Ciorbă de Afumătură
Keto Smoked Meat Soup
Yes, with a tweak: omit all potatoes, carrots, parsnips, or other high-carb root vegetables. About 14g net carbs per serving, on the higher side for Romanian food, so watch the portion.
What it is
A hearty and flavorful sour soup, rich with smoked pork (e.g., ribs, bacon, or hock) and low-carb vegetables, seasoned with traditional Romanian borsh (fermented wheat bran liquid) or vinegar for tanginess. Modified to be free of high-carb root vegetables.
Key ingredients
Smoked pork (ribs/belly/hock), cabbage, onion, bell pepper, canned tomatoes (minimal), traditional souring agent (borsh/vinegar), lard or oil, salt, pepper.
How to make it keto
Crucially, omit all potatoes, carrots, parsnips, or other high-carb root vegetables. Ensure no rice or noodles are added. Ask for a more concentrated broth if possible.
Say this to the waiter (Romanian)
Ciorbă de Afumătură, vă rog, dar fără cartofi, morcovi, păstârnac, orez sau tăiței. Se poate face bulionul mai concentrat?
Ciorbă de Afumătură, please, no potatoes, carrots, parsnips, rice, or noodles. Can the broth be more concentrated?
Watch out for
Potatoes, carrots, parsnips, or other root vegetables. Rice or noodles. Hidden sugars in tomato paste/canned tomatoes.
Macros are estimates for a typical serving and vary by restaurant. Confirm ingredients with staff, especially if you have allergies. Our ingredient lists are generated automatically and describe how a dish is typically made.
More on the Romanian menuAll 218 Romanian dishes ›
