Mongolian cuisine
Encyclopedia
Mongolian cuisine refers to the local culinary traditions of Mongolia
and Mongolian
styled dishes. The extreme continental climate has affected the traditional diet, so the Mongolian cuisine primarily consists of dairy products, meat
, and animal fats. Use of vegetables and spice
s is limited. Due to geographic proximity and deep historic ties with China
and Russia
, Mongolian cuisine is also influenced by Chinese
and Russian cuisine
.
The nomads of Mongolia
sustain their lives directly from the products of domesticated animals such as cattle
, horse
s, camel
s, yak
s, sheep, and goat
s, and sometimes game
. Meat is either cooked, used as an ingredient for soups or dumplings (buuz
/khuushuur
/bansh), or dried for winter (borts). The Mongolian diet includes a large proportion of animal fat which is necessary for the Mongols to withstand the cold winters and their hard work. Winter temperatures are as low as −40 °C/°F and outdoor work requires sufficient energy reserves. Milk and cream are used to make a variety of beverages, as well as cheese and similar products.
The nomads on the countryside are self-supporting by principle. Travellers will find yurt
s marked as "guanz" in regular intervals near the roadside, which operate as simple restaurants. In the yurt, which is a portable dwelling structure, Mongolians usually cook in a cast-iron or aluminium pot on a small stove, using wood or dried animal dung (argal) as fuel.
The most common rural dish is cooked mutton, often without any other ingredients. In the city, every other locale displays a sign saying "buuz
". Those are dumpling
s filled with meat, which are cooked in steam. Other types of dumplings are boiled in water ("Bansh"), or deep fried in mutton
fat ("Khuushuur
"). Other dishes combine the meat with rice or fresh noodles into various stew
s (tsuivan, budaatai huurga) or noodle
soup
s (guriltai shol).
The most surprising cooking method is only used on special occasions. In this case, the meat (often together with vegetables) gets cooked with the help of stones, which have been preheated in a fire. This either happens with chunks of mutton in a sealed milk can ("Khorkhog
"), or within the abdominal cavity of a deboned goat or marmot
("Boodog").
Milk is boiled to separate the cream (öröm, clotted cream
). The remaining skimmed milk is processed into cheese ("byaslag"), dried curds (aaruul), yoghurt
, kefir
, as well as a light milk liquor ("Shimiin Arkhi"). The most prominent national beverage is airag
, fermented mare
's milk. A popular cereal is barley
, which is fried and malted. The resulting flour (arvain guril) is eaten as a porridge in milk fat and sugar or drunk mixed in milk tea. The everyday beverage is salted milk tea ("Süütei Tsai"), which may turn into a robust soup by adding rice, meat, or Bansh. As a consequence of the Russian influence during socialism, vodka
also has gained some popularity with a surprising number of local brands (usually grain spirits).
Horse meat
is eaten in Mongolia and can be found in grocery stores.
For dessert, Mongolians have boortsog
, a type of Mongolian biscuit
or cookie
.
will always be given something to eat. It is extremely rude to reject the offer, but it isn't necessary to empty the bowl either. Taking a small bite or a sip satisfies the etiquette, and the rest may be returned without difficulty. An empty bowl will be refilled immediately. Food (as well as other items) are always passed and received with the right hand, while the left hand touches the right elbow for symbolic support.
." Their staff will stir fry all kinds of ingredients (typically of East Asian origin) in front of the customer on a large heated steel or stone plate. Although one such locale, BD's Mongolian Grill, has opened even in Ulaanbaatar
(ironically the first American chain to open in Mongolia), neither the ingredients nor the cooking method has anything in common with Mongolian cuisine. Rather, they are inspired by the Japanese
teppanyaki
. Another deceptive meal is the "Mongolian Beef
" sold in many Western restaurants. The narrowly sliced beef stir-fried with vegetables may have its origin in American Chinese cuisine
and is unrelated to Mongolian cooking.
Mongolia
Mongolia is a landlocked country in East and Central Asia. It is bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south, east and west. Although Mongolia does not share a border with Kazakhstan, its western-most point is only from Kazakhstan's eastern tip. Ulan Bator, the capital and largest...
and Mongolian
Mongols
Mongols ) are a Central-East Asian ethnic group that lives mainly in the countries of Mongolia, China, and Russia. In China, ethnic Mongols can be found mainly in the central north region of China such as Inner Mongolia...
styled dishes. The extreme continental climate has affected the traditional diet, so the Mongolian cuisine primarily consists of dairy products, meat
Meat
Meat is animal flesh that is used as food. Most often, this means the skeletal muscle and associated fat and other tissues, but it may also describe other edible tissues such as organs and offal...
, and animal fats. Use of vegetables and spice
Spice
A spice is a dried seed, fruit, root, bark, or vegetative substance used in nutritionally insignificant quantities as a food additive for flavor, color, or as a preservative that kills harmful bacteria or prevents their growth. It may be used to flavour a dish or to hide other flavours...
s is limited. Due to geographic proximity and deep historic ties with China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
and Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
, Mongolian cuisine is also influenced by Chinese
Chinese cuisine
Chinese cuisine is any of several styles originating in the regions of China, some of which have become highly popular in other parts of the world – from Asia to the Americas, Australia, Western Europe and Southern Africa...
and Russian cuisine
Russian cuisine
Russian cuisine is diverse, as Russia is the largest country in the world. Russian cuisine derives its varied character from the vast and multi-cultural expanse of Russia. Its foundations were laid by the peasant food of the rural population in an often harsh climate, with a combination of...
.
Features
Mongolia
Mongolia is a landlocked country in East and Central Asia. It is bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south, east and west. Although Mongolia does not share a border with Kazakhstan, its western-most point is only from Kazakhstan's eastern tip. Ulan Bator, the capital and largest...
sustain their lives directly from the products of domesticated animals such as cattle
Cattle
Cattle are the most common type of large domesticated ungulates. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae, are the most widespread species of the genus Bos, and are most commonly classified collectively as Bos primigenius...
, horse
Horse
The horse is one of two extant subspecies of Equus ferus, or the wild horse. It is a single-hooved mammal belonging to the taxonomic family Equidae. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 million years from a small multi-toed creature into the large, single-toed animal of today...
s, camel
Camel
A camel is an even-toed ungulate within the genus Camelus, bearing distinctive fatty deposits known as humps on its back. There are two species of camels: the dromedary or Arabian camel has a single hump, and the bactrian has two humps. Dromedaries are native to the dry desert areas of West Asia,...
s, yak
Yak
The yak, Bos grunniens or Bos mutus, is a long-haired bovine found throughout the Himalayan region of south Central Asia, the Tibetan Plateau and as far north as Mongolia and Russia. In addition to a large domestic population, there is a small, vulnerable wild yak population...
s, sheep, and goat
Goat
The domestic goat is a subspecies of goat domesticated from the wild goat of southwest Asia and Eastern Europe. The goat is a member of the Bovidae family and is closely related to the sheep as both are in the goat-antelope subfamily Caprinae. There are over three hundred distinct breeds of...
s, and sometimes game
Game (food)
Game is any animal hunted for food or not normally domesticated. Game animals are also hunted for sport.The type and range of animals hunted for food varies in different parts of the world. This will be influenced by climate, animal diversity, local taste and locally accepted view about what can or...
. Meat is either cooked, used as an ingredient for soups or dumplings (buuz
Buuz
Buuz are a type of Mongolian steamed dumpling filled with minced mutton, or beef meat. The meat is flavoured with onion or garlic and salted. Occasionally, they are flavoured with sprouted fennel seeds and other seasonal herbs...
/khuushuur
Khuushuur
Khuushuur is a kind of meat pastry or dumpling popular in Mongolia, similar to Russian and other cuisines' chiburekki. The meat, either beef or mutton, is ground up and mixed with onion salt and other spices. The cook rolls the dough into circles, then places the meat inside the dough and folds...
/bansh), or dried for winter (borts). The Mongolian diet includes a large proportion of animal fat which is necessary for the Mongols to withstand the cold winters and their hard work. Winter temperatures are as low as −40 °C/°F and outdoor work requires sufficient energy reserves. Milk and cream are used to make a variety of beverages, as well as cheese and similar products.
The nomads on the countryside are self-supporting by principle. Travellers will find yurt
Yurt
A yurt is a portable, bent wood-framed dwelling structure traditionally used by Turkic nomads in the steppes of Central Asia. The structure comprises a crown or compression wheel usually steam bent, supported by roof ribs which are bent down at the end where they meet the lattice wall...
s marked as "guanz" in regular intervals near the roadside, which operate as simple restaurants. In the yurt, which is a portable dwelling structure, Mongolians usually cook in a cast-iron or aluminium pot on a small stove, using wood or dried animal dung (argal) as fuel.
Typical dishes
Buuz
Buuz are a type of Mongolian steamed dumpling filled with minced mutton, or beef meat. The meat is flavoured with onion or garlic and salted. Occasionally, they are flavoured with sprouted fennel seeds and other seasonal herbs...
". Those are dumpling
Dumpling
Dumplings are cooked balls of dough. They are based on flour, potatoes or bread, and may include meat, fish, vegetables, or sweets. They may be cooked by boiling, steaming, simmering, frying, or baking. They may have a filling, or there may be other ingredients mixed into the dough. Dumplings may...
s filled with meat, which are cooked in steam. Other types of dumplings are boiled in water ("Bansh"), or deep fried in mutton
Lamb (food)
Lamb, mutton, and hogget are the meat of domestic sheep. The meat of a sheep in its first year is lamb; that of a juvenile sheep older than 1 year is hogget; and the meat of an adult sheep is mutton....
fat ("Khuushuur
Khuushuur
Khuushuur is a kind of meat pastry or dumpling popular in Mongolia, similar to Russian and other cuisines' chiburekki. The meat, either beef or mutton, is ground up and mixed with onion salt and other spices. The cook rolls the dough into circles, then places the meat inside the dough and folds...
"). Other dishes combine the meat with rice or fresh noodles into various stew
Stew
A stew is a combination of solid food ingredients that have been cooked in liquid and served in the resultant gravy. Ingredients in a stew can include any combination of vegetables , meat, especially tougher meats suitable for slow-cooking, such as beef. Poultry, sausages, and seafood are also used...
s (tsuivan, budaatai huurga) or noodle
Noodle
The noodle is a type of food, made from any of a variety of doughs, formed into long thin ribbons, strips, curly-cues, waves, helices, pipes, tubes, strings, or other various shapes, sometimes folded. They are usually cooked in a mixture of boiling water and/or oil. Depending upon the type, noodles...
soup
Soup
Soup is a generally warm food that is made by combining ingredients such as meat and vegetables with stock, juice, water, or another liquid. Hot soups are additionally characterized by boiling solid ingredients in liquids in a pot until the flavors are extracted, forming a broth.Traditionally,...
s (guriltai shol).
The most surprising cooking method is only used on special occasions. In this case, the meat (often together with vegetables) gets cooked with the help of stones, which have been preheated in a fire. This either happens with chunks of mutton in a sealed milk can ("Khorkhog
Khorkhog
Khorkhog is a traditional Mongolian barbecue dish and an authentic example of Mongolian cuisine. Khorkhog is made by cooking pieces of meat inside a container which also contains hot stones and water, and is often also heated from the outside.-Preparation:...
"), or within the abdominal cavity of a deboned goat or marmot
Marmot
The marmots are a genus, Marmota, of squirrels. There are 14 species in this genus.Marmots are generally large ground squirrels. Those most often referred to as marmots tend to live in mountainous areas such as the Alps, northern Apennines, Eurasian steppes, Carpathians, Tatras, and Pyrenees in...
("Boodog").
Milk is boiled to separate the cream (öröm, clotted cream
Clotted cream
Clotted cream is a thick cream made by indirectly heating full-cream cow's milk using steam or a water bath and then leaving it in shallow pans to cool slowly. During this time, the cream content rises to the surface and forms 'clots' or 'clouts'...
). The remaining skimmed milk is processed into cheese ("byaslag"), dried curds (aaruul), yoghurt
Yoghurt
Yoghurt, yogurt or yogourt is a dairy product produced by bacterial fermentation of milk. The bacteria used to make yoghurt are known as "yoghurt cultures"...
, kefir
Kefir
Kefir is a fermented milk drink that originated with shepherds of the North Caucasus region, who discovered that fresh milk carried in leather pouches would occasionally ferment into an effervescent beverage...
, as well as a light milk liquor ("Shimiin Arkhi"). The most prominent national beverage is airag
Kumis
Kumis, also spelled kumiss or koumiss in English is a fermented dairy product traditionally made from mare's milk. The drink remains important to the peoples of the Central Asian steppes, of Turkic and Mongol origin: Bashkirs, Kazakhs, Kyrgyz, Yakuts, Mongols and Kalmyks...
, fermented mare
Mare (horse)
A mare is an adult female horse or other equine.In most cases, a mare is a female horse over the age of three, and a filly is a female horse age three and younger. However, in Thoroughbred horse racing, a mare is defined as a female horse more than four years old; in harness racing a mare is a...
's milk. A popular cereal is barley
Barley
Barley is a major cereal grain, a member of the grass family. It serves as a major animal fodder, as a base malt for beer and certain distilled beverages, and as a component of various health foods...
, which is fried and malted. The resulting flour (arvain guril) is eaten as a porridge in milk fat and sugar or drunk mixed in milk tea. The everyday beverage is salted milk tea ("Süütei Tsai"), which may turn into a robust soup by adding rice, meat, or Bansh. As a consequence of the Russian influence during socialism, vodka
Vodka
Vodka , is a distilled beverage. It is composed primarily of water and ethanol with traces of impurities and flavorings. Vodka is made by the distillation of fermented substances such as grains, potatoes, or sometimes fruits....
also has gained some popularity with a surprising number of local brands (usually grain spirits).
Horse meat
Horse meat
Horse meat is the culinary name for meat cut from a horse. It is a major meat in only a few countries, notably in Central Asia, but it forms a significant part of the culinary traditions of many others, from Europe to South America to Asia. The top eight countries consume about 4.7 million horses...
is eaten in Mongolia and can be found in grocery stores.
For dessert, Mongolians have boortsog
Boortsog
Boortsog, boorsoq, or baursak is a type of fried dough found in the cuisines of Central Asia, Idel-Ural, and Mongolia, being an "authentic example" of Mongolian cuisine...
, a type of Mongolian biscuit
Biscuit
A biscuit is a baked, edible, and commonly flour-based product. The term is used to apply to two distinctly different products in North America and the Commonwealth Nations....
or cookie
Cookie
In the United States and Canada, a cookie is a small, flat, baked treat, usually containing fat, flour, eggs and sugar. In most English-speaking countries outside North America, the most common word for this is biscuit; in many regions both terms are used, while in others the two words have...
.
Hospitality
A guest entering a yurtYurt
A yurt is a portable, bent wood-framed dwelling structure traditionally used by Turkic nomads in the steppes of Central Asia. The structure comprises a crown or compression wheel usually steam bent, supported by roof ribs which are bent down at the end where they meet the lattice wall...
will always be given something to eat. It is extremely rude to reject the offer, but it isn't necessary to empty the bowl either. Taking a small bite or a sip satisfies the etiquette, and the rest may be returned without difficulty. An empty bowl will be refilled immediately. Food (as well as other items) are always passed and received with the right hand, while the left hand touches the right elbow for symbolic support.
Misunderstandings
Some restaurants in East Asia, Europe, and North America offer a type of cuisine called "Mongolian barbecueMongolian barbecue
Mongolian barbecue is a stir fried dish that was developed in Taiwanese restaurants in the 1970s. Meat and vegetables are cooked in large, round, solid iron griddles at temperatures of up to 300 °C...
." Their staff will stir fry all kinds of ingredients (typically of East Asian origin) in front of the customer on a large heated steel or stone plate. Although one such locale, BD's Mongolian Grill, has opened even in Ulaanbaatar
Ulaanbaatar
Ulan Bator or Ulaanbaatar is the capital and largest city of Mongolia. An independent municipality, the city is not part of any province, and its population as of 2008 is over one million....
(ironically the first American chain to open in Mongolia), neither the ingredients nor the cooking method has anything in common with Mongolian cuisine. Rather, they are inspired by the Japanese
Japanese cuisine
Japanese cuisine has developed over the centuries as a result of many political and social changes throughout Japan. The cuisine eventually changed with the advent of the Medieval age which ushered in a shedding of elitism with the age of shogun rule...
teppanyaki
Teppanyaki
is a style of Japanese cuisine that uses an iron griddle to cook food. The word teppanyaki is derived from teppan , which means iron plate, and yaki , which means grilled, broiled or pan-fried...
. Another deceptive meal is the "Mongolian Beef
Mongolian beef
Mongolian beef is a dish served in Chinese-American restaurants consisting of sliced beef, typically flank steak, and stir-fried with vegetables in a savory brown sauce, usually made with hoisin sauce, soy sauce, and chili peppers. The beef is commonly paired with scallions or mixed vegetables and...
" sold in many Western restaurants. The narrowly sliced beef stir-fried with vegetables may have its origin in American Chinese cuisine
American Chinese cuisine
American Chinese cuisine refers to the style of food served by many Chinese restaurants in the United States. This type of cooking typically caters to Western tastes, and differs significantly from the original Chinese cuisine.-History:...
and is unrelated to Mongolian cooking.