Tsuivan: Tsuivan is a noodle dish with meat and vegetables. If you like Chinese lo mein, or stir fry noodles, it is similar to that! This dish is one of the most popular in Mongolia.
Teftel: Teftel is Mongolian meatballs. They are a mixture of meat, onions, and rice, made in a rich gravy.
Niislel Salat: What does salat sound like? If you said "salad," that's what it is! Niislel salat translates to "capital salad" in Mongolian. It is inspired by Russian potato salad, and very similar to American potato salad. In niislel salat, you mix potatoes, carrots, meat, eggs, pickles, mustard, and a lot of mayo. This dish is a very common side dish in Mongolian meals.
For me, the beauty of Mongolian foods lies in how pure it is. You can taste the quality of the raw ingredients, such as the milk or meat, in Mongolian foods! However, this means at first, you don't taste many seasonings that are normal in American dishes. So, when I first tried Mongolian aaruul, or stewed meat, I was unsure if I liked it because it was so different!
However, over time, you can learn to like many new foods. That is what happened to me in Mongolia. The more pure dairy and meat foods I had, the more I began to love them! Have you ever disliked a food at first, but then changed your mind?
Aaruul is actually made from the sun and wind. How is that possible?
To make aaruul, Mongolians traditionally boiled yogurt for a long time. Then, they took the solid curd that forms, flattened it down with a heavy object, and cut it into small shapes.
