This Week’s Film: The Story of the Weeping Camel
Cuisine: Mongolian
Today’s Photo: Horses Drinking at Dawn (Dmitryp@Dreamstime.com)
This week, I’m pleased to have a guest contributor: Laura Kelley, author of The Silk Road Gourmet. This three-volume cookbook series encompasses the cuisines of more than thirty Asian countries along the ancient trade route. This week I will be featuring the cuisine of Mongolia to accompany the Mongolian documentary, The Story of the Weeping Camel.
On today’s Chopstick Cinema, Laura has generously provided an excerpt from her unpublished manuscript of Volume Three. In her Mongolia chapter introduction, Laura traces the history of Mongolia from the early nomads, through centuries of tribal and confederation rule, the rise of the Mongolian Empire of Genghis Khan, through the Chinese occupation, and finally to the liberation of the Mongolian People’s Republic in 1921. In the following excerpt, Laura goes on to say:
“What all this history means for Mongolia, is that there are a host of different influences on its culture and cuisine. European and Mediterranean influences can be seen in the use of coriander, cilantro, paprika, caraway and typically European spices such as fennel and marjoram. Persian and Arab influences can be seen in the pomegranates, almonds, saffron and sumac. Central Asia lends Mongolia its delicious onions and Africa gives its sesame seeds to be pressed into oil or enjoyed as a sauce for wheat or buckwheat noodles and vegetables.
Influences from the northern and western Indian subcontinental include the use of turmeric, cardamom, cinnamon and asafetida. Chinese influences can be found in the use of ginger, star anise, Sichuan pepper, soy sauce, and in the adaptations of such standards as rich, savory and sweet, hoisin sauce, five spice powder and great splashes of rice vinegar used by cooks and diners to add flavor to prepare dishes. The Mongolians share the love of meal-soups with many cultures in northern Asia. They also share yogurt and fermented yogurt drinks and cheeses and the love of salty milk-tea and meat dumpling meals with the Central Asians and Tibetans.
So you can see, Mongolian cuisine is not a pot of salty, boiled meat devoid of spices as now passes for “traditional” in many yurts offering hospitality to passing travelers. Rather, it is a varied patchwork of cultural influences ranging from heavily Chinese on the east and north to one with Persian, Indian and Mediterranean influences flowing in from the west.
Urbanization and globalization are once again bringing new winds of cultural change to Mongolia and the cuisine is changing fast as a result. Rice once a relatively rare trade item coming from south of the Tibetan plateau can be had at any time of the year. Likewise fruits and vegetables from around the world can be found more regularly in urban markets and are beginning to be enjoyed and favored by the Mongolian populace.”
Follow this link to Laura Kelley’s website The Silk Road Gourmet, and look forward to a Mongolian recipe from The Silk Road Gourmet, Volume Three, which will be posted at the end of the week along with my Story of the Weeping Camel film review.
 |
Posted
by Food |
The traditional Mongolian lifestyle is quite rustic, and Mongolian food is relatively simple. Therefore it doesn’t really require that many seasonings and spices. The main ones are soy sauce, sesame oil, chili garlic sauce, chili oil, dried red chilies, turmeric, rice vinegar, and rice wine.