Food & Drink

The Mongolian cuisine is primarily based on meat and dairy products, with some regional variations. The most common meat is mutton, supplemented in the desert south by camel meat, in the northern mountains by beef (including yak). Dairy products are made from mare's milk (airag), from cattle, yaks and camels.

Since second half of the 20th century, vegetables have increasingly become a part of the Mongol diet. In the capital city of Ulaanbaatar, there is a wide range of imported food available.

Mongolian Dishes

The most common rural dish is cooked mutton, often without any other ingredients. In the city, most establishments sell buuz, which are dumplings filled with meat, then 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 hotpots.

A notable speciality is boodog, a whole carcass of a goat filled with burning stones and roasted from the inside.

Milk is boiled to separate the cream (öröm, clotted cream). The remaining skimmed milk is processed into cheese (byaslag), dried curds (aruul), yoghurt, kefir, as well as a light milk liquor (Mongol arkhi). The most prominent national beverage is airag, fermented mare's milk.

Drinks

As a consequence of the Russian influence during the time of socialism, vodka also has gained popularity. Mongolian beer is also excellent.

The everyday beverage is salted milk tea (suutei tsai), which may turn into a robust soup by adding rice, meat or bansh.