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Hungarian Beef Goulash

Hungarian Beef Goulash reads umami 7.5, richness 6.1 and sweetness 5.0 on Palate's 0–10 flavor X-ray — a Hungarian main, about 3 hr 26 min. Measured from the recipe itself: ingredients and technique.

The flavor X-ray — six axes, 0–10

• Umami & Savory — 7.9 / 10
• Sweet & Fruity — 5.6 / 10
• Sour & Bright — 2.0 / 10
• Bitter & Earthy — 2.2 / 10
• Rich & Fat — 6.4 / 10
• Aromatic & Spice — 3.5 / 10

The measured notes (of 18)

Umami 7.5 · Richness 6.1 · Sweetness 5.0 · Salinity 3.9 · Allium 3.0 · Herbaceous 2.3 · Warm Spice 2.1 · Fruity 2.0 · Earthy 1.9 · Sourness 1.7 · Heat 1.5 · Bitterness 1.1 · Smoke 1.0 · Citrus 1.0 · Nutty 1.0 · Floral 0.7

What's in it (16)

• boneless beef chuck roast — 907 g
• vegetable oil — 27 g
• yellow onions — 907 g
• garlic — 12 g
• hot paprika — 44 g
• tomato paste — 15 g
• caraway seeds — 5 g
• red bell pepper — 100 g
• carrots — 120 g
• yellow new potatoes — 454 g
• low-sodium beef broth — 946 g
• bay — 2 g
• salt — 15 g
• black pepper — 3 g
• hot cooked egg noodles — 340 g
• parsley — 7 g

Time & effort: about 3 hr 26 min (3 hr 25 min active) · effort: involved

Nutrition (per 100 g, engine-estimated): 100.5 kcal, 7 g protein, 5 g fat, 7.6 g carbs

Dietary: Contains meat · Contains egg — engine-derived; double-check anything allergy-critical.

How it's cooked (11 steps)

1. Pat the beef cubes dry and season all over with 1 tsp of the salt and the black pepper.
2. Heat the oil in a heavy pot or Dutch oven over high heat. Sear the beef in two batches, without crowding, until deeply browned on at least two sides, 3-4 minutes per side; transfer each batch to a bowl as it's done.
3. Reduce the heat to medium and add the onions to the drippings left in the pot. Cook, stirring occasionally and scraping up the browned bits, until the onions are deeply golden and jammy, 30-40 minutes.
4. Stir in the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
5. Pull the pot off the heat entirely, then stir in the paprika, tomato paste, and caraway seeds, stirring until the paprika smells toasty and coats the onions evenly, about 30 seconds. The residual heat is enough — direct heat here scorches paprika bitter.
6. Return the beef and any collected juices to the pot, then pour in the broth and add the bay leaf and the remaining 2 tsp salt. Bring to a simmer over high heat, then cover, reduce the heat to low, and simmer until the beef is fork-tender, 1 hour 30 minutes to 2 hours, stirring every 30 minutes or so.
7. Stir in the carrots and bell pepper, re-cover, and simmer until the carrots are just tender, about 20 minutes.
8. Stir in the potatoes and simmer uncovered until the potatoes are tender and the broth has thickened slightly, 20-25 minutes.
9. About 10 minutes before the stew is done, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook the egg noodles until al dente, 7-9 minutes; drain and divide among bowls.
10. Discard the bay leaf and taste the goulash, adding more salt if needed.
11. Ladle the goulash over the noodles and scatter with the parsley.

Dishes with a similar flavor shape

• Gulyás (Goulash) — Hungarian
• Grochówka — Polish
• Fried Rice (Nigerian Style) — Nigerian
• Bosanski Lonac (The Bosnian Pot) — Bosnian
• Beef Katsu Curry — Japanese

Keep reading: what umami, richness, sweetness mean in the flavor lexicon · the world's cuisines, by flavor.

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Every number above is Palate's engine-measured estimate, computed from this recipe's ingredients and techniques — not human-tasted ratings or reviews.