National Dish Mongolia: Buuz (Recipe)
In this article
Buuz are steamed dumplings filled with mutton and onion, and Mongolians eat them by the dozen at Tsagaan Sar, the lunar new year. Households make several thousand in advance and freeze them outside, which in a Mongolian February is entirely practical.
About Buuz
The filling is minced or hand-chopped mutton with onion, garlic and not much else. No vegetables, no soy, no ginger. Mongolian cooking is meat and dairy and it does not apologise for it.
The pleating at the top is where skill shows. A well-made buuz has an open hole at the top so steam escapes and the juices stay in.
Ingredients (serves 1–2)
- 250 g plain wheat flour
- 150 ml water
- A pinch of salt
- 300 g minced meat (lamb or beef)
- 1 medium onion, finely chopped
- 1 garlic clove, finely chopped
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- Vegetable oil, for the steamer
Shopping for the ingredients
Mutton with a good proportion of fat is what Mongolians use, and the fat is not optional: it renders into the juice that makes buuz worth eating. Ask the butcher for a coarse mince. Plain flour, nothing special.
Preparing the dish
Rest the dough at least thirty minutes. Roll the wrappers thinner at the edges than in the centre, so the base holds the juice. Add a spoonful of cold water to the filling, which turns to steam and keeps it moist.
Step-by-step instructions
- Sift the flour into a bowl, add the water and a pinch of salt, and knead to a smooth, supple dough. Cover and leave to rest 30 minutes.
- In a separate bowl, combine the minced meat with the onion, garlic, salt, pepper and a spoonful of cold water until well mixed.
- Roll out the dough and cut out circles roughly 10 cm in diameter, thinner at the edges.
- Place a tablespoon of filling in the centre of each circle. Fold the dough up around the filling and pleat it, leaving a small opening at the top.
- Grease the steamer, then arrange the buuz inside with space between them, as they will expand while cooking.
- Steam the dumplings for about 20 to 25 minutes, until the dough turns translucent.
Gluten-free / lactose-free version
Buuz contain no dairy. The wrapper is wheat; a gluten-free dumpling dough works but tears more easily, so roll it slightly thicker.
Tips for vegans and vegetarians
Mongolian cooking is built on livestock and there is little tradition of meat-free dishes. Mushroom and cabbage make a serviceable filling in the same wrapper, but it is an adaptation rather than anything Mongolian.
More tips and tricks
Add water to the filling. That is the trick behind juicy dumplings and it is what separates good buuz from dry ones. Grease the steamer well or they stick and tear. And eat them with your hands, biting a small hole first to drink the juice.
Adapting the recipe to your taste
Khuushuur is the fried version, flat and larger. Bansh is the small boiled one, dropped into milk tea. Caraway is a common addition in the west of the country.
Ingredient substitutions
Beef replaces mutton and is milder. A little lamb fat added to lean mince improves it considerably. Bought dumpling wrappers work.
Drink pairing ideas
Suutei tsai, the salted milk tea, is what buuz are eaten with and the combination makes more sense than it sounds. Airag, fermented mare’s milk, at Tsagaan Sar. Vodka at any celebration.
Serving and presentation ideas
Pile them on a plate, no sauce, no garnish. Mongolians eat them with the fingers and count how many. At Tsagaan Sar they are served alongside a tower of ul boov biscuits and there is no limit to how many you may take.
A bit of history
Steamed dumplings travelled the Silk Road and every culture along it has a version; buuz are related to Tibetan momo and Chinese baozi. Mongolia’s nomadic diet depended on what a herd produced, and dumplings were a way of stretching meat and eating it hot in a ger. They anchor Mongolian cuisine.
More recipe ideas
Summary: Buuz
Buuz are steamed mutton dumplings pleated with a small opening at the top. Add water to the filling, roll the edges thin, grease the steamer, and bite a hole before you eat.
