The majority of traditional Mongolian food is meat-based since meat is traditionally considered the perfect source of protein during the long, harsh winter months. Vegetables and other crops are also challenging to grow throughout much of the country, especially on the steppe which sits at relatively high altitude and is plagued by poor soil.
Traditionally, people mostly eat dairy products during the summer months, which is plentiful at that time of the year. Mongolian nomadic herders typically keep sheep goats cows and horses, using their milk to produce varieties of cream, butter, curds and cheese.
These days with modern farming methods at their disposal, vegetables such as potatoes, carrots and cabbages are grown in many areas of the country. However, a meal will depend heavily on seasonal availability. Modern food in Mongolia is also heavily influenced by surrounding countries and western cuisine. Along the streets of many cities and towns, it’s not uncommon to spot at least one Korean resturant or pizza place.
In this, our traditional Mongolian foods blog, we focus on main meals and staple cuisine; please check out our snacks and drinks blog if you are interested in other dishes.
Khorkhog – True Mongolian Barbecue
Authentic Mongolian Barbecue is known as Khorkhog and is one of the staple meals eaten across the country. Khorkhog is usually prepared using mutton, which is cooked inside a pot containing burning rocks that are first heated in an open fire.
Vegetables such as carrots and potatoes are added to make a stew and the flavours are left to blend for several hours. Khorkhog is best prepared and eaten inside a traditional Mongolian Ger.
Fact: Once the meal is served, it’s not uncommon to see locals handling the roasting hot rocks with their hands. Its believed that the heat from these toasty rocks helps one’s circulation.
Khorkhog is always a pleasant meal with tour groups and leaders enjoying this. We prefer it better when beef is used in place of mutton and at times find it difficult following the traditional way of eating the meat down to the bone.
abSOLUTE nomads Taste test
Top Tip: Do not take more than you can eat as it’s impolite to leave food on your plate.
Buuz – Mongolian Dumplings
Dumplings are probably one of the most common meals found on dinner tables throughout Mongolia. Dumplings are easy to cook, and families will often prepare a few hundred and then freeze them for later. Families living in a countryside Ger will also do the same during the winter but, in lieu of a freezer, place the dumplings outside where the -30*C temperature will freeze the food quickly.
These days supermarkets also sell a plethora of different brands and styles from the frozen foods section. These small doughy packages of beef or muttonreveal the connection between Mongolia and its Chinese neighbour south of the border; although do not be fooled, Mongolian dumplings are distinctly different from Chinese Dim Sum.
Mongolian dumplings are a heavy, hearty meal with thick dough at times; meat may be mixed lightly with onions and chives for flavour. Buuz are typically steamed, although smaller, lighter dumplings boiled in water known as Bansh are also very popular.
Fact: Some families or cooks will have their own distinct style of pleating the area around the opening at the top of the dumpling.
The taste of dumpling will always depend on the meat inside and who makes them. For many tour groups, dumplings tend to be one of those things that all should try once, but you either like them or hate them. Our tour leaders feel that at first, Buuz were ok, but after having to eat them on every day of Mongolian new year at 4-5 families in a day, the polish has most definitely worn off.
Absolute nomads taste test
Top Tip: The Mongolian way to eat the dumplings is relatively soon after cooking when the dumpling is still roasting hot. Do take care as the dough holds the meat filling and the dumpling juice, which to the unsuspecting novice is around the same temperature as the sun!
Khuushuur – Mongolian Dumpling-Pie Hybrid
The trusty Khuushuur is a favourite meal of many a traveller to Mongolia and the country’s answer to fast food. This meat-filled snack is similar to a dumpling but more slender with thinner dough and fried.
Some travellers have likend the Khuushuur to a pie or a type of pasty. Khuushuur, like their steamed counterparts, typically contain beef or mutton, although these days a mix of vegetables can be added to make it even more delicious.
Fact: Khuushuur must take the mantle as Mongolia’s leading fast food as it is commonly served at events such as Nadaam where one can buy this tasty morsel wrapped in tissue paper.
For many of our tourists and us, the Khuushuur receives top marks, easy to eat, easy to transport and extremely tasty.
Absolute nomads taste test
Top Tip: For a western pallete, go with beef, and if you at a sporting event always pick the busiest stand, Mongolians will always know where the tastiest Khuushuur’s are.
Boodog – Goat or Marmot Barbecue
Boodog is another example of Mongolian Barbecue, although not as we would know it in the west. As with Khorkhog, the dish Boodog uses hot stones as part of the cooking process. Hot stones are placed not on the outside of the carcass but inside. First, the animal is killed, then decapitated; the meat, bones and entrails then taken out without damaging the skin. Once everything is removed, the meat is then put back into the skin along with vegetables and spices. As the skin is being filled, up hot stones or rocks from a fire will be dropped inside the cavity and then stitched up. Boodog will then be cooked from the outside, either in a fire pit or with the aid of a blow torch!
Boodog is an excellent example of practical nomadic living, in which fire and hot rocks replace an oven. This is a meal that can be found throughout Mongolia; most Mogolian restaurants in Ulaabaatar will serve a refined version of it.
Fact: Boodog is generally considered a special meal and usually a winter dish. From slaughter to opening the skin for eating, the whole process can take up to five hours or more. The cooking of Boodog alone lasts around two hours.
Boodog is a meal that can be a little difficult to eat, especially when watching the preparation and opening of the animal. If you’re interested in traditional Mongolian cooking and culture, then it’s fascinating. The meat from Boodog has a tender texture combined with a pungent taste with a smoky undertone. We enjoyed the experience very much, and it was great to try a meal that has been enjoyed on the steppe for hundreds of years unchanged, although I wouldn’t eat it again!
ABSOLUTE NOMADS TASTE TEST
Top Tip: Try Boodog once, especially if you’re out visiting a local nomadic family; Boodog is traditionally made with young goats, sheep and marmots. Do take care when eating marmot as there have been outbreaks of plague in recent years.
Tsuivan – Mongolian Fried Noodles
Tsuivan is a Mongolian noodle dish and an absolute traveller’s favourite; it is usually prepared with mutton and various vegetables, although it is not uncommon to find it made with beef, camel, and even horse.
Traditionally the noodles are made by hand, roughly cut, then steamed with the diced meat and vegetables, they will then be lightly fried. Tsuivan is enjoyed throughout Mongolia best served freshly prepared and sprinkled with scallions.
Fact: Mongolians have a phrase when cooking Tsuivan: “Tsuivan segserekh”, which means shake the Tsuivan. This means to shake the pan so that all of the ingredients used are distributed equally throughout the dish.
Along with our passengers, we would put this at the top of our list as a firm favourite. It’s light, easy, and quick to eat and makes a perfect lunch for a day of exploring.
ABSOLUTE NOMADS TASTE TEST
Top Tip: Restaurant Tsuivan is delicious, but the best is traditional Mongolian home-cooked Tsuivan. You can always add a little sweet chilli sauce to perfect this nomadic delight.
Honinii Tolgoi – Sheep or Goat Head
Honinii Tolgoi is one of those meals that fills most travellers with dread and a meal that many assume they will be given at some point during their visit. It is, as the title states, sheep or goat head. The head is first cleared of fur using a blowtorch, then thoroughly cleaned before being boiled for 2-3 hours. Honinii Tolgoi will then be served with various vegetables, sauce and possibly other dishes.
Fact: Many Mongolians see Honinii Tolgoi as real comfort food and a delicacy. Talk to many overseas Mongolians, and this will be one of those delights that they miss from home.
Honinii Tolgoi is rarely served to tour groups, and it’s unlikely you’ll catch this at a group meal. Our tours team have tried it, and although our Mongolian crew love it, our western team still find it a little difficult taste, texture, and smell are just a little too alien for our liking.
ABSOLUTE NOMADS TASTE TEST
Top Tip: If you want to try Honinii Tolgoi, you will have to let your tour leader know as it’s unlikely that you will see it on tour, especially if accompanied by a group.
Boortsog – Mongolian Doughnuts
Boortsog issomething most travellers will come across when visiting nomadic families. Boortsog is commonly called a butter cookie, but we prefer the term Mongolian Doughnut.
The cooking of these little balls of delight is quite simple: butter, saltwater, milk, yeast, and flour are mixed before being deep-fried. Boortsog can vary in design ranging from balls, small squares, rhomboid and even knotted shapes. This meal is eaten in the city but served more readily in the countryside, serving as an almost daily snack.
Fact: Boortsog is not just found in Mongolia but across central Asia and up into Russia. It comes in many various names and shapes all are delicious.
Who doesn’t like a doughnut? When visiting local families, Boortsog is a perfect greeting for guests and our team. Often served with a cup of milky Mongolian tea, these little dough delights are addictive.
ABSOLUTE NOMADS TASTE TEST
Top Tip: For a truly perfect snack Boortsog should be tried with sugar, butter, honey or Mongolian cream; the only problem will be leaving enough space for later meals.
Guriltai Shul – Meat Soup
Guriltai Shul Is a simple soup whose main ingredient is either beef or mutton combined with onions, carrots, and potatoes. Mixed in a broth, the meat is either cut into strips or finely cubed.
Guriltai Shul may be a simple dish, but it is wholesome and eaten quite extensively across Mongolia.
Fact: Guriltai Shulis traditionally made to include thick set noodles
Over the years we’ve tried and eaten copious amounts of Guriltai Shul; it may not be our favourite, but it’s a perfect lunchtime meal. You’ll find it served at many small restaurants and diners; the taste is dependant on the type and cuts of meat used.
ABSOLUTE NOMADS TASTE TEST
Top Tip: When eating Guriltai Shul, it tastes even better when combined with bread, a simple savoury pancake or Tasalsan Guril (a Mongolian noodle fried and used to top other dishes).
Chanasan Makh – Boiled Meat
Chanasan Makh may be a relatively simple meal to prepare, but it’s a heavy meaty treat one befitting Mongolia. Like most items on this list, Chanasan Makh is commonly made using beef or mutton, although other meats can be used.
The preparation is simple; the meat is hacked into easy to handle chunks and added to boiling salty water. Chanasan Makh is slowly boiled some vegetables, such as potatoes, carrot and cabbage may be added. Chanasan Makh is often served broken into its various components, the broth in one bowl, the vegetables on a plate, and the meat served separately. Quite often, the head of the family will carve the meat into smaller bite-size portions for the rest of the family to feast upon.
Fact: You will see Chanasan Makh served more regularly during the Mongolian New Year (Tsagaan Sar), although families will still cook it at other times.
Another winner in our book at times Chanasan Makhis cooked so perfectly it’s hard to stop eating. It’s surprising how a simple dish can be so tasty, although we are told that the Mongolian pure grass-fed animals are the secret to the taste.
ABSOLUTE NOMADS TASTE TEST
Top Tip: Make sure to drink the broth or use it to dip in some of your meat; it really adds to the meal.
Beshbarmak – Five Fingers
Beshbarmak is not typically a Mongolian dish, but Kazakh, often served in the Bayan Olgii area of Mongolia which Kazakhs have traditionally inhabited. We travel there a lot, and our tour groups regularly eat this tasty meal.
For many Kazakhs, Beshbarmak is considered the unofficial national dish of Kazakhstan. Not only is it a delicious local dish, but it also plays a part in Kazakh customs. The term “Beshbarmak” means “five fingers” because Kazakh nomads used to eat this dish with their hands. Beshbarmak consists of meat (usually the rump of a selected animal) and homemade noodles.
Alongside the meat and noodles is a broth called “Shorpo”, consumed before the main Beshbarmak dish is begun. Beshbarmak is typically made of a mixture of different animals such as beef, horse and mutton.
Fact: In a true Kazakh home, being invited to sit and eat at a table while the hosts are eating Beshbarmak is considered an honour.
As Beshbarmak is a special meal, we usually have this at the end of our tour in the Bayan Olgii province or saying goodbye to some of our crew. Overall the meal is delicious enjoyed by the tour groups and leaders. The eating of horse may be difficult for some, but our Kazakh hosts are always aware of this and point out the various meats.
ABSOLUTE NOMADS TASTE TEST
Top Tip: If you are offered Beshbarmak, always accept the invitation as it is a real honour. Suppose you’re unsure of your standing within the group, the way Beshbarmak is served will always answer this. Traditionally when eating Beshbarmak, the oldest and most respected will receive the best cuts of meat with the most honoured guest receiving the head of the animal!