Mongolia is country with a rich cuisine. According to historians Mongolian dishes have been influenced by Russian and Chinees food cultures. Mongolians doesn’t use vegetables in their dishes very commonly. The meat of horse, yak, beef, lamb and even camel is used to prepare their traditional food dishes.
Buuz
This list of traditional meals from Mongolia is worthless if I didn’t start it with Buuz. It is the well-known meat-filled Mongolian version of dumplings. It is a national dish of Mongolia that is often eaten to celebrate the Mongolian Lunar New Year. Fatty Mongolian meals like buuz assist locals survive the country’s severe winters since the “Siberian High” affects it in the winter very harshly. The dumplings are often cooked with a simple wheat dough stuffed with a combination of lamb, tail fat, and other seasonings including onions, victory onions, and caraway. The recipie might differ from cook to cook.
In Mongolia, buuz can take many different shapes. When they are folded and shaped like different things they are named accordingly. For instance, there are “flower buuz,” “sheep buzz,” or “lazy buuz,” respectively. As their names indicate, lazy buuz is the simplest and fastest to manufacture, whereas flower buuz resembles a flower. The flour dough which is used to prepare buuz is prepared by cutting it into pieces around the size of your hand. Then, the meat mixture is rolled out flat and placed inside before being folded and cinched together. After being cooked for roughly twenty minutes, the dumplings are then eaten by hand.
Khuushuur
There is another form of the Mongolian beef dumplings known as khuushuur. Although the filling is comparable to Buzz’s, the way it is wrapped and how it looks are different. A half-rounded pocket shape is going to be the final look of the Khuushuur.
The main distinction between steaming Buuz and khuushuur is that khuushuur is deep-fried in oil until it acquires an alluring golden brown hue. I’m pretty sure that you will be amazed due to the filling’s luscious inside and crunchy outside if you try this traditional Mongolian food!
Some people do not agree with the fact that this snack has been originated in China. Although Mongolians historically lived as nomads rather than farmers, they did not cultivate wheat. The dumplings known as Khuushuur, Buuz, and Bansh are considered to be the adaptations of Chinese dumplings.
Khuushuur is presented on a serving platter with tissues or paper napkins to pick it up. At a restaurant, it is served with four khuushuur in a plate with a lettuce leaf, gherkins, and, if the establishment is a little more upscale, a carrot salad. You may buy this meal from anywhere that offers food from Mongolia. This refers to eateries in the commercial sector; outside of the city. Locals sell khuushuur from small booths or their gers (Mongolian tent shops).
Tsuivan
Tsuivan is a form of fried noodle meal that is typically served with mutton and vegetables. Moreover, it includs potato, carrots, and cabbage. It is thought to have originated in China. Nonetheless, the flavor of this meal is incredibly special to Mongolia since the meat is fried and then steamed in the same pot.
While the meat might be anything from mutton to horse to tail fat, the noodles are often cooked from scratch. No matter where you travel, you should have no trouble finding this traditional dish because it is one of the most popular foods in Mongolia. The perfect bowl of tsuivan may seem like a simple meal, but as Mongolian cuisine blogger Nargie demonstrates that, it requires the participation of the entire family to prepare this traditional Mongolian meal.
Khorkhog
khorkhog can be considered as one of the most popular Mongolian traditional dishes. Also, it is mostly referred as “Mongolian barbeque”.
Mutton is slowly cooked for this meal in a pot that contains hot stones and water. The meat is cooked for more than an hour and a half. In this process the heat of the pebbles and the steam produced within the container cook the meat. Often, veggies are not required to prepare this dish.
The arrangement of the meat, rocks, and vegetables is essential to the dish’s preparation. The meat that takes a while to cook, such as the legs, must be added first. Rocks are added after that. Next you add the meat—like the ribs—that cooks more quickly. Then you keep adding stones. Then, the process is repeated starting with flesh then moving on to pebbles. Many residents and visitors agree that Khorkhog is tasty. Go for it if you can because it’s difficult to locate this meal in restaurants. Maybe as a result of Mongolians often only eating it on exceptional occasions.
Airag
Horse milk that has been fermented and has an alcohol concentration of around 2-3% is called airag. By first sifting the horse milk through a cloth and then pouring it into a leather bag (known as a “khukhuur”), it is traditionally made by nomadic families in their gers. The mixture is then regularly churned over a period of days with a wooden masher known as a “buluur”. Further, b oth yeast and lactic acid bacteria contribute to the fermentation process.
It is customary for a nomadic family to welcome guests into their ger with a bowl of airag. Also, they share a platter of dairy goodies like aarul. You will be encouraged to at least take a few drinks because it’s considered impolite to refuse these presents. According to tourists the taste of this beverage is like a sharp, potent yogurt beverage that is way past its sell-by date.
Guriltai Shul
Guriltai shul must always be mentioned in any reference to Mongolian cuisine. It is a group of soups produced in Mongolia containing noodles, vegetables, spring onions, and fatty meats like mutton or beef. This well-known Mongolian cuisine is called literally “noodle soup” in English.
In Mongolia, you should try the tasalan guriltai shul, which is an intriguing variety. It’s a legitimately seasoned soup made with salted short flat noodles and boiling lamb or beef bones. Some people fry the flattened dough sheets before cutting them into strips.
Mongolians don’t have a preference for the shape or length of their noodles, unlike those in other nations who usually make them into lengthy strands. Mongolian noodles can be short or long, narrow or broad, thick or thin, as long as they taste delicious.