Asia → Uzbekistan → Tashkent
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Tashkent Salad (Uzbek Radish and Beef Salad)
Crisp julienned green radish tossed with strips of boiled beef and golden fried onion, dressed with a little mayonnaise and crowned with boiled egg and herbs.
Uzbek · easy · serves 4
prep 30 min · cook 60 min · plus 30 min hands-off time
~539 cal · 33g protein · 12g carbs · 39g fat · 4g fiber · 7g sugars · 10g sat fat (estimated, per serving)
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The Tashkent salad is one of the cold dishes that open an Uzbek meal, set out on the table with bread, tea and other salads before the hot food arrives. It is named after the capital, and the usual story is that it was put together in Soviet times, when restaurants were asked to present each republic's cooking; one version credits a Tashkent chef working in Moscow.
It is built on green radish, the long, pale green Central Asian radish, cut into fine matchsticks and soaked or salted to soften its bite. Boiled beef or mutton is cut into strips to match, and onion is fried slowly until golden and sweet. Everything is folded together with salt, black pepper and just enough mayonnaise to bind.
It is finished at the table with quartered or sliced boiled eggs and a scatter of coriander, dill or spring onion. Outside Central Asia, daikon is the usual stand-in for green radish.
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Make it yours
✓ Naturally gluten-, dairy-, nut- and pork-free. No swaps needed.
Toggle a diet and the ingredients rewrite themselves with regional substitutes.
🥕 Vegetarian
🌱 Vegan
🌾 Gluten-Free
🥛 Dairy-Free
🥜 Nut-Free
🥚 Egg-Free
🐖 Pork-Free
Dietary labels are a cooking guide, not allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we count coconut as a tree nut, following FDA labeling), fish, and shellfish; we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, read the label on every product you use, and note that a kitchen can cross-contaminate in ways a recipe cannot control.
Ingredients
US
Metric
Serves 4
- 400 g beef (brisket or shoulder), in one piece
- 1 bay leaf
- 800 g green radish (or daikon)
- 1 tsp salt, plus more for the cooking water
- 1 large onion, thinly sliced
- 3 tbsp sunflower oil
- 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
- 4 tbsp mayonnaise
- 3 hard-boiled eggs
- 2 tbsp fresh coriander or dill, chopped
Instructions
- 1Put the beef and bay leaf in a pan, cover with water, add a good pinch of salt and bring to a boil. Skim, then simmer gently for about 1 hour, until tender. Let it cool in the broth, then cut it into thin strips.
- 2Meanwhile peel the radish and cut it into fine matchsticks. Cover with cold water and leave for 15 to 30 minutes to take the edge off its bite, then drain and squeeze dry in a cloth.✎ Chef’s noteGreen radish can be fiery. Soaking it in cold water, or salting it and squeezing out the juice, is how Uzbek cooks tame it; daikon needs only a short soak.
- 3Heat the oil in a frying pan over medium heat and fry the onion for 10 to 12 minutes, stirring, until soft and deep golden. Lift it out with a slotted spoon and let it cool.
- 4In a large bowl toss the radish, beef and onion with the salt and pepper, then fold in the mayonnaise until just coated.
- 5Pile onto a plate, top with the quartered eggs and the herbs, and serve cool as a first course with bread.
Tashkent restaurant and home tradition.
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🌏 While it simmers, know your destination
📍
Tashkent. Uzbek regions differ in method, not just recipe. Tashkent browns the meat, boils the carrots with it and steams the rice on top so the whole thing cooks in one kazan, while Samarkand cooks the components separately and layers them in the pot. Thursday, the old market day, is traditionally when it gets made.
🗺️
Uzbekistan. Uzbek non is stamped before baking with a chekich, a handled block of nails that punches a pattern into the middle of the loaf. The pattern is decorative and functional at once, holding the centre flat so only the rim rises and letting steam escape, and bakers use their own designs as signatures. Bread here is torn by hand, never cut.
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Asia. Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, and its food spans the delicate seasonality of Japanese washoku, the chili-fired curries of India and Thailand, and the wheat-and-lamb traditions of Central Asia. Rice, noodles, soy, and fermentation recur across its regions, while ancient spice routes and religious traditions shaped distinct grammars of flavor. Whether from a street-cart wok or a monastery kitchen, eating is deeply communal and ritual-rich.
The story behind this dish is up top, worth a read while the pot works.
More from Uzbekistan
Uzbek PlovSilk Road rice cooked in one kazan with lamb, mountains of carrots, cumin, and whole garlic heads.
KatlamaFlaky, layered pan-fried flatbread brushed with oil and folded, a Central Asian morning staple.
SamsaFlaky baked pastries filled with spiced lamb and onion, blistered golden in a tandoor, a Silk Road staple.
Browse all Uzbekistan recipes →
Good to know
You’ll need: Skillet or frying pan.
Storing it: Best assembled just before serving. Prep the components ahead and dress at the last moment so it stays crisp.
Make it an Uzbekistan meal
Kok Choy (Uzbek Green Tea)Drink
Chak-ChakDessert
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Cuisine
Diet
Frequently asked questions
What is Tashkent Salad (Uzbek Radish and Beef Salad)?
Crisp julienned green radish tossed with strips of boiled beef and golden fried onion, dressed with a little mayonnaise and crowned with boiled egg and herbs.
Where does Tashkent Salad (Uzbek Radish and Beef Salad) come from?
Tashkent Salad (Uzbek Radish and Beef Salad) is an Uzbek dish from Tashkent, Uzbekistan.
Can Tashkent Salad (Uzbek Radish and Beef Salad) be made vegan, gluten-free, or dairy-free?
This Tashkent Salad (Uzbek Radish and Beef Salad) recipe includes substitution suggestions for vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, nut-free, egg-free, and pork-free versions. Treat the substitutions as a starting guide rather than a guarantee, and see the allergen note below.
Is Tashkent Salad (Uzbek Radish and Beef Salad) safe for people with food allergies?
Our dietary labels and substitutions are a cooking guide, not medical or allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we still count coconut as a tree nut to be cautious, although the FDA stopped listing it as one in 2025), fish, and shellfish, but we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, always read the label on every product you use, and remember a home or commercial kitchen can cross-contaminate ingredients in ways a recipe cannot control.
How long does Tashkent Salad (Uzbek Radish and Beef Salad) take to make?
About 2 h in all: 30 minutes prep and 60 minutes cooking, plus 30 min of hands-off waiting the method needs, serving 4.
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