I was just reflecting on how quiet it was sitting out here on the porch with the dog. THEN my son showed up with his dog to let him run around the field to expel some energy. Luckily his dog and our dog get along quite well and chasing tennis balls is the best game ever.
Last week for our #worldwidewednesday family dinner we went to Mongolia. Mongolia is sandwiched between Russia and China which is probably why I have had Mongolian beef in our local Chinese restaurant. I have never tried making it, It is actually quite easy to make and tastes fantastic. I think it would make a great weeknight meal or a lovely meal anytime. It’s been in the 90’s and very humid around here, so this is a great meal that won’t overheat the house.
I also made Buuz which is a Mongolian steamed dumpling filled with meat and they generally serve at home during Tsagaan Sar, the Lunar New Year. I wanted to share this recipe as well only because the dough and filing are very easy to make, the only part that takes some effort is forming the dumpling, I obviously need a lot more practice. I would dub these ugly but effective; a term I use a lot in my golf game.

Mongolian Beef
Ingredients
- 1½ pound Skirt Steak, or NY Strip Steak thinly sliced
- 3 tablespoon corn starch
- 2 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1 tablespoon ginger
- ⅓ cup low sodium soy sauce
- ¼ cup water
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- 2 scallions sliced 1 inch pieces
- 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
- Kosher salt and black pepper to taste
- white rice for serving
Instructions
- Season sliced steak with salt and pepper. Toss steak in cornstarch until fully and evenly coated. Set aside. Note - I place the steak in freezer for 20-30 minutes before slicing, it is so much easier to get the size pieces you want.
- Place a large skillet over medium-high heat and add 1 tablespoon oil. Add garlic and ginger and sauté for 1 minute. Add soy sauce, water and sugar and bring to a boil until sugar dissolves, about 2 minutes. Pour sauce into container and set aside.
- Place skillet back over heat and add remaining oil. Add steak and sear until evenly browned on both sides, 1 to 2 minutes per side.
- Pour sauce back into skillet and stir together with beef. Simmer and allow sauce to thicken, 1 to 2 minutes.
- Toss in green onion and continue to cook for 1 more minute until sauce is thick enough to coat the back of a wooden spoon.
- Pour Mongolian beef over steamed rice and serve.

Buuz
Equipment
- 1 bamboo steamer or cooling rack and a couple of pots
Ingredients
dough
- 3½ cups all-purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons kosher salt
- 1½ cups water
meat filling
- 1½ pounds ground lamb
- 1½ cups onions diced
- 3 scallions diced
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 3 tablespoons ground coriander
- 2 tablespoons kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon Black pepper
Instructions
dough - needs to rest for an hour
- In a medium size bowl mix together flour and salt. Make a well in the center and gradually pour in water. Pull in flour from the side of the bowl until well mixed in and you have formed a dough.
- Place dough on a clean work surface and knead with your hands until dough is smooth. Add more flour or water if necessary
- Place dough in a bowl, cover and allow dough to rest for one hour in the refrigerator before using.
meat filling
- In a large bowl, combine lamb, onion, scallions, garlic, coriander, salt and pepper. Mix until everything is well combined
dumpling
- the objective here is to take a round piece of dough and about a tablespoon of meat filling and pinch the dough around the meat leaving a small hole in the top of the dough. Mine were not what they should look like, however they tasted great.
- Remove dough from refrigerator, knead for about a minute then roll it out into a log about 1-inch in diameter. it becomes quite long. Then cut into 1 inch pieces.
- Roll each piece of dough into a ball and lightly dust with flour. Flatten it a bit, then roll it out into a circle about 4-inches in diameter. Make the center slightly thicker than the edges.
- Hold one dough circle in your hand and place about a teaspoon of filling in the center. Pinch the edge on one side, then create another fold next to it. Continue this way while rotating the buuz as you go along. If done correctly there will be a small opening in the center of the top. If not just run with it.
- Dip the bottom of each buuz into a bit of oil, or line a steamer rack with lettuce so that buuz does not stick to the rack. Arrange buuz on rack so that they do not touch. If you have a bamboo steamer; use that. If you don’t have one, I have used a cooling rack over my pot with another pot for a cover before and it works just fine.
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