 30 - 45 minutes.
- Add the cooked chicken to the soup at the very end, giving it just enough time to heat through.
- When the soup is cooked, garnish with fresh herbs and serve with a dollop of sour cream in each bowl.
This recipe was first published on September 28, 2012. I updated the photos and clarified and updated the instructions to make it even better. This soup is a family favorite that we've been enjoying for generations. I hope you enjoy it too.
Love this soup! I make a rack of ribs in the instant pot as the protein to add on top of the soup bowl. Very easy, delicious and kids and husband enjoy.
Love this soup. I make it without chicken and do some ribs in the instant pot. Then serve a bowl of shchi with a rib in top, a winner!
I am surprised with the lack of caraway seed. I fry up pork spare ribs, leaving the coating in the bottom of the pot. It adds some nice flavor.
I just hacked up my thumb shredding cabagge with a mandolin slicer. I think I’ll be shredded cabagge from now on.
Thank for your recipe. A bit different from what I grew up with, but interesting.
Hi Olga, this is one of the few recipes my Southern Russian girlfriend approves of hahaha. Love it very much. I got my recipe from my Russian grandma who put tomato paste in her shchi but my girlfriend hates it and we once had a fight over that. Your recipe restored peace between us. Many thanks lol
I learned about shchi from Russian novels and got curious about it, so I decided to make this recipe. I gave it a vegetarian twist using vegetable broth and mock chicken, and I added a couple extra spices I had in my pantry. What a soul-warming soup! I love the combination of tangy sauerkraut, fresh cabbage and tender potatoes. Thanks for a great recipe, Olga 🙂
I found this recipe yesterday when looking for a cabbage soup recipe to use up leftovers. I amended it slightly as we didn't have sauerkraut and I wanted it vegetarian. So had extra cabbage and no chicken. It turned out very tasty and warming just what we needed on a cold evening and there's plenty left for the week ahead. Thanks for sharing. I will be checking out more of your recipes
I'm so glad that you enjoyed the recipe and were able to make adjustments with what you had. Thank you for taking time to write.
Excellent recipe . Non-Russian man married to first Generation American born wife, and off the boat Russian mother in law. I make a good white borscht and ran across this recipe ( I love Kapusta as it is). It’s one of those dishes I have never tasted , nor know that it’s an authentic “ babushka” approved recipe , but sometimes you just look at the photos and know it’s going to be good…this certainly was!
My Russian mother in law is ill and I figured I’d make this for her and my wife . my mother in law was so happy! She loved it! She and my wife put sour cream on everything , so don’t skip that or the herbs at the end.. they take this recipe to the next level !!
Thank you so much for sharing your feedback, Daniel. I'm so glad you and your family enjoyed this soup.
I've written before to tell you how much I love this recipe! Oddly, when I print it out, the text is such a light gray color that I can barely read it. However, many of your other recipes print out darker (although I do wish they all had a black color font) , so I know it's not my printer. Is there a way you can change the font color to be darker, or even black, so that it is readable? Thanks for your wonderful site and blog and for sharing so much of yourself!
Thanks for the feedback, Sara. I will look into it and do my best to make the font darker.
Reading Gogol's Dead Souls, he writes about shchi. I am wondering what shchi is all about. Google gives me a number of recipes. Yours is the most interesting. I made my sour kapusta, waited several days for it to cure and then followed your recipe. Had no sour cream but the soup was good. Next day got sour cream and fresh green onions. The shchi was AMAZING!! This, I can serve to guests and they will think I am a genius. I owe it all to you Olga... And Gogol!
Yes, Shchi goes back many, many generations:). I am so happy that you tried this recipe and were so happy with the results. Thank you for taking the time to write.
This soup is delicious!!! I made it yesterday and used 1 lb of chicken breast cubes to make it more hearty in addition to 2 T. of garlic, celery, a chopped bell pepper, an extra cup of shredded red cabbage, a second carrot, bay leaves, and added 1/2 tsp of dried dill with lots of salt and pepper while simmering. I adore the tang of the sauerkraut, which I made using your instructions. It's so much more flavorful than I expected and wonderful even in the hot summertime. I added the toppings that you recommended and baked a large loaf of Russian black bread to accompany it. Thank you for your sharing so much of yourself in these recipes.
That's wonderful, Sara! I'm so happy to hear that you were so pleased with the Shchi. Thank you for taking the time to write.
Is there a specific reason that you don't use garlic? I would think it would add lots of flavor.
I use garlic in the chicken broth, so it has garlic flavor, but as I said in the recipe instructions, you can certainly add it if you would like.
Could kasha (buckwhaet) be added instead of potatoes?
You probably can, Kim, but it will be a completely different soup. I prefer using potatoes, but you can make it however you like.
Hi Olga,
Our recipe is from here:
“Molokan Favorites”
UNITED MOLOKAN CHRISTIAN ASSOCIATION LADIES AUXILIARY
1963
SALANKA #2 page 74
3 lbs. Lamb shoulder, cut up
1 onion sliced
½ tsp. salt
Pepper to taste
1 qt. Sauerkraut (homemade)
Wash lamb, and put in a 4 qt. Pot.
Cover and simmer for 1 hour. Add
4 c. boiling water, continue cooking
for another ½ hour. Add 1 qt. sauer-
kraut (homemade) or 1 large can of sauer-
kraut and 1 small head of shredded
cabbage. Cook 1 hour. Serves six.
We use short ribs instead of lamb.
Duncan
how long do you cook mushrooms?they suppose to be really soft right?
Yes, the mushrooms should be soft and tender, Katie. The time depends on what kind of dry mushrooms you are using. I buy porcini mushrooms from nuts.com and they get really soft and tender in about 30 minutes, but I've used other porcini mushrooms that I bought from other grocery stores and they took much longer to cook and still don't get as tender as the nuts.com mushrooms - not an advertisement:). I'm just a happy customer.
Hi Olga! Is it possible to use beef broth? Have u ever tried it?
Yes, you can use whatever broth you like, Nicole. I prefer the flavor of chicken broth, but you can use beef or even vegetable broth if you like. I have recipes for both Beef Broth and Vegetable Broth on my blog.