Meat
is a big deal in Mongolia. Most Mongolians consume a lot of meat and
vegetarianism is almost unheard of. Traditional Mongolian cuisine that has been
described in earlier posts revolves around meat, and even нөгөөний хуурга (vegetable stir-fry) always
comes with a health portion of meat. One Mongolian phrase captures the public
opinion of meat, “Махгүй хоол
хоол биш ээ!” (A meal
without meat is not a meal.)
In
this post, I will detail the types of meat commonly consumed in Mongolia,
taste, texture, cuts, and ways to prepare for a more flavorful western cuisine.
The purpose is slanted a little toward PCVs or future PCVs in Mongolia. That
being said, it may also be interesting information for folks back home. Usually
I don’t photograph raw meat, so instead the pictures in this post shall be the
cutest version of these animals I can find for my own humor.
Тахианы мах (Chicken meat)
A lot of the chicken in Mongolia is imported, but
there are still some chicken farms on the outskirts of Ulaanbaatar. Chicken
remains Mongolia’s most expensive meat outside of imported canned delicacies.
The price range falls between 6-8,000₮ a
kilo. (3 to 4 dollars a kilo).
Үхрийн мах (Cow meat)
Beef is domestically raised in Mongolia. It is not
uncommon for wealthier families to buy a cow in autumn for the purpose of
butchering for winter. The price of beef is usually a little less than chicken.
Buying beef in stores can be problematic, because Mongolian butchers don’t
always pay attention to cuts of meat, and the standard practice is to tightly
wrap the meat in plastic before freezing it. One could buy a cut that looks
good in cellophane only to find that it has fascia or organs of the abdominal
cavity still attached, which can significantly alter the taste of the meat.
When it comes to cows, Mongolians tend to let the animals lead a life into
maturity if not old age before butchering. This also changes the texture of the
meat. An old cow just doesn’t always taste the same as the younger beef found
in America. However, as you are chewing through grizzly cuts of meat you can
rejoice that your dinner led a long and peaceful life.
Most provincial capitals (aimag centers) have open
air markets where freshly slaughtered meat can be bought by the kilo. This
tends to be the better place to buy red meats, because it is easier to avoid
the “surprise” of a frozen package. However, the open air markets can be
unsanitary during the warmer months of the years. This is not due to changes in
sanitary practices in the winter, rather it is easier to avoid spoiled meat
when the entire country is a refrigerator or freezer. Open air markets also
usually have meat grinders where, for a small fee, a cut of beef can become
loosely ground beef.
When preparing Mongolian beef, I do many of the same
things that I would do in America as far as seasoning goes. While the texture
can be tougher, the taste is not much different. Since the meat is butchered in
such a different way, a lot of my pre-meal preparation is spent cutting away
excess fat and connective tissue that surrounds the tastier muscle. This
preparation can take a lot of time, because even the smallest piece of
connective tissue in a stir-fry can lead to an un-chewable piece of grizzle.
Butchers in American spend a lot more time preparing cuts of meat and
separating muscle for the consumer.
Адууны мах (Horse meat—адуу being
male horse, but used for food and as a mass noun, where as
мөрь often refers to a single horse)
I recently bought a half kilo of horse at the open
market. The price for kilo runs at about 6,500₮ for kilo, so a little less than three
dollars. When I was preparing this meat, one of the first things I realized is
that it is bloodier than beef. This blood seems to be embedded in the muscle
which is stringier with larger fibers than beef. The blood leads to a distinct
taste that is more iron tasting than beef, and while you can cover the taste
with a lot of marinade and seasoning, it is still obvious that the meat is not
beef. Horse contains all the risk that
beef or any other red meat in Mongolia has in that you must carefully select
your cut.
While I am glad for the opportunity to eat horse (something that is illegal in much of America)
I can see why we don’t. There are many Mongolians who don’t like horse, so as a
meat its flavor is an acquired taste.
Хонины мах
(Sheep meat)
Mutton is a favorite among Mongolians. Perhaps the
main reason why Sally and I don’t buy it much is because we have been saturated
from getting it in so much Mongolian cuisine. It is cheaper by far than horse
at about 4,500-5,500₮
per kilo. Mutton has a very pungent meat with a distinct flavor, but a lot of
this flavor comes from fat and oily glands located around the fat tissue.
Removing the fat prior to cooking and seasoning the meat copiously can reduce a
lot of the unwanted flavor of the meat. This is almost never done in Mongolian
cuisine since the fat is perceived to be essential for body heat in the winter,
and many Mongolians enjoy the taste of the fat. Nonetheless, I have had a
number of absolutely amazing experiences with mutton here in Mongolia.
Experience has taught me that anytime Mongolians are doing a traditional
barbeque (khorkhog) the outcome is
always great. I also had the equivalent of a mutton T-bone steak that was
boiled to perfection.
Ямааны мах (Goat meat)
This is often the cheapest of the red meats in
Mongolia. Goat has a gamier flavor than mutton, but also lacks some of the
pungent flavor of mutton. Goat also doesn’t have as much meat as mutton does.
In the market, goat can be easily identified because of the skin which is often
left on the meat after being blow torched.
With lower muscle content, goat is sometimes difficult to work with and
is usually left out of most Mongolian traditional foods; however like the
sheep, goats are often used for khorkhogs. I am not a huge fan of the flavor of
goat meat unless it has been seasoned appropriately.
Тэмээний мах
(Camel meat)
Camel is not something that is eaten often in
Khentii. We are not close to the Gobi, so there are fewer camels which are more
often used for cashmere. I have only had camel once; it is by far the worst
tasting of the meats I have had in Mongolia. It is stringy, chewy, pungent, and gamy all in
one. I am not sure how much camel cost, because we do not often have it, but I
would expect it to be in the same range as horse.
Гахайны мах (Pig meat)
There are pigs in Mongolia, and sometimes Mongolian
pork is sold in grocery stores. It is also possible to find imported pork in
the form of bacon or sausages in many provincial centers. Imported pork is
naturally quite expensive (11,000₮/ $5 per kilo).
Imported bacon can be extremely salty. I usually cook it in dishes where it is
boiled or baked, because pan frying seems to make it even saltier. Domestic
pork is usually around the price of beef. Pork that is slaughtered in Mongolia
is usually in the form of cuts with a lot of fat on them. Sometimes the skin is
left on the cut as well. Korean food is quite popular in Mongolian, so many
cuts of meat are in the style of Korean pork. This is a marbled slab similar to
bacon, but thicker with more fat.
Тарваганы мах (Marmot
meat)
 |
| Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=II-pierY8Hs |
Marmot in Mongolia is a large ground rodent similar
to a groundhog. Mongolians consider marmot to be a delicacy and deeply enjoy
doing a marmot khorkhog called Боодог.
Most khorkhogs involve pressure cooking meat with hot stones. This particular style
involves gutting the animal through the neck and then cooking it from within by
placing hot stones, spices, and water inside the skin. The whole rodent is then
placed on a table and slit open to be devoured by an excited group of
Mongolians. The meat is light and rather savory, somewhere between a cow and a
chicken in flavor. I found the little humorous and scapula to be quite “cute”
for lack of a better word.
It is vital that marmot is cooked completely (something that is not usually a problem in
Mongolia), because the rodents have been known to carry the bubonic plague.
It is also illegal to hunt marmot in Mongolia, because it has become an
endangered species, but this does not stop it from being consumed. I would
recommend that PCVs are not involved in the cooking of this particular animal
and only eat it in blissful ignorance when everyone else is too.
This sums up most of the meats consumed in Mongolia
from a western perspective. I should mention that most Mongolians consume
almost the entire animal that is slaughtered, so it is not uncommon to eat
tongue, testicles, innards, or the delicacy of sheep head. To say that this is
an acquired taste does not accurately capture the sensation of biting into
boiled intestine with boiled intestinal juices.
I have adopted a policy of being open to trying anything once; still it
is possible to avoid many of these dishes as they are usually only served in a
home setting.
~Caleb
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