How Sushi Became a Favorite Meal for Ukrainian Troops

In taste and texture, most sushi is about as far from traditional Ukrainian food as you can get. Ukrainian cuisine typically emphasizes foods like varenyky and borscht and buckwheat—and there’s often a hefty serving of smetana, a sort of sour cream, but as happens in nearly every cultural food mashup in societies around the world, Ukrainians added a personal twist on their sushi-eating habits.

“In post-Soviet Union countries, it was quite typical to have a mixture of milk and fish products, fish with mayonnaise in a salad, stuff like that,” says Ukrainian chef Serhii Khehai, who manages a high-end Kyiv sushi counter called Shima.

And these combinations have found their way into Ukrainian sushi menus. “I’ve personally tried various adaptations of sushi, like sushi with mashed potatoes and herring, or rolls with beetroot and salmon, for example,” says Nasonova. The experimentation led itself naturally to sushi paired with cream cheese, or mayonnaise, or other types of cream sauces – a departure from the subtle flavors of traditional Japanese cuisine. The country’s favorite type of sushi, by far, is the Philadelphia Roll – the sushi characterized by cream cheese paired with raw or cooked fish.

Cream cheese is popular sushi roll ingredient in Ukraine.

A person preparing to make a sushi roll.

The final touches on a Philadelphia Roll.

Sushiya has no less than 34 versions of the Philadelphia Roll on its menu, such as the ‘Philadelphia Grilled Greens with Salmon Well Done,' which features salmon stewed in soy sauce, cream cheese,and cheddar cheese, topped with some onion crumble; or a version with mussels, tomato, crab mix, avocado, shaved tuna and cream cheese.

“A Japanese person who eats sushi as an everyday food would be surprised by the variety of our menu… we’re not afraid to surprise, adding something of our own,” said Artem Mykhailenko, a Sushiya employee at the Independence Square location.

Chef Serhii Khehai manages the high-end Kyiv sushi counter Shima.

Getting fresh raw fish into the country has been a challenge in a period of wartime, when all flights are grounded. Ukraine’s only nearby major body of water is the Black Sea, where ongoing military operations are underway.