Sichenyky (січеники, hand-chopped pork patties)

The sound tells you before the pan does: chop, gather, turn the pork, chop again, until the board is sticky and the pieces are small but still themselves. Sichenyky are not smooth cutlets. They are chopped by hand, bound just enough with egg and a little bread, then fried until the edges go bronze and the kitchen smells like onions turning sweet in sunflower oil.

This is weeknight food with a good backbone. You can make it from shoulder, collar, or a piece of pork that was never fancy, because the knife tenderizes what the butcher didn't. Aunt Nadia wrote only "cut small, not like mince," which took me three attempts and one very smug phone call to understand. You want texture, not paste.

The one why is simple: chopped meat holds little pockets of juice. Ground pork gives you softness all the way through, which is pleasant, but hand-chopped pork gives you a patty that bites back. Serve them with mashed potatoes, buckwheat, cucumber pickles, or a spoon of smetana with dill. Enough for eight guests or one hungry Ukrainian.