Mongolian barbecue (Chinese: 蒙古烤肉; pinyin: Měnggǔ kǎoròu) is a restaurant style of stir frying meats and vegetables over a large, round, solid iron griddle that is as large as 2.5 m in diameter and can cook at temperatures as high as 300°C. Originally from Taiwan, it is neither Mongolian nor barbecue.
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Origin
Mongolian barbecue first appeared in Taiwan in the middle to late 20th century. Although the stir-frying of meats on a large, open surface is supposed to evoke Mongolian cuisine, the preparation actually derives from Japanese-style teppanyaki which was popular in Taiwan at the time. "Mongolian" barbecue is not actually Mongolian at all; for examples of genuine Mongolian food, see buuz or khuushuur. A barbecue in Mongolia is prepared quite differently. BD's Mongolian Barbecue claims that soldiers of the Mongol Empire gathered large quantities of meats, prepared them with their swords and cooked them on their overturned shields over a large fire.[1][2], while a German restaurant chain with the same concept claims that the Mongolian soldiers cooked their meals on a heated stone.[3]
Preparation
Typically, diners choose various ingredients from a buffet of thinly sliced raw meats and vegetables and assemble them in a large bowl or on a plate. These ingredients are given to the griddle operator who adds the diner's choice of sauce and transfers them to one section of the hot griddle. Oil and sometimes water may be added to ease cooking and the ingredients are stirred occasionally. The ample size of the Mongolian barbecue griddle allows for several diners' food to be cooked simultaneously on different parts of the griddle. When cooking is complete, the finished dish is scooped into a bowl and handed to the diner.
Restaurants
In Taiwan, a number of restaurants exist that specialize in Mongolian barbecue with additional buffet items available as well. These establishments often have names evoking the Mongol Empire such as Great Khan (大可汗) or Temüjin (鐵木真). The peak popularity of these restaurants was in the 1980s and 1990s. In the United States, Mongolian barbecue is often found in American Chinese buffet restaurants, but some businesses such as the BD's Mongolian Barbeque chain focus primarily on the barbecue. Hu Hot, Genghis Grill, and Hula's are other chains of restaurants with this type of fare. The Mongolian Barbeque is a chain with locations in Europe and the Middle East.
Jingisukan
In Japan, a similar dish to Mongolian barbecue called Jingisukan (ジンギスカン? "Genghis Khan") is prepared with mutton and cooked on a convex metal skillet. The dish is particularly popular on the northern island of Hokkaidō. The dish is rumored to be so named because in prewar Japan, lamb was widely thought to be the meat of choice among Mongolian soldiers, and the dome-shaped skillet is meant to represent the soldier's helmets that they purportedly used to cook their food. Jingisukan is thought to be affected by Chinese maton barbecue, but not the current Mongolian barbecue. There is a dispute over who invented the dish, candidates include Tokyo, Zaō Onsen [1], and Tōno [2]. The first Jingisukan dedicated restaurant was a Jingisu-sō (成吉思荘? "Genghis House") in Tokyo, opened in 1936. [3]
See also
"Khorkhog", an authentic "Mongolian barbecue" meal.
