01x14 - K-Town Countdown

[bunniefuu]

Let's tell the
world! Let's tell the world!

We stand with Ukraine.

We stand with Ukraine.

The Russian invasion of Ukraine

has captured the world's attention.

Save Ukraine! Stop the w*r!

And in New York City,

Ukrainian Americans are speaking out

bolder and louder than ever.

Our existence threatened their idea
of having an empire.

Demanding that Ukraine
remains an independent nation.

You can see the identity of Ukraine
trying to be stripped away,

their culture and their food
and their traditions.

Ukraine is not Russia.
That's the misconception.

We are something separate.
We are proud of that.

Nothing epitomizes this struggle

better than the Ukrainian dish
beet borscht.

If you ask any Ukrainian person

they will absolutely say that
it's from the Ukraine.

When a Ukrainian is cut,
we're not bleeding blood.

We're bleeding borscht.

So what makes borscht Ukrainian,

and why in this moment in history

is there so much at stake
in this little bowl of soup?

Slava Ukraini!

Cheers!

I came to America when I was four.

I'm an immigrant and I'm not alone.

I've spent my life writing about food
and tasting the world.

Now I want to explore who we are
through the food we eat.

My game is strong.

What exactly is American food?
And what makes us American?

I'm Padma Lakshmi.
Come with me as we Taste the Nation.

I've walked these streets my whole life.

And what I love about New York

Is that there's always
something new to discover.

This is the East Village.

And before the hipsters arrived,

it was a gathering place
for all things Ukraine

and still represents the heart
of the Ukrainian American community

here in New York.

This is the beloved restaurant Veselka.

Hi Jason
JASON: Hi Padma. Nice to...

I'm a hugger. I'm gonna hug you.

Jason Birchard is
the third-generation owner of Veselka.

His family immigrated to the U.S.

with a wave
of post-World w*r II Ukrainian refugees,

seeking safety in the lower East Side.

I haven't been here in ages.

Celebrating our 68th year.

Well, I mean, Veselka is like a landmark
of the East Village

and the East Village
is a landmark for Ukrainians.

It was once called
Little Ukraine or still is, you know.

There was a much larger
Ukrainian community here

in its heyday in the '50s and '60s

and then the neighborhoods
gentrified over the years.

But, you know, there's
a Ukrainian meat market across the street.

The Ukrainian church on 7th Street
are still stalwarts in the neighborhood.

- Is that the famous counter?
- This is the famous counter. It's...

I don't think I've
ever sat at the counter.

It's been here since, uh,
the beginnings, early 1950s.

This is something I fondly remember
from the days of my grandfather.

Sitting here enjoying, you know,
some of the home cooking

that my grandmother made.

Borscht being one of them.

For many people, coming here to eat

is the only frame of reference
they have for Ukrainian food.

We've come into that position
over a course of time.

But we never really came into our identity
probably until the, the '90s.

Because, why?

Ukraine was still considered
a part of the USSR

and there was a lot of animosity.

The ties between Russia and Ukraine

have been tangled for centuries.

Ukraine first declared
its independence from Russia in 1917

during The Bolshevik Revolution.

But two years later
Russia reclaimed control,

making Ukraine a part of the newly created
Communist Soviet Union.

Decades later,
after the fall of the USSR in 1991,

Ukraine finally regained independence.

Next to Russia
it's the richest and most vital republic.

And any Soviet Union without it
would be severely diminished.

My grandfather
actually was a Ukrainian immigrant

escaping Russian oppression.

And I think now what's happening there,
it's tragic, it's dire, um,

Ukrainians are fighting for their lives
and, I, I...

And they have been for centuries.

Thirty years later.

The news erupted across the globe
in February of 2022...

When Russia's president, Vladimir Putin,
led a full-scale invasion of Ukraine

in an attempt to re-establish Russian rule
over the region.

Forcing Ukrainians to fight
for independence

and the survival
of their identity again.

You can find a, find a
protest almost daily around the city.

Then people have been coming in droves
to help Ukrainian businesses.

They sympathize, they want to know
how the staff's doing, how we're doing.

How they can support.

It's been unbelievable
to showcase what we do best:

To serve Ukrainian soul food.

We serve Ukrainian borscht year-round
which is almost like a meal in itself.

Beets, cabbage, potatoes, beans, beef.

- It's very good for you.
- Yes. You know, I grew up on borscht.

My grandmother served it, uh, religiously.

And it's part of who I am.

There is only one soup that I eat.
It's Ukrainian borscht.

Borscht is a must-have
and Veselka is definitely the place to go.

Borscht scares me.
I'm terrified of Borscht.

It is bright and it is healthy.

It's very comforting.
I love the dill in it.

I eat borscht two times a week.
Do you see my skin?

It looks like the piece of beets.

And the secret
to Veselka's delectable borscht

is Ukrainian American chef Olesia Lew.

Ooh look, the borscht is here.

Thank you.

It's so pretty.

And what's in this recipe?

There's cabbage, there's carrots,
what else?

There's cabbage,
carrots, onions, garlic, beets.

There's some white beans,
but they're the larger ones.

- Mmm.
- We make it in parts.

- It's so soothing.
- Yeah.

It's sweet and tart.

And that's the way it's
supposed to be. That's Ukrainian borscht.

And this borscht is lighter.

Yeah, well this is
our vegetarian borscht.

I initially thought
red borscht was Russian.

In fact, the first time I tried it
was at the Russian Tea Room in New York.

However, my Ukrainian neighbors
have taught me otherwise.

Many of the other cultures
surrounding Ukraine also make borscht.

Poland shares in this tradition

and Russia shares
in their own borscht making.

But this borscht is Ukrainian borscht

because of the color
and how we cook the beets

and with that sweet sourness, our Kvass.

That is the central component.

Adding beets to
borscht was a Ukrainian adaptation

to the classic dish,

most likely during
the 17th to 18th centuries,

when Ukraine was occupied by Russia.

And, like many other
culturally Ukrainian traditions,

officials in Russia maintain
that these traditions still belong

to Russian identity.

...meaning Ukrainian dishes.

There's a whole section on borscht

and it says this is a dish
typical of Ukrainian kitchen.

When you come to our houses,
we make this for you.

Borscht is like the first thing
you greet your people with.

I mean, why is this so personal to you?

Because I feel like I've always had
to defend who I am.

You know, from a little kid
to an adult and...

I remember ta...
Showing my second-grade teacher,

"This is where I'm from."
She's like, "No, you're Russian."

And, I'm like, "No, this is Ukraine,"
and I knew the outline.

"You sure you're not Russian?

Were... You sure your language
is actually Ukrainian?"

And it was things like that,
because it was the Soviet Union.

The Soviets created to have
this Pan-Soviet identity

that was based on Russian ethnicity
and Russian language.

But it was very important for my parents
to raise us Ukrainian.

But when we came into the public sphere,

we always had to defend ourselves.

Over the 20th century

much of the world assumed Ukraine
was merely a historical part of Russia

and not an independent nation.

So for many Ukrainians,

the battle over borscht
embodies this push and pull

for their identity.

- In a way it's so symbolic...
- Yeah.

...of what the Ukrainians
are fighting for.

- Yeah.
- They're fighting for the freedom

to have their own identity
as a country and a culture.

That... It was my whole life.

For the rest of us in America,

we've only begun
to understand the nuances

separating Russian and Ukrainian culture.

But the community in Little Ukraine

has been insisting
on their culture for the last 100 years.

Ukrainian New Yorkers

continue to keep
their culture alive and vital

at the annual Ukrainian Festival
in the East Village.

I am extremely
delighted to welcome everyone

to our 44th Saint George
Ukrainian Festival.

The festival has
been going on since the '70s

under the patronage
of Saint George Ukrainian Catholic Church.

Thank you,
everybody, who have came here today.

This festival should be
a magnet for anybody

wanting to do more things for Ukraine.

This is Andrij Dobriansky,

one of the most vocal
Ukrainian American activists.

Andrij serves as a community organizer

and the director of the church's choir.

Thank you.

Every single piece is decorated by hand.

It's beautiful.

And this church was built how long ago?

We opened in 1980.

And so at its height,

how big has
the Ukrainian American population been?

Right now, 1.5 million,

but there are lots of people

who have, uh, Ukrainian descent
from that part of the world

- but it wasn't named Ukraine back then.
- Mm-hmm.

People need to recognize that Ukrainians
are a historically oppressed people.

The first time we get something
of a political state in that area

is when the Vikings came down
calling it the Rus' people.

The Polish and Lithuanian commonwealth
ruled for a very long time in that area.

And then you have
the Austro-Hungarians come over

and then Russia became
slowly more and more strong

and then they took over most of Ukraine.

Then things got even worse.

Then in the 20th century,
we have The Holocaust

which took place in Ukraine,

the, uh, Holodomor, the Ukrain...
A genocide against Ukrainians,

all happening within 15 years.

In the 1930s, the Holodomor,

meaning, "death by starvation,"
was led by Joseph Stalin

against Ukrainians.

By confiscating grains
from Ukrainian farmers,

Soviets created a man-made famine.

Even by modest estimates,
they k*lled three million Ukrainians

in just one year.

The goal was to decimate Ukrainian culture
and squash a growing national identity.

Our existence threatened
their idea of having an empire.

My grandfather got arrested several times
for speaking Ukrainian

because our language was literally banned.

- It was banned by the Czar.
- By the Czar.

- By Czar... Yes.
- By Czar Nicholas.

They mock our language,

they mock the fact that we
have political historical events

and, you know, that's part of the problem
of where we are here today.

Now, with Putin intent
on rebuilding a Russian empire

it's no surprise they want to
occupy Ukraine

for their lucrative agriculture,

its crucial access point
to The Black Sea,

and a growing industrial economy.

In short, the same reasons
they did it before.

In addition, in the regions where
Russia has recently gained control,

they are again suppressing
Ukrainian history, language, and identity.

That's why we taught children
for decades

this is what it means to be Ukrainian,

these are Ukrainian poets,
these are Ukrainian songs.

And even though you're coming from
a historically oppressed people

that people may not have heard of
or understood the difference of

be proud of that.
Claim that.

It's great to see now people
recognizing what Ukraine is

but for decades in this country,
it took individual effort.

You know, what does that look like?

Being someone who actively
is fighting for another country...

- Right. Right.
- ...and its sovereignty from America?

Doing it from afar.

There is an expression in our community

and that's the concept
of spiritual citizenship.

So, we're citizens of one country

but we have a spiritual citizenship
to our homeland.

I think the important thing is,

we in this country fought
for decades and decades

to make independence
a reality in Ukraine.

And we are in shock
that it might disappear

just in the last couple of months.

So, that's the hardest part.

While the current
w*r is the painful reminder

of why Ukrainians came to New York
in the first place,

the women
of Saint George's Catholic Church

are undeterred.

Today, like most days,
they're making varenyky.

And I'm here to give it a try.

Okay, the
most important thing is the dough.

Usually made out of water and flour.

And what is in a varenyky?

Potatoes, or cheese, or sauerkraut.

- Many different things.
- Many different things.

Yes.

What is your favorite filling?

It's a light cheddar cheese with onions.

- With little spices and pepper and salt.
- Right. Mm-hmm.

My favorite, favorite varenyky
is from sour cherry.

And when it's cooked and done,
you sprinkle a little sugar.

That sounds delicious.

Yes, it is. Yes, it is.

The worst is blueberry!

The blueberry, 'cause it runs?

My friend, she make varenyky long time.

But, blueberry she says,
"I can't do this. I go."

Thankfully today, we're filling ours

with the traditional mashed potatoes
and onions.

Okay, so I'm taking one
in my left hand like you.

Okay, you're taking one.

Then you take a little bit of potato.
Put it in the middle.

Like a little round thing like this.

And then squish it just a little bit.

- I'm good at squishing.
- Yeah, and then fold it in two,

and close it. Pinch.
Pinch, pinch, pinch, pinch. Done.

Pinch, done! How did I do?

Perfect! Look at that.

- Very nice. Yep.
- Thank you.

How many varenyky do you make?

Before you throw in
the water, you don't count them.

Why don't you count them?

- Because if you count them they are going to open.
- Then they are not to be make.

Oh! So it's bad luck.

- It's a bad luck. I don't know why.
- Oh, my gosh.

- So this is like a superstition, right?
- Superstitious. Yeah, it's...

- Yeah, I love little things like that.
- So do I, yeah.

And you guys raise a
lot of money with these, right?

Yes!

I heard you basically built this church.

- Yes. Yeah. Yeah.
- Yes, they have. Yes, they have.

But everything now is focused on, uh,
helping, uh, humanitarian aid for Ukraine.

When did you come?

I actually came
from Soviet Union in 1990.

One year before the Ukraine
pronounced, uh, independence.

And why did you decide to move here?

I actually didn't decide to move.

We came to visit our uncles
and we just stayed.

I just didn't want
to go back to Soviet Union.

What didn't you want to back to?
What was your life like until then?

Well, my life was good,

but not life of my parents
and my grandparents.

They know. They were there.

Our parents and grandparents
were persecuted,

were k*lled and, uh, sent to Siberia.

And I just saw the opportunity
and I came and I stayed

like, uh, everybody...
Immigrant in this country.

Did you guys return to visit Ukraine?
I know you said you went

- right before the pandemic.
- Many times. Many times, yeah.

And what did you see
in the last few years?

Thriving. Everybody happy, thriving.
People are working.

- Living their lives.
- Yep.

But I want to know you, as Lesia.

- Mm-hmm.
- You know, what? Do you think...

You remember what it was like
to be under Soviet rule.

Yes.

Are you afraid that
it will go back to that?

It never will go back to that.

We have a whole generation of young people
who were born without Soviet Union.

They were born free in a free country.

They will never go back.
It will never happen.

What do you think they'll do,
just fight to the death?

They will fight until they win
and they will win.

'Cause the truth is on our side.

The community
of Saint George Catholic Church

is maintaining the light of hope
in Little Ukraine,

as are many others focused on preserving
the traditions of their homeland.

But what about the people
who didn't grow up there?

How are they connecting
with their Ukrainian identity?

I'm here in Brooklyn

meeting Jessica Quinn,
a Jewish Ukrainian chef

and her wife, Trina.

They're on a mission
to reclaim Jessica's roots

by unveiling it to others
at their pop-up restaurant Dacha 46.

I came up as a pastry chef in restaurants.

I feel like Dacha 46
has been this very cathartic,

like, therapeutic journey for me,

where it was always very much
thought of as being home cooking

so the idea of, you know, cooking it

to sell to the public
never crossed my mind until...

Really?

I think a lot of children of immigrants
feel that way about the food

- they grew up eating.
- Mm-hmm.

But Trina started really getting
familiar with the food and the culture

and she was like,
"You're crazy, like, this food's amazing."

And so I always attribute
the entire inception

and sort of drive behind Dacha 46
with Trina.

That's great.

I feel like I've like, re-fallen in love
with, like, the food through her eyes.

Much of the
inspiration for Dacha 46's menu

stems from Jessica's nostalgia
of childhood.

Ukrainian hand pies like piroshky
transport her back to those early days.

So today we're
making our kapusta piroshky.

- Kapusta piroshky.
- Exactly.

And so kapusta piroshky are
Ukrainian fried yeasted buns.

And our filling is kapusta,
which is cabbage.

We're making our
dough with a few simple ingredients:

Flour, eggs, milk,
yeast, butter, and sugar.

Then rolling it out
and stuffing it with a humble mix

of caramelized cabbage, carrots, onions,
and a hint of tomato paste.

I think cabbage
is an unsung hero of produce.

I'm convinced that people just
don't give it the time that it deserves.

Yes, because it will sweeten
and caramelize.

Mm-hmm. Right.

Okay, how are we going to make it?

So the dough is very easy.

The milk's going to go right into
our yeast and our sugar mixture.

So I just give it a little stir,

and then just leave it alone
for like 5, 10 minutes

just until the yeast comes to life.

- And I can smell it.
- Uh-huh. It smells like home.

Home was Long Island to Jessica.

But her second home?

An enclave of Brooklyn
called Brighton Beach.

Here, this delicious comfort food
could be found on every corner.

- And then we'll add the flour and egg.
- Yep.

And then the last thing is going to be
our melted and slightly cooled butter.

You know, when we would go to Brighten

there used to be an abundance
of piroshky stands that you could go to.

We would get piroshky
for the car ride back.

- Mm-hmm.
- And so for me,

just, like, the smell of them,
I'm, like, transported back to the car.

- Okay, so now we're going to make the filling.
- Yes.

For the kapusta filling
all you're going to do

is you're going to take your butter

and you're going to saute
your onions and your carrots,

with your salt, pepper, and tomato paste
until it gets really deeply caramelized.

And then we're going to add
our shredded cabbage to it

until it's really just
very soft and tender.

Although Jessica has fond
memories of the food she grew up with,

she also felt uneasy
about expressing her identity.

Coming out as a g*y woman

with this background
was really challenging for me.

The culture is very
sort of staunch in tradition

and gender roles, and so...

It's very conservative
as far as LGBTQ stuff.

Yeah, they're... It's still not
the most open region

with the q*eer community.
And there's, you know,

there's definitely a lot of progress
to be made.

Were your parents okay with Trina
when you did introduce her?

It... Not right away.

You know, when you're younger
you kind of think

that they're the ones
that are overreacting.

And, like, you don't really understand it.

But the more I learn
about what my roots are

and where they came from,

I can understand that they grew up as Jews
in the former Soviet Union

and standing out wasn't
something that you wanted,

you wanted to blend.

I felt like I needed
to almost make a choice.

You know, will I be Latvian Ukrainian
or am I going to be g*y?

I didn't think that I could be both.

And, you know, through Dacha 46,

the reality now is that I get
to celebrate my culture.

I get to celebrate the language
and the food I grew up eating

with my wife by my side.

But I never thought
that would be a reality.

So in a way, finding love...

...also brought you closer to the food
of the people you love?

Yeah. And, and to get to do it together
for me is really what makes it so special.

Mm.

It smells so buttery.

But it has that
really nice sweetness to it.

So you have your dough filled.

And pinch the sides up together.

And you want to really seal it

'cause when you fry it
and it's not sealed really well

- the f... the filling sort of wants to kind of escape.
- Mm-hmm.

Okay. JESSICA: So the secret to
these is always seam side down.

- Okay.
- And then really,

it just about two to three minutes
on each side.

You just want them to be really
nicely deeply golden brown.

Beautiful.

These look amazing.

Ooh, it's oozing. It... Oh, wow.

Look how like juicy that is.

Oh, my God.

- It's so good. It's sweet...
- Mm-hmm.

- ...and tangy and buttery.
- It's still super savory.

Who knew that carrots and cabbage
could taste so delicious?

- Just with a little...
- Ukrainians.

- Slava Ukraini!
- Slava Ukraini!

Now that Jessica
can be her whole and full self,

she wants to celebrate

the bounty of the food
she adores with others.

Champagne, pickles, vodka,
my kinda party.

- Those are some babushka- level piroshkys.
- Thank you.

What is... What is " babushka level"?
That's like grandma level.

- Grandma level.
- Like grandma level.

- Okay.
- Look at all this glorious food.

You can borscht me up.

So is borscht Ukrainian specifically?
Tell me why?

I think it depends who you ask.

- Like, I love that Asya can do it.
- You say, there's your answer.

- That is a loaded question.
- Why?

I think If you ask
any Ukrainian person,

- they will absolutely say that it's from Ukraine.
- 1,000%. Yes.

A thousand percent, yes.

And they will also, almost definitely even
say the city in Ukraine that it came from.

What, what city is it?

My Dad will say that it came
from Odessa, um, in the south.

But if, if you ask Russian people,
100% they will say that it's Russian.

And you just can't bridge that gap.

The debate between
Ukrainians and Russians may continue,

but the world has recognized
beet borscht as Ukrainian.

In fact, UNESCO has listed
this dish as endangered

because of the recent conflict.

And the spelling has also
sparked a new debate.

JESSICA. People wanted to
know where the T came from.

And in Yiddish the way they pronounced it,
there was the "T" sound in it.

And I was like, I guess it's more of like,
that Ashkenazi, you know,

Jewish Eastern European thing.

Being Jewish in the Soviet Union
was definitely its own thing.

Like, you were not... You were neither
Ukrainian nor Russian, you were Jewish.

If you hear my mom tell stories
about her childhood,

there were only three Jewish people
that are allowed into the universities.

And, like, my mom always says
the government was antisemitic.

And so, being an Ashkenazi Jew
is a nationality.

That's what was in my parents' passports.

- It's on my family's passports too.
- Exactly.

That's so interesting.

- So they would identify as that versus Ukrainian or Russian.
- Yep, yeah.

Interesting. LANI HALLIDAY: So,
wait, so, but the through line is the food

because there's the crossover
of this Jewish Nationality

and then there's this like,
Ukrainian food, but they, they meet,

there's overlap. Right?

For me, at the end of the day,

I look at this table
and I look at all of this food

and I see my family's story and history.

And this is my way of continuing.

- Of, of being tethered still.
- Exactly.

- Of fighting for your own culture.
- Exactly.

For me, that, you know,
there's nothing more special than that

and getting to share it with all of you.

Aw.

Cheers.

Like Jessica's family,
Soviet Jews fleeing persecution

arrived and formed a community
in Brooklyn's Brighton Beach.

But unlike the Catholic community
in Manhattan,

they didn't often feel connected
to Ukrainian identity.

Have any of those old feelings changed?

On the shores of
Brooklyn in Brighton Beach,

lives the community of Little Odessa...

a microcosm of the former Soviet Union.

Only here, all ethnicities
are able to coexist.

Especially at the Babushka Pageant.

A yearly contest where they compete

for the title
of "Your Highness Grandmother."

Lyudmila Gladkovitser.

Mother of two sons and six grandchildren.

I kind of like the idea of
honoring our matriarchs in this pageant.

And today, the babushka
representing Ukraine

is teaching me how to cook borscht.

And you're using veal,
with the bone, veal chop?

And why veal over beef or chicken?

No. I like only veal.

Grandma's recipes always taste the best

and Lyudmila's is no exception.

Her warm, comforting borscht
is loaded with tender meat,

sweet vegetables, potatoes, beans,

and of course, lots of beets.

I didn't do it good enough,
you have to do it? Is that what it is?

How old were you
when you first started cooking?

Do you remember?

Now, the carrots?

- I am. I am. I am. I'm getting there.
- Alright. Alright. Alright.

You need a food processor.

Can you describe for me what it was like
to be Ukrainian under Soviet rule?

How did you feel? Did you feel Ukrainian?

You never felt Ukrainian at all?

Do you feel anymore loyalty now?

Lyudmila has had a change of heart.

She now empathizes with a place
where she once felt ostracized.

But luckily, one thing that never changed,
was her borscht.

- It's delicious. It's so good.
- Delicious.

- Thank you for teaching me how to make your borscht.
- Okay.

While the w*r rages on across an ocean,

it's apparent that Ukrainians here
feel a stronger pull than ever before.

Today we just
ask for peace in the Ukraine.

They're professing
their love for Ukraine anew

and showing us
what distinguishes their culture.

I think a lot of us Ukrainian Americans
just want to scream it out loud

that, "I am Ukrainian! I am from there!"

There's so much food everywhere,
all the music, all the art,

all the beautiful clothing.

I feel completely surrounded by support
and love for Ukraine.

My hope for this community

is that they continue
to grow stronger and prouder

whether on American soil or afar.

Delicious!