Tradition Meets Modernity
Mongolian cuisine is an integral part of a nation’s culture and history. The Mongols have engaged in nomadic animal husbandry ever since their beginnings in order to adapt to the harsh climate of the region. Given its climate, Mongolian cuisine heavily consists of meat, dairy products and other animal products. Meat is eaten most during the winter and colder springs. In the warmer months of summer and autumn, Mongolians consume more dairy products, jerky and fruits.
It is hard to classify what kind of meal each Mongolian dish falls into because there are no clear differentiations. For example, dishes such as milk tea with dumplings, Mongolian-style porridge, rice tea or cream soup could be either a snack, starter, or main course.
Dishes such as boiled meat, stuffed intestines, sausages, fried dumplings, fried liver, khorkhog (barbecue dish) and boiled shank are best considered as main course meals, but a person eating any of these does not need to have eaten an entree. Nomads did not sit at dining tables to eat, and they became accustomed to eating all types of food all at once, without separating food into courses.
Thus, it is better to classify Mongolian traditional cuisine into dairy products, meat and animal fats.
With the changing society and culture, Mongolians’ lifestyles and eating habits are also changing. Seventy years under Soviet rule infused European culture into Mongolian society and cuisine. Starting from the transition to a market economy in 1990, Western countries opened their doors to Mongolians and vice versa. Again this brought cultural diffusion to Mongolia.
Mongolian styles of dress, homes and jobs are rapidly evolving along with the cuisine