Mongolia

In Mongolia, livestock milk is made into many kinds of dairy products for storage rather than simply drunk fresh. Öröm is a rich cream made from fresh milk, similar to clotted cream. Spread on boortsog, fried dough resembling doughnuts, it is a special breakfast treat. Chanasan makh, bone-in mutton boiled in salted water, is a dinner staple; leftovers are eaten with gambir, an unleavened flatbread. Tömsnii salat, a potato salad introduced from the Soviet Union, is another morning favorite. The distinction between soup and tea is flexible in Mongolia, and dipping cheese or bread into the milk tea suutei tsai is another way to enjoy breakfast. We also offered nutritious Mongolian fruit juices, soups, other sides and desserts.

Grasslands cover four-fifths of Mongolia, a country four times the size of Japan with a population of three million, making it the world’s most sparsely populated country. Nomadic traditions remain central to its way of life. People lived in portable homes called gers and traditionally avoided growing vegetables because this disturbed the land. Their livestock-based food culture included meat, known as red food, in summer and dairy products, known as white food, in winter. Wheat flour was later introduced from abroad, helping shape today’s cuisine. After Mongolia became a socialist country independent of China in 1924, Soviet influences introduced foods such as vegetables and mayonnaise.

With thanks to

Mongolia Center