Some Mongolian meals are considered bizarre. Mongolian homes, local eateries, and traditional restaurants serve some of those meals. But the others have seasons and are hard to sample.
Banshtai Tsai / Salty milt tea with meat dumplings
First, prepare the milk tea the usual way. A milk amount equivalent to one-fourth of the water is sufficient. Bring to a simmer with the salt and tea leaves. After filtering out the tea leaves, boil the milk tea again with the dumplings until the dumplings float over, a sign of well-cooked dumplings. Add yellow butter or clotted cream and serve hot in bowls. You can cook the Banshtai Tsai with dried meat as well.
Head and Legs
The sheep/goat head alone or together with legs boiled for several hours to make the meat tender. You can serve vegetables with it. Mongolians cook sheep head soup or tea in addition to eating the head meat, thinking that the sheep head adds nutrients to the soup or tea and relieves fatigue.
According to tradition, an individual cannot eat a single eye or ear. If you eat one eye or ear, you should also eat the other. The palate is eaten by girls, signifying a skilled future seamstress.
Testicle Dish
End of May, the nomads cut the baby animals’ testicles with the help of the community or neighbors as the nomads have hundreds to thousands of animals. Besides the helping hands, many visitors from the nearby town or relatives come to eat the protein-rich testicles. The testicles are served in bowls after boiling them in salt water. Or can grill on an open fire or fry in oil.
Boodog – Roasted Goat Carcass
Mongolians eat Boodog at special events, such as celebrations and parties. Boodog is cooked in whole goat skin with hot stones inside and flames outside.
Marmot Dish
Marmot meat may sound odd. Mongolians believe marmot meat is rich in nutrients and protein. We boil the marmot flesh in salted water. Alternatively, we cook marmot Boodog/carcas by placing fire-heated hot stones inside and roasting them from outside. However, marmot hunting has been prohibited for 3 years since 2021
