Medieval Mongolian Cooking
by Crystal L. Smithwick aka Ynesen Ongge Xong Kerji-e
Well, this could have been the shortest article in history. Boiled mutton. When I first started to research Mongolian cooking, that's all I knew about what Mongolians ate. In the end, I wasn't far wrong.
How do I know what the Mongols ate oh so long ago? In the mid 1200's two clergymen (Friar John of Pian de Carpini and Friar Wiliam of Rubruck) travelled from Europe to the steppes as envoys of the church. Their intent was to bring Christianity to the "infidels." They didn't succeed, but they did bring back vivid accounts of what they saw and ate. Not long behind them was the famous Marco Polo whose tales of the court of Kublai Khan form the most popular picture of Mongol life. In addition, an Arabic historian, Ibn Battua travelled to the court of the Golden Horde in the mid 1300's. I reconciled these four eye-witness accounts with tales from modern travellers and natives of Mongolia to formulate a picture of what Mongols of the mid 13th to mid 14th century might have eaten and how they would have prepared their food. I also looked to close neighbors, such as the Tibetans and the northern Chinese to find similar foods and recipes. Then, to further explore these ideas, I took the descriptions of medieval food and recipes of similar modern foods and reverse engineered the recipes back to what I imagined could be the original food. I did this by considering 1)ingredients 2) cooking methods 3)plausibility of technique. Then I created recipes based on my reading and on my experience with cooking Asian food. I also determined appropriate measurements and tested my recipes for consistency and a palatable end product for the modern palate, although it was not my intent to "modernize" the recipes.
Ingredients
To understand the limitations of Mongolian cooking, first consider the Mongolian lifestyle. Tradtionally a nomadic people,they herd horses, sheep, goats, camels, oxen, and some tribes reindeer. They live in the open steppes, desert-like with little edible vegetation beyond wild onions and leeks. But in lean times, there were other things to be gathered that were not normally a part of their diet. When a young Temujin (later Genghis Khan) and his young brothers were abandoned by their tribe, Hoelun, his mother, gathered whatever she could to feed her children.
"..she [Hoelun] gathered burnet and other plants that would make a kind of a salad...dug up the roots of sedges and rushes along the river, and wild onions...Later in the season she gathered wild apples and cherries, juniper berries, hazel nuts, and the edible fruit of the pine that flourishes in those regions." 34
They were so desperate, that they even ate fish, something dispised by Mongols even today. It is generally considered that Mongols only eat fish only when desperate for food or if they catch a fish of such a great size that it can feed them for a few days.
"..Tartars do not know how to catch them; neither do they care for fish, except it be so great that they may live upon it for a great while." Friar William 35
16 The Mongols live most of their lives in isolation with limited trade. When they did trade, they added flour, millet, and tea to their diet. The only seasoning was usually salt 18, 21 and wild garlic. What does this mean for their cuisine?
For herders in Mongolia, the most abundant food sources in summer are milk and milk products, what the Mongols call the "white foods." During that season they subsist almost completely on fresh milk, curds, sour milk, fermented milk, yogurt, and dried cheese from mares, cows, and camels. 24 But that's another article. By the way, mare's milk is high in Vitamin C. Four times higher than cows milk. This explains how Mongols could survive on a diet with minimal vegetables and fruit.8 They received iron and minerals from the underground wells where they retrieved their water.
In the winter, the main source of food is the Mongols' herdbeasts, and this is the part of their diet this article concerns. One advantage of meat during the winter, is that it can be stored outside, frozen solid, until needed. The only concern is to keep it safe from dogs and wolves. The Mongols use wooden cages to keep the meat safe outside. If it is not cold enought to freeze the meat, it was made into sausages or dried to be reconstitued later. This is part of the famous iron rations used by the invading Mongol army.
- "...they dry the flesh thereof by cutting it into thin slices and hanging it up against the sun and the wind. Presently dried without salt, and also without any evil smell." Friar William (1253-1255) 23
Cooking Implements
Mongolian pots were probably made of iron (imported from China) and pottery. Clay pots were recovered from early Jurchen (pre-Mongolian) graves, these pots could be placed directly on the fire or hung from a tripod. Other cooking utencils were homemade and consisted of ladles, knives, and bowls.
"..and they borrowed for us a kettle [sometimes translated as saucepan] and a tripot to cook our meat." Friar William (1253-1255) 29 "..and they carry each a small pignate, that is an earthern pot, in which they cook their meat." Marco Polo 30
"Cooking equipment, property of the woman, consisted of wooden, homemade wood bowls, ladles, flasks, and leather sacks hung on the wall, along with a fine copper pitcher or two wrought by a professional smith.
"In the center of the yurt, beneath an adjustable vent in the tent top, was the hearth, and over the fire a great cooking pot stood on legs or hung from a tripod. This vessel served not only for cookingl when it was emptied of food and turned on its side, it's upper edge supported a pothook arrangement that held a tea kettle over the flames." Description of a modern nomadic household in the former Soviet Union.42
Another element to consider is the Mongol's limited fuel supply. Summer or winter, argal (dried cow dung) is the most available and abundent fuel. Even more so today, wood is scarce and rarely burned.
- "...they cook their meat, with fires made of the dung of oxes and horses." Friar John 3
-
- "...there are many different kinds of dung, and each has a different name; argal is only used for cow droppings, not for others. Horse droppings are second best, sheep droppings are only used if necessary. Cow droppings are best, since they burn hotter and longer." Oyana (1997) 6
-
As a result of limited fuel, Mongols used the most effecient methods of cooking. Boiling, steaming, cutting their meat thin or mincing it to cook quickly. 27
Cooking Techniques and Recipes
Raw
In the absence of fuel, it wasn't unusual for the Mongols to eat their meat raw, finely minced.
- "Sometimes we had to eat flesh half cooked, or almost raw, and all for want of fuel. This happened when we were in the fields, or came to our journey's end after dark. We could not then conveniently gather the dung of horses or oxen; for other fuel we found but seldom, except for except a few thorns in some places." Friar William (1253-1255) 20
-
- "They give to fifty or a hundred men with the flesh of one ram to eat, for they mince it in a bowl with salt and water, they have no other sauce, and then with the point of a knife, or a little fork which they make for this purpose, such as we use to take roasted pears or apples out of wine, they give to every one of the company a mouthful or two, according to the number of the guests." Friar William (1253-1255) 24
-
- "The poorer sort go to the shambles and take the raw liver as soon as it is drawn from the beasts; then they chop it up small, put in garlic sauce and eat it there and then. And they do likewise with every other kind of flesh. The gentry also eat their meat raw." 1
-
- In fine French cooking, this preparation of finely minced raw meat still exists in Steak Tartar. Raw beef, in this case, is minced finely and mixed with herbs and spices. According to an introduction to a recipe of Steak Tartar at Cooking.com from the Heritage of French Cooking, "invading barbarians...who marched upon the East of France several thousand years ago, ate pieces of raw meat that they had tenderized by leaving them under the horse's saddle." 5
I started with a recipe for beef Steak Tartar, replaced the beef with lamb and reduced the spices to those available.
Lamb Tartar1 1/2 lb of lamb
3/4 tsp fine sea salt
2 TBS finely chopped shallots
1 TBS water Remove any bone, sinew, or membrane from the lamb. (Do not remove all of the fat.) Using sharp knife mince the meat until it is the texture of hamburger. Sprinkle with the water, shallots, and water. Using the knife continue to mince the meat until it is well mixed. Divide into 12 portions. Serve immediately, or keep chilled. Note: This is a raw meat dish. Please take precautions to maintain a sanitary work area. - kerij-e |
Boiling
Every traveller to Mongolia, today and in the past, mentions boiled chunks of meat and the resulting broth. Occasionally other things are added to make a soup, such as millet, wild leeks, and scallions. All these items could be stored throughout the winter.
- "Our hearts sank as we watched her putting things into a large vat of water on the stove. There were ..erm..*bits* of sheep, such as heads, feet, internal organs, and that kind of thing...She took a fork and extracted the *bits*, dripping, one by one from the vat, and placed them in a steel bowl." Dan Bennet (1992) 9
-
- "Their food consists of boiled horsemeat and mutton." Ibn Battuta (1325-1353) 10
-
- "Then boiled, unsalted meat was brought along on a cart, and piece was given to every four or five persons. The people inside the tent were given meat, and instead of sauce, salted meat broth. This was the procedure whenever they held a banquet." Friar John (1246) describing the coronation feast of Goyun Khan. 11.
-
- "Boiled mutton, cooked whole, was the standard fare, and other rich and fatty foods supplemented the meat diet." Description of banquets in the court of Kublai Khan.13
-
- "The stops were only long enough for cooking a porrige of millet (it is boiled up only once) and for eating it. The local population carried dried meat which they add to the dish; they pour milk on top." Ibn Battuta (1325-1353) 12
-
- "In the evening, they bestowed upon us, a shoulder and a breast of ram's mutton, and every man a measured quantity of broth to drink. When we had suffient of the meat broth, we were marvellously well refreshed. And it seemed to me a most pleasant, and a most nourishing drink." Friar William (1253-1255) 19
-
-
Boiled Mutton2 lbs mutton or lamb, bones and fat included
10 cups cold water Cut the lamb into large pieces. Put the lamb and water in a large pot . Simmer the bones for several hours, adding water as needed. Skim fat off the top, remove the meat and bones, and serve. Strain the broth if desired, salt to taste and serve with the meat. Millet Soup
Soak millet over night. Drain, add millet to the broth. Simmer until the millet breaks up and thickens the soup, about 2 hours. Salt to taste. |
The following recipe for mutton noodle soup is based on a modern recipe. I used a recipe for noodles that I was more familiar with and quantified the ingredients for the soup. The Kirgiz and Khazaks have a similar dish (besh barmak) with less broth. The Kirgiz noodles are square and the Khazaks cut theirs into diamond shapes. 41
-
Guriltai - Mutton Noodle SoupNoodles 1 cup boiling water (You may not use all of it.)
1 TBS lard or shortening
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour Melt the shortening in the water. In a bowl, pour about half of the water into the flour, mixing quickly. This partially cooks the flour. Turn the dough onto a board and knead until smooth, adding more water if needed. (You may not use all of the water. The fresher the flour, the less water you will use.) Cover the bowl with a damp cloth and let it rest for 20 minutes. Divide the dough in half (keep the unused half covered). Roll half out into a squarish shape about 1/8" thick. Cut into 1/8" strips. Do the same with the other half. Hang them over the side of a bowl to dry a bit. This keeps them from dissolving in the soup. Soup 1 lb lamb cut into cubes (or sliced thin if you are in a hurry)
oil
6 cups of lamb broth
1 yellow onion sliced
Noodles Fry the lamb cubes until brown, add onions and fry until translucent. Add broth. Simmer until the meat is tender. Add the noodles. Cook until tender and floating. |
Along with Mongolian BBQ, Mongolian hot pot is the most closely associated with Mongolia by most modern people. Thin slices of meat cook quickly in broth, and then the broth can be drunk separately. The fire pot, a table top fire chimeny with a well around it for the broth, is related to the samovar (a hotwater dispenser and teapot warmer combined). The Mongols delivered the samovar to the Russians 42 and the Hot pot to the Chinese 43. Themselves probably didn't have much use for it. Their simple brazer and pot eliminated the need for a specialized cooking utencil.
-
- Descriptions of Mongolians dipping thin slices of meat into a broth and then fishing them out seem to be a direct source for this method of cooking. The meat also flavors the broth.
Hot Pot4 cups of water
2 cloves of garlic, chopped
1/4 cup green onions, chopped
1 lb lamb, sliced thin
1 lb beef, sliced thin Boil water with garlic and onions, move to the edge of the fire so it is at a simmer. Drop a few pieces of meat into the water at a time. After a few seconds, they will appear pinkish white. Fish them out with chopsticks or small metal strainers (available in Chinese food stores). In the end you'll have a tasty broth that can be salted and drunk. Note: You can make this tastier by adding sliced chicken, fish, tofu, spinach, bok choy, gai lan, or any other vegetable. If you add dense vegetables like carrots, slice them very thin. The idea is that all ingredients cook quickly. Cook the same as the meat. Include chinese mustard, soy sauce, hoisen sauce, and plum sauce for dipping. At the end, add a package of bean threads that have been soaked in warm water for 20 minutes. Cook for another 10 minutes and serve the soup with noodles. - kerij-e |
Steaming
The national food of Mongolia is Buuz or Booz, steamed minced lamb dumplings. These are nearly identical to the Chinese sui mai, the Tibetan Mo-mo, and the Japanese gyoza. Although I do not have any documentation that proves this was eaten by ancient Mongolians, it was probably added to the Mongol diet not long after they began to have regular contact with the Han Chinese and had access to wheat-flour. 26 Cooking minced meat seems to be a natural progression after eating minced raw meat.
Buuz3 cups flour
2 cups boiling water
1 lbs minced lamb
1 large onion minced fine
2 cloves of garlic, chopped fine
In a bowl, mix the flour with 1/2 of the water. Turn out the dough onto a board and knead. Add more water as needed to make a smooth dough. Let it sit 20 minutes. Meanwhile, mix the lamb, onion and garlic. Roll the dough into a 2" tube. Cut into 2" chunks of the dough. Roll the dough into a circle about 1/8 inch thick. Spoon about 1 TSP of meat into the dough. Wet the edge of the dough, fold the top half over and make tiny pleats, pressing the two sides together to seal them. Set aside on a plate dusted with flour or cornstarch (or on wax paper). Continue with the rest of the meat and dough. Arrange the buuz in a single layer on a steam rack or a Chinese bamboo steamer. They should not touch. Steam covered over boiling water for 10-15 minutes until buuz is translucent. Buzz can also be fried and then it is called huushkoor. Serve immediately. Note: The Mongols do not use dipping sauces, but this is very tasty with plum sauce, hoisen sauce, or a dip of 1/4 cup soy sauce, 1/4 cup rice wine vinegar, and chili oil (lu yin) to taste. All of which were available in the 13th century. 20 kerij-e |
Pressure Cooking
Pressure cooking lowers the temperature required for water to boil. This reduces the amount of fuel used and speeds cooking. A primitive pressure cooker could be made by sealing the lid of a pot with clay. Modern Mongolians use milk canisters as described in the next section, "Cooking with Rocks." 13
- "... Mongol herdsmen cooking what was, for them, a traditional version of Mongolian hot pot.
-
- They built a big bonfire, heating smooth riverbed rocks in it until they glowed. They added the rocks, and rather
- minimally seasoned chunks of freshly killed, skinned, and butchered lamb or kid, to a large milk can, with a clamping
- lid, and sealed it shut. They then played a version of soccer with the can for ten minutes or so. Maybe more like five.
-
- They then flipped the can upright again, and carefully opened it, spraying meat juice, ash, and superheated steam
- everywhere (since the milk can, having become, effectively, a pressure cooker, lacked a safety valve) and ate their
- barbecue like proper Mongols: squatting on their heels around a campfire, with semi-raw, semi-grilled leeks and
wheat-flour flatbread griddlecakes, and, of course, plenty of Russian vodka." Phillip and Susan Troy (199?) 15
In another connection of ancient method to modern method, in an early Yuan (14th century Mongolian dynasty) cook book, there is a recipe for mutton cooked in a sealed pot, which sounds similar to the modern description.
"Steamed Mutton mei-t'u. Take a whole sheep, scald and clean and remove head, feet, intestines etc., cut up into manageable pieces. Prepare small specimens of earth-pepper [Geum japonicum Thunb.,Chinese ti-chao, a northern seasoning), with wine and vinegar, pour over the meat and let soak for two hours or more. Put into empty metal pot, build a fire with fuel wood sticks and seal the lid with clay. Light the fire but let it not come too close. Wait until well cooked. To be served in bowls with original juice separately." Trans. Franke. 28
I've taken the recipe above and quantified it, adding pressure cooker instructions.
Khortsog (Steamed lamb)2 lbs of lamb
1 cup rice wine vinegar
2 TBS ti-chao*
water Chop lamb into 2" cubes. Add peppers and lamb to vinegar and toss. Marinate for two hours. Remove meat, and discard any liquid. Pressure cooker method: Place into pressure cooker of water. Cook at 15 lbs for 8 minutes. Let pressure return to normal. Alternative method: Place with water into pot with a tight fitting lid. Mix 1 cup flour with 1/3 cup of water. Make into a stiff dough. Roll into a roll long enough to go around the pot lid. Use it to seal the lid onto the pot. Cook over medium heat for 1 hour. Remove pot from heat. Let sit for 10 minutes. Remove the seal and discard. DO NOT OPEN THE LID YET! Lay a towel over the pot and open lid away from you. There may be a rush of steam. To serve, remove the meat and place on a platter. Pour broth into bowls and serve hot. *Chinese ti-chao, or Szchwan pepper is not a actually a pepper, but the bud of a flower. You can get this in Chinese food stores. |
Grilling
- Another way to quickly cook meat is to slice it thin and grill it on small skewers or over a grill.
-
- "The stir-fry method, by which wafer thin fragments of vegetables or meat, fragile pancakes of millet meal or wheat flour, are cooked in no more than a few moments." 33
Lamb Skewers1 lb frozen lean boneless lamb
2 tsp salt
Metal or bamboo skewers If using bamboo skewers, soak them in water for about 20 minutes. Thaw the lamb slightly. It should still be mostly frozen. Slice it thinly. Thread the mutton slices on the skewers. Sprinkle them lightly with salt. Roast over a medium fire until cooked through. Serve on scallion bread. |
- "The food served at these affairs [court banquets] was Mongol fare...A typical meal might include ..raw vegetables seasoned with saffron and wrapped in pancakes." Ibn Battuta (1325-1353) 13
-
- Grilling is also an efficent way to cook bread. Flatbreads, similar to Indian Nan and Mexican tortillas cook quickly on a hot grill.
- "Our food thus consisted of millet and butter, a dough cooked in water [tsampa?] and unleavened bread baked on a fire of cattle or horse dung." Friar William in Tibet 36
-
This recipe is based on similar modern Chinese breads. A similar bread is decribed in a modern recipe for grilled meat and pancakes. 39
Scallion PancakesThis is a flat bread similar to Indian nan or Mexican tortillas. 2 cups whole wheat flour or barley flour
1 cup boiling water
1/2 cup chopped scallions or green onions
a bit of lamb fat (or oil dipped cloth) Mix the flour and water until you get a smooth dough. Let it rest for 20 minutes. Roll the dough out into a 1/4" thick circle. Sprinkle the scallions over the dough. Roll the dough into a tight roll. Slice the dough into 2" pieces. Flatten the circles into 1" thick disks. Heat the grill until very hot. Oil lightly with a bit of fat. Drop the dough onto the grill. When the edges look dry and it has begun to puff, turn it over quickly. Note: Green onions make them prettier. These are good with butter with toasted. They also make a convenient plate for buuz. To steam the bread, don't flatten the disks. Steam them for 15-10 minutes. If you don't like them so flat, you can also use a simple bread dough for more of a pita bread consistency. - kerij-e |
Several medieval and contemporary references to leeks made this seem like a likely accompanyment.
Grilled Leeks2 large leeks
salt to season
oil for brushing Carefully cut off just the root end of the leek. If you do this right, the leek will stay together while cooking. Split the leeks lengthwise. Rinse thoroughly. (Leeks hold a lot of dirt in between its layers.) Dry them well. Brush with oil and salt lightly. Grill until tender. Note: If they fall apart while cutting, use skewers to hold the layers together for cooking. - kerij-e |
Along with Hot Pot, this is the other dish that is immediately identified with Mongolia. The Mongolian grill restaurants perpetuate the story that Mongol warrior would gather around a fire at the end of the day of battle and cook their food on an overturned shield or helmet. Although it is documented that Mongolian solders were organized in small groups that shared a cooking pot, the food was probably boiled mutton and reconstituted milk.
But we do know that the Mongols cooked thin slices of meat, and we do know that they had flat hot surfaces to cook things like bread on, so this precursor to "chowing" or stir-frying would be likely.
Mongolian Grill1 lb lamb, sliced thin
2 lb sliced beef, sliced thin
1 large yellow onion or 2 leeks sliced
2 TBS oil Heat a griddle until water sprinkled on it dances. Dribble the oil over the griddle. Fry the onions until they begin to soften, keep the onions moving on the grill. Add the lamb. Continue to push the meat around the grill. (Juice will start draining off into the fire. Just be careful.) Add the beef. Continue to fry until done. Note: For a tastier dish, marinate the lamb and beef in 1/2 cup vinegar, 1/2 cup soy sauce, 1 TBS brown sugar, grated 1" knob of ginger, 1 clove garlic crushed. 25 You can also add shredded cabbage, sliced bok choy, or other vegetables. - kerij-e |
Rock Cooking
River rocks can hold their heat for long periods of time. By placing them inside an animal carcass or inside a cooking pot, you can minimize the cooking time required.
In modern Mongolia, hot rocks are placed inside sealed pots with meat, onion, and rice to create a pressure cooker effect.15 When pots were not available, the animal itself could be used as a cooking vessel. Rocks were heated to red hot and then placed inside the animal.
- "But if they had not this [earthern pot], when they find some animal they kill it and take out the belly and empty it and then fill it with water, and they put it over the fire and let it cook; and when it is cooked they eat the flesh, cauldron and all." Marco Polo 22
-
- Another popular meat was marmot, still eaten today.
-
- "They have also certain little beasts called by them sogur [marmots], which lie in a cave twenty or thirty of them together, all the whole winter sleeping there for the space of six months. These they take in great numbers." Friar William 4
-
- "First, of course, you have to shoot the marmot through the head. Otherwise you put holes in the skin and it doesn't work. Once you've got him, you open the mouth and take out all the innards. Yes, with your hand through his mouth. If you use some kind of tool, you might break the skin inside and that would spoil him...
- "And then you get some river rocks and heat them in the fire...They have to be river rocks because mountain rocks will split in the heat. Choose ones that are the size of an egg, but flat rather than round."
- "Heat the rocks for around two hours, until they are red hot. Once they are inside, put the marmot on the coals of a very hot fire...that has cooked down to hot coals. Leave the head on and the feet and fur and all...Turn him occasionally.
- "Gradually, you will see your marmot get bigger and bigger. He puffs up with heating, and finally you'll feel that he's about ready...The first thing you can eat is the soup...The soup has collected inside." Inkhe (1996) 7
-
- Since all of the marmots I know of are in a National Park and are protected, and considering my modern squimishness about sticking my hand down an animals mouth, I came up with an alternative. Chicken was not eaten by the Mongols. You might try this with a whole dressed rabbit for a more authentic feel. But to try the cooking method, this works pretty well.
-
Chicken cooked like marmot1 whole chicken
salt
kitchen twine and needle
six egg sized flat river rocks. Washed and disinfected with a bit of clorine water.
aluminum foil, enough to double wrap the chicken. Heat the rocks on a fire until they are red hot. Meanwhile, remove the innards of the chicken. Rinse the inside well and dry. Salt lightly inside and out. Lay a double layer of aluminum under the chicken. When the rocks are hot enough, use tongs to pick them up and put inside the chicken. Quickly sew the chicken shut. Wrap the chicken in the tinfoil sealing it tightly. Return the whole chicken to the fire. Cook for 2 hours, turning occasionally. To serve, open the tinfoil. Cut the thread and pour or ladle out the broth. Remove the stones. (Sure use them to keep your feet warm.) Then eat the meat. Note: The Mongols did not eat poultry, but I was more interested in the cooking method, than trying marmot. - kerij-e |
-
Table Manners
- The only table settings Mongols had were shared platters, a bowl, and a dagger. The meat is served on a platter and the broth ladled into a bowl. There were several parts of the sheep that were considered especially tasty, the fatty tail, the tender shoulder, and the head. If you were offered this, you had no choice but to accept it and eat it all yourself.
-
- "..before the flesh of the sheep is served, the master takes what pleases him; and furthermore if he gives to anyone a special piece, it is custom that he who receive it shall eat it himself, and he may not give it to another; but if he cannot eat it all he carries it off with him, or gives it to a servant if he be present, who keeps it; other wise he puts it away in his captargac, which is a square bag which they carry to put such things in, in which they store bones when they have not time to gnaw them well, so that they can gnaw on them later and nothing of the food is lost." 32
-
- You pick up the meat with your fingers take a bite of meat, and slice the meat off between your lips and the bone, but don't use the dagger for other things.
-
"It is, for instance, a sin to poke one's dagger into the fire, or to touch the fire in any way with it. Do not take meat from the kettle with the dagger...to break one bone with the help of another, to pour milk or other drinks on the ground" Friar William Rubrick 31
-
-
- Like modern Mongols, they are enthusiastic eaters, slurping and gnawing. When they are finished, they had a habit of wiping their greasy hands on their pants or robes rather than wash them with scarce water. If they did wash their hands, they did so only sparingly.
-
- "When they desire to wash their hands or their heads, they fill their mouth full with water and spout it into their hands a little at a time; and in this way they wet their hair and wash their hands." Friar William 37
Travellers mentioned how they stained their silk and brocade robes without concern. As a result, most western travellers were less than impressed with Mongol manners and resultant hygene.
-
- And when you finished with your meal, your bowl was not washed, but rinsed only with the broth, which is poured back into the pot. 38
-
-
Conclusion
- It is still arguable that Mongol cuisine is just a collection of cooking methods for the same ingredients, but it is what they like. Even when they had access to a greater variety of ingredients and cooking methods, the Mongol is still a herder at heart and prefers his boiled mutton. 13 The great Kublai Khan ruling from his capitol Dadu, which is now Beijing, preferred the simplier Mongol foods, so what's good for the Khan, is good enough for me.
-
Updated March 2000, Year of the Iron Dragon
Please do not copy this page to another web site. It is a work in progress and will change as new information is incorporated. You are welcome to link to it.
Copyright 2000 C. Smithwick
Medieval Mongolian Cooking - Bibliography
Back to article
1. Reay Tannahill. Food in History. New York. 1973. pg. 150
2. Brothwell, Don and Patricia. Food in Antiquity. A Survey of the Diet of Early Peoples. London. 1969 pg. 72.
3. Komroff Contemporaries of Marco Polo pg. 5
4. Komroff Contemporaries of Marco Polo pg. 67
5. http://web.archive.org/web/20050223032505/http://www.cooking.com/recipes/rerecite_print.asp?No=150&Image=False
6. Martha Avery. Asian Woman of Mongolia Art and Archeology p94
7. Martha Avery. Asian Woman of Mongolia Art and Archeology p12
8.N. Oyunbayar. Meat, Milk and Mongolia http://web.archive.org/web/20050223032505/http://www.un-mongolia.mn/ger-mag/issue2/food.htm
9. http://www.feynman.com/tuva/txt/travel/potato.html
10. Bertold Spuler. History of the Mongols pg. 194
11. Bertold Spuler. History of the Mongols pg. 88
12. Bertold Spuler. History of the Mongols pg. 199
13. Kublai Khan His life and Times by Morris Rossabi, pg 227
14. Bertold Spuler. History of the Mongols pg. 199
15. Philip & Susan Troy <troy@asan.com> on Stefan's Florilegium http://web.archive.org/web/20050223032505/http://www.pbm.com/~lindahl/rialto/fd-Mongols-msg.html
16. Secret History of the Mongols translated and edited by Francis Cleaves. 1985, pg 21 Wild onions and leeks are also mentioned in Genghis Khan by R.P. Lister, 1969. page 36 and on page 54. "Things were worse than they had been in the old days [during Temujin's first exile] because there were no wild onions or apples or cherries, though there were juniper berries and the pine fruit." "..and their dessert the fruit of the tree shaped like the pine."
17. "Every day they gave us a bowl of millet a d quart of millet mead, and a saucepan and a tripod to cook the meat. We boiled the millet in the bouillion of that meat." Friar William, Contemporaries of Marco Polo, ed. Manuel Komkroft, 1989, pg. 140. Friar William travelled with a Mongol servant who also served as translator and most likely cook.
18. "Certain base fellows were placed there to revieve tribute from those who took salts out of the salt pits." Friar William, Contemporaries of Marco Polo, ed. Manuel Komkroft, 1989, pg. 80
19. Friar William, Contemporaries of Marco Polo, ed. Manuel Komkroft, 1989, pg. 106
20. Friar William, Contemporaries of Marco Polo, ed. Manuel Komkroft, 1989, pg. 107
21. "...a small platter of gold or silver is brought, in which there is salt dissolved in water." History of the Mongols by Bertold Spuler pg. 195
22. History of the Mongols by Bertold Spuler, 1968, pg 176
23. Friar William, Contemporaries of Marco Polo, ed. Manuel Komkroft, 1989, pg 64
There is a modern description of drying meat by N. Oyunbayar at http://web.archive.org/web/20050223032505/http://un-mongolia.mn/ger-mag/issue2/food.htm Basically, the meat is seperated from the fat, cut into thin strips and then hung to air-dry. It will last for a long time. When reconstituted in water, it expands up to two a half times its dried size.
24. "However, in the summer, so long as their cosmos lasts, they care not for any other food...The rest of the flesh they reserve until winter." History of the Mongols by Bertold Spuler, 1968, pg 64
25. These ingredients were available in Hangchow in the 13th century. "..But since there is nothing more tenacious than culinary traditions, some of the recipes still must be in use at the present day., and to judge from the ingredients most often mentioned, from the seasoning used (pepper, ginger, pimento, soya sauce, oil, salt, and vinegar) and from the principal methods of preparation, Hangchow cuisine in the 13th century does not seem to have been very different from the Chinese cuisine of today."
Daily Life in China on the eve of the Mongol Invasion 1250-1276, pg 133 Note that Hangchow was captured by the Mongolians in 1276 during the reign of Kubali Khan and it is described in the journals of Marco Polo.
27. Roasting was not mentioned by most of the journals except during great feasts. This was probably not a day to day cooking method as it uses a great deal of fuel. I would also imagine that since you are using dung as fuel, it would impart a particularly unpleasant flavour to the meat.
28 Franke, Herbert (1975) pg 175 Chinese Texts on the Jurchen. http://www.pma.edmonton.ab.ca/vexhibit/dragon/recipe.htm
A Translation of the Jurchen Monograph in the San-cha'o Pei-Meng Hui-pien. Zentralasiatische Studien 9:119-186." This recipe is actually a Jurchen recipe. The Jurchen's were a pre-Manchurian tribe from Northeastern China. They were overrun by Mongolian tribes at one time or another. This cookbook was written in the Yuan dynasty (Kublai Khan's reign.) The modern description of the herders and the milk can also use the pressure cooker method.
29. Bertold Spuler. History of the Mongols pg. 104
30. Bertold Spuler. History of the Mongols pg. 177 - From Marco Polo, The Description of the World, ed. A. Ch. Moule and P. Peliot, Vol. 1
31. Bertold Spuler. History of the Mongols pg. 74
32. Bertold Spuler. History of the Mongols pg. 93
"When they first rose to power they made a yasa [law] that no one should slaughter animals by cutting their throats, but should slit open their breasts after the Mongol Fashion." Bertold Spuler. History of the Mongols pg. 60
33. Tannahill The History of Food, pg 143
34. Genghis Khan by RP Lister, pg. 35
35 Contemporaries of Marco Polo, pg 84 (Friar William)
36. Contemporries of Marco Polo, pg 153 (Friar William) Over the next few pages, he mentions more meals of cooked dough. Tsampa is a dough made of roasted barley flour, milk and butter, that is mixed and eaten without benefit of further cooking.
37 Contemporaries of Marco Polo, pg 84 (Friar William), pg 71
38 "They never wash their dishes or bowls, but when their meat is cooked they wash the bowls with scalding hot broth out of the pot, and then pour the broth into the pot again." Friar William. Contemporaries of Marco Polo, pg 71
39 (Insert link to Mongolian BBQ, Millet soup and scallion bread)
40 LA Times Article by Scott Martell, March 15, 1998
http://web.archive.org/web/20050223032505/http://www.latimes.com/travel/destinations/19980315/t000025207.html
"The day trip was capped by a dinner of boodog, a Mongolian dish of onions and other vegetables cooked with sheep or goat meat. Traditional boodog is cooked in a goat-skin bag filled with the vegetables, meat chunks and rocks heated in a fire. The bag is then hung over the fire until the meat is done.
For our meal, the cooking crew used something that looked like a cross between a milk can and a pressure cooker. The mutton came out tough and gristly, not exactly a gourmet dish likely to be served at one of those Mongolian Barbecue chain restaurants. "
41 pg. 185 Foods of the World: Russian Cooking by Time Life Books
42 pg. 180 Foods of the World: Russian Cooking by Time Life Books
43 pg. ?? Foods of the World: Chinese Cooking by Time Life Books
44 "After the invading Mongols conquered China and set up a dynasty that ruled from 1279 to 1368, a number of their dishes were adapted by the Chinese to suit their tastes. Lamb was introduced to northern cooks at that time, and it remains a favorite in that region ever since; in other parts of China it s not, although the Cantonese do enjoy baby lamb. Mutton or lamb is the basis of the Mongolian Fire Pot...There is also Mongolian grill, an indoor barbeque...Long, thin strips of mutton are roasted on a red-hot grill over an open charcoal fire." " pg. 16 Foods of the World: Chinese Cooking by Time Life Books
45 "This dish is called Peking Mongolian, as it originated in Mongolia and later achieved fame and recognition in Peking...was first introduced to Peking in 1855, in the reign of Emperor Shanfeng." pg. 191 The Encyclopedia of Chinese Cooking by Kenneth Lo
46 Basalmic vinegar is closer to Chinese black vinegar. Interview with a Mongolian Chinese chef
http://www.globalgourmet.com/food/egg/egg0297/foointer.html
Orginal Recipes:
The modern recipes and their Sources that inspired and instructed me for my recreations.
Other Sources:
Contemporaries of Marco Polo, ed by
![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small}
