Mongolian Cuisine

Traditional Mongolian cuisine is meat- and dairy-heavy — no wonder in a country where nomads have lived off their herds for millennia and agriculture is hardly possible due to the climate. Vegetables were a foreign concept in the Mongolian diet until a few decades ago. The base: mutton (the standard meat), supplemented by beef, goat meat, and in the Gobi, camel meat. Horse meat is also eaten, pork is rare.

Must-Try Dishes

• Buuz (Бууз): Steamed dumplings with mutton — the Mongolian national dish. At every festival, every street stall, in every restaurant. 6 pieces for 3,000–5,000 MNT (under €1.50). The art lies in folding the dumplings — every family has its own technique.
• Khuushuur (Хуушуур): Fried dumplings with meat filling — Mongolian fast food. Greasy, hearty, available everywhere. Especially popular during the Naadam festival, when whole families prepare hundreds of them.
• Tsuivan (Цуйван): Handmade, wide noodles with mutton and vegetables fried in a pan — Mongolian comfort food after a long day of travel.
• Khorkhog: The spectacular festive dish: mutton with vegetables and glowing hot stones cooked in a sealed metal pot. The stones are passed around after cooking — holding them in your hands is said to bring health.
• Boodog: Even more spectacular: A whole marmot or goat is filled from the inside with hot stones and seared on the outside with a blowtorch. The result: juicy, smoky, and unlike any other dish in the world. Prepared for special occasions or on tours.

Dairy Products — the White Gold

• Suutei Tsai (Сүүтэй цай): Salted milk tea with butter — the Mongolian national drink, consumed all day long. The taste is salty, milky, and unusual for Western palates. ALWAYS accept when offered — refusing is impolite. Take the cup with your right hand or with both hands.
• Airag (Айраг): Fermented mare's milk — slightly alcoholic (2–3%), sour, and fizzy. THE summer drink of the Mongols. Scooped from a leather bag and consumed in large quantities. The taste: like sour kefir with carbonation. Unusual, but trying it is a must.
• Aaruul (Аaрул): Dried curd — rock hard, sour, with the consistency of small stones. Mongolians nibble on it all day like candy. For Western teeth: Caution, risk of breaking teeth.