Mongolian Cuisine

What food did I try?:

Since I have lived in Mongolia, I have tried all the different dishes that Mongolia has to offer. Mongolia does not have a lot of diversity in terms of ingredients or types of dishes. Every main dish in Mongolia is served with meat as this is the main protein source found on the steppe. Below is a list of everything I have tried. I will put the Cyrillic spelling first followed by the English spelling or a phonetic spelling to help your pronunciation and a short description of the dish.

  • Бууз – (Buuz) – steamed dumplings
  • Хуушуур – (Khuushuur) – fried meat pies
  • Цуйван – (Tsuivan) – stir-fried noodles with meat
  • Хорхог – (Khorkhog) – meat cooked with hot stones
  • Адууны мах (a-doo-nee mahkh)  – horse meat
  • Сүүтэй цай (soo-tay tsai) – milk tea
  • Банш – (Bansh) – small boiled or fried dumplings
  • Айраг – (Airag) – fermented mare’s milk… aka horse milk

These foods are important to Mongolian culture and show how people here use what is available to them in their environment. Trying new foods has helped me understand more about Mongolian life and traditions.  

 

How did I feel when I tried it?:

Never in my life did I think I would make it to Mongolia. When I got here, I dove right into trying everything I could get my hands on.

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