Ukha is thin hot fish dish, somewhat reminiscent of fish soup. Zaporizhian Cossacks used to cook it during their campaigns, since they could catch fish in the river, and vegetables were always at hand.
Different fish - mostly crucian, perch, redeye, carp - is used for making ukha. At the same time it is not recommended to make ukha from herrings, bream, roach, Caspian roach and sea roach. Firstly, the broth is made out of fish: it is boiled at low heat, without bringing to vigorous boil. Boiling time depends not so much on fish kind as on fish size: the larger the fish is, the longer it is cooked. The dish's specific is its totally transparent broth.
Then vegetables and different spices - from black pepper to saffron - are added to the broth and attach rich aroma to it. You can also give unusual taste to ukha by adding 50-100 g of vodka.
Ukha is the first course that may be served to festive or everyday table. The same as kulish, it is better to cook ukha outdoors.