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Mutton dressed as...mutton
Mutton, in various forms - boiled, stewed, as a filling
for steamed dumplings, cooked with fat and flour, or served
with noodles - is the staple national dish, to such an extent
that the smell is inescapable, and travellers often complain
of smelling of it for weeks after their return from Mongolia.
In whatever form it comes, it is almost always very greasy,
and very plain. The Mongolians don't believe in using much
seasoning, so it may be an idea to bring your own if you want
to spice things up a little. The reason for this fatty, high
protein food, is that the nomadic Mongolians traditionally
need the winter flab to get through their long, cold winters.
A little drinkie
Mutton products are often supplemented with a variety of dairy
products made from yak or horse milk, including
the dubious delicacies of dried milk curd, and fermented
cheese. Dairy products also form the base of Mongolia's
two main alcoholic specialities, nermalike, a kind
of vodka distilled from yoghurt, and airag, made from
fermented horse's milk. The main non-alcoholic drink is
suutei tsai, a kind of salty tea, made from a combination
of hot water, mare or yaks milk, butter, rice, lots of salt,
and possibly some tea. Salty tea is drunk in large quantities
before eating as it's believed to aid digestion.
Curious meats
For variety from mutton, you could always try horsemeat,
particularly popular in Western Mongolia, or roasted marmot.
Marmot hunting is a traditional nomadic past time. They
are killed and cooked whole, without puncturing their skin.
Cooked from the inside out by stuffing with hot rocks, while
fur is singed off with a blowtorch. The animal puffs up and
the arms and legs extend as steam and the stones cook the
marmot from the inside. It is then eaten, and washed down
with mare's milk.
Extreme seasons make growing vegetables extremely difficult,
so they are very hard to come by, except onions, swede, and
other root vegetables that grow in harsh conditions and last
for a long time. This of course makes maintaining a vegetarian
diet in Mongolia very difficult, and vegetarians may find
themselves living on rice and Mongolia's almost unpalatable
cheeses.
Where to eat
For a typical Mongolian eating experience you could go to
a Guanz, a sort of Mongolian canteen, which is commonly
found in towns and beside roads, and serves cheap food for
workers. Breakfast and lunch are the most important meals
of the day, and they serve the usual collection of national
staples.
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