Mongolia does not figure into most vacation itineraries, so let’s begin with a refresher course, courtesy of Wikipedia.
Mongolia is a landlocked country in East Asia, bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south. It covers an area of 1,564,116 square kilometres (603,909 square miles), with a population of just 3.3 million, making it the world’s most sparsely populated sovereign state. Mongolia is the world’s largest landlocked country that does not border a closed sea, and much of its area is covered by grassy steppe, with mountains to the north and west and the Gobi Desert to the south. Ulaanbaatar, the capital and largest city, is home to roughly half of the country’s population.
Concurrently, on occasion we land at Gastro Obscura, a subdivision of Atlas Obscura, which bills itself as “The Definitive Guide to the World’s Hidden Wonders” and is a vastly entertaining internet repository of esoterica.
Gastro Obscura helpfully informs us that Mazalae Mongolian Restaurant in Morton Grove, Illinois (just outside Chicago) is one of the few traditional Mongolian restaurants in America, and the cuisine itself is misunderstood, primarily because the descriptor “Mongolian” has been borrowed to describe a dining experience that isn’t at all Mongolian.
Website contributor Andrew Coletti explains.
Mongolian barbecue is not Mongolian. Not even a little. It was invented in Taiwan in the early 1950s, based on Chinese cooking techniques and global ingredients, and given the name almost at random. For the small but growing population of Mongolians in the United States, restaurants with names like “Mongolian Grill” have long been a point of contention.
At Mazalae, “most of the menu consists of genuine Mongolian delicacies like khuushuur, (its) signature fried pastries stuffed with onion and ground meat … (while) entrees like lamb noodle soup and tsuivan–stir-fried noodles with meat and shredded carrot–epitomize Mongolia’s simple, hearty flavors.”
Read the entire article at Gastro Obscura. Our photo credit goes to Mazalae.
Previously at “Edibles & Potables”:
Edibles & Potables: “Korean food takes center stage in Kentucky,” says Korean newspaper
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