A Taste of the World: Mongolian Dumplings

It's a new week which means a new recipe from a new country. Where did we travel to this time? A country known for being a China-Russia sandwich filler: Mongolia! So grab your ushanka and brush out your beard, we're cooking some dumplings! After talking to Khailiun Chinbat, a Santa Monica College student from Mongolia, I found out that fried dumplings, or Khuushuur, is one of the most popular and traditional dishes of the country. Historically, Mongolians would hold them in the palm of their hands "centering" themselves to promote balance and healing.

I had to do some serious mental preparation for this meal, considering it required the difficult task of making dough. Not only do you have to knead and fold, but you must also keep in mind the proper ratio of water to flour. The recipe called for four cups of flour, and then water to mix. I started with two cups of flour, added about one cup of water and the salt. Slowly, while mixing, I added the rest of the flower until the dough became thick enough to knead with my hands. Warning: your hands will get very sticky.

The meat is pretty easy to cook. Ground beef can be seared straight out of the packet, with the spices sprinkled ontop and mixed in. However, I prefer to mix the meat and the spices with my hands before cooking it.

I broke off pieces of the dough, rolled them in my palm and then rolled them out with a rolling pin. After trying a few different techniques, the dumplings went from looking like large empanadas, to being almost the exact size of my palm, and tasting delicious.

Stuffing the dumplings with vegetables instead of meat is always healthier, and tastes just as good!

To watch my trials and failures, check out the A Taste of the World video online at, www.TheCorsairOnline.com. Don't forget to let us know what country we should choose next!

INGREDIENTS

Dough:

4 cups flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

Water to mix

Meat:

Ground beef

Mashed garlic

1/2 teaspoon salt

One onion chopped

Garlic salt to taste

Teaspoon of oil

2 cups oil to fry in large frying pan

PREPARATION:

Meat:

Mix ground beef, onions and spices in a bowl thoroughly.

Heat two tablespoons of oil in a frying pan and add the meat mixture.

Cook until beef and onions are cooked. Remove from heat.

Dough:

Mix the dough ingredients together and knead.

Divide into smaller, individual balls of dough and roll out 8 to ten centimeters in diameter.

Dumplings:

Spoon 2 ½ dessertspoons of meat mixture onto one side of your circle, leaving a space between the pile of meat mixture and the edge of the dough circle.

Fold over the dough into half circles, squeeze out the air and seal on the edges.

To cook:

Using 2 liters of cooking oil, heat the oil in a wok, fry three or four pasties at e time for 2 minutes each side, until they are brown and meat is cooked.

Remove from the wok and let excess oil drain on a paper towel.