Mongolian Feasts: Bingeing with My Daughter, Summer 2012

What's the food like in Mongolia? Meat, meat and more meat. 


Nah. Just joking. This is not the case anymore. Of course, Mongolians still prefer mutton from sheep or goat, lamb or marmot. Mongol friends go for khuushuur, buuz, tsuivan, Mongolian grill, hotpot, mantou or mantou buuz, roasted sheep's head, milk tea with buuz, camel borts, horse stew, sheep's tail fat, cream, cheese, yogurt, fresh milk and the popular khorkhog. Sounds daunting? Don't worry. If you come to Mongolia, new sources of protein like eggs, chicken, pork, beef, fish and vegetables, the usual suspects, are now widely available. No need to lose sleep over roasted sheep's head. Right?


I had my first khorkhog in August of 2011. I'm sure it's the original stone soup. For this Mongolian dish, one needs a khorkhog expert. You also need a whole lamb or goat, cut into big pieces, bones included, plus big handfuls of river stones. 


The chef selects more or less 20 clean fist-sized river stones, which are then heated over an open fire until they are red hot. The meat chunks and the hot stones are then layered inside cylindrical metal milk jugs. Vegetables like carrots, potatoes, cabbage and onions are arranged on top of the meat-stone layers; water is added, and the jug is sealed. Just like a pressure cooker without a release valve! The main reason to hire a khorkhog expert: to prevent blow-ups. 


After an hour or so, when the right bubbling sounds and smells are observed, the khorkhog expert declares the khorkhog cooked. The milk jugs are carefully opened. The tender meat is transferred to a number of bowls for easy picking. The now-blackened hot stones are handed out, too. Stone alert! - Real Hot. But Mongolians believe that rolling or rubbing the stone between your palms, feeling its heat, is beneficial to your health. I think it's also one way of sanitizing your hands before you pick choice morsels from the bowls of khorkhog. 

Khorkhog cooking inside milk jugs under the eternal blue sky

Khorkhog is served!

Hot! Hot! Hot hand sanitizer!

Restaurants in Ulaanbaatar (UB) and in the countryside need advance notice if one wants a khorkhog for a meal. So my daughter and I program ourselves to crave for surprises. More exciting.