JONATHAN HARKER'S JOURNAL
(Kept in shorthand.)
3 May. Bistritz — Left Munich at 8:35 P. M., on 1st May, arriving at Vienna early next morning; should have arrived at 6:46, but train was an hour late. Buda-Pesth seems a wonderful place... I stopped for the night at the Hotel Royale. I had for dinner, or rather supper, a chicken done up some way with red pepper, which was very good but thirsty. (Mem. get recipe for Mina.) I asked the waiter, and he said it was called “paprika hendl,” and that, as it was a national dish, I should be able to get it anywhere along the Carpathians. — Dracula by Bram Stoker
Following the 2022 popularity of Dracula Daily, a serialised e-mail version of Stoker's 1897 novel, internet food recipe bloggers have been captivated by this little quip in the first chronological chapter of the book, especially regarding the supposed "thirst" (hot spiciness) of Hungarian paprika, characterised as having a more intense heat to its flavour than paprika found in other parts of the world, so much even that protagonist Jonathan Harker had his sleep disturbed by prolonged thirst after the meal (no doubt foreshadowing about the thirst of the titular vampire).
Also known as paprikás csirke and chicken paprikash, paprika hendl is a popular and traditional Hungarian chicken dish similar to gulyás (goulash) and typically served with noodles called nokedli.
INGREDIENTS
- either 1 whole chicken, jointed, skin on, or 2 1/2 lbs chicken breast, cut into cubes
- 2 tbsp butter
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 2 tbsp flour
- 1-2 large red onions, sliced or chopped finely
- 2 cloves garlic minced, but in practice, keep adding garlic until you feel a vampire would consider you unappetising post-meal.
- 2 tomatoes diced or 1 cup cherry tomatoes
- 1 red bell pepper AND 1 yellow bell pepper, both diced
- 1 L chicken stock
- Salt and fresh black pepper
- 250 mL of any thick dairy such as creme fraiche, sour cream, or greek yoghurt
- 250 mL tomato sauce
- Hungarian sweet paprika, Hungarian hot paprika, and cayenne pepper: around 1 heaping tablespoon of each, but if we're being honest with each other, the real quantity of paprika to be used is a conversation to be had between yourself and your ancestors. Stop adding spices only when you feel like the Dutch East India Company is breathing down your neck and preparing to colonise your kitchen.
INSTRUCTIONS
- Preheat the oven to 300 ˚F (150 ˚C).
- Heat the oil in a pot, then season the chicken pieces with the salt, pepper, cayenne, and both kinds of paprika. Sear the chicken on all sides to a golden-brown hue. Remove the chicken from the pot and set it aside.
- In the same oil, add the onions and fry until golden brown. Add the garlic, tomatoes, and peppers, as well as flour, butter, and salt and fry another 2–3 minutes. Stir together until the mix is smooth with few lumps.
- Take the pot off heat to prevent burning the spices, and stir in the paprika, cayenne, and pepper. Return the chicken to the pot and place it back over the heat. Pour in enough chicken stock to just cover the meat, and bring the entire stew to a boil. Cover with a lid, and place in the preheated oven for 1 hour.
- Stir in sour cream or other thick dairy, to taste, and serve hot. It is recommended to have some comparatively mild-tasting (or even bland) carbohydrate food to accompany it, such as roasted potatoes, rice, or noodles, to soak up some of the heat of the abundantly spicy sauce.
Faster version: Forgo the preheated oven; simply keep the stew simmering for 20-30 minutes, and when the chicken has a safe internal temperature 165°F (74°C) verified using a meat thermometer, take the pot off heat. This shaves around half an hour off the process, in tradeoff for giving the chicken less time to take on flavour from the vegetables and spices, and to become fall-off-the-bone tender. Using cubed chicken breast works better if you are doing the faster version of the reciple; using the whole chicken in the slow version of the recipe, bones and all, gets the benefit of more collagen cooking off the bones and into the stew.
This recipe can serve 2 to 4 people, depending on their tolerance for spice, and it reheats well as leftovers to serve with noodles, rice, or roasted potatoes. This recipe comes recommended to anyone who likes chicken tikka masala (or any chicken korma), borscht, or goulash.
Iron Noder 2022, 4/30