Buuz: Mongolian Steamed Lamb Dumplings

Wrapping the gifts of the steppe: the steamed dumplings of Mongolian nomads

A winter on the Mongolian plateau, minus 30 degrees. Inside the ger (the portable home), the whole family sits around a low round table, biting into steamed dumplings held in their hands. The moment the wrapper tears, hot juices gush out and white steam rises. This is buuz (Buuz / Бууз), Mongolia's national steamed dumpling.

In Mongolian, buuz means "something steamed," and as the name says, it is lamb or mutton and onion wrapped in a wheat wrapper and steamed. It looks like Chinese xiaolongbao or a steamed pork bun, but the decisive difference is that it is made with 100% lamb. The meat of sheep grazed on the Mongolian steppe is said to have a flavor on a different level from lamb or mutton sold elsewhere.

Buuz are eaten all year in Mongolia, but they matter most at Tsagaan Sar (Tsagaan Sar / Цагаан Сар), the Mongolian Lunar New Year. At this time, Mongolian families prepare hundreds of buuz and serve them to visiting guests. The more buuz there are, the deeper the hospitality is said to be.

Ingredients (serves 4, about 24 dumplings)

Instructions

Make the dough

First, prepare the wrapper dough. Buuz wrappers are somewhat thicker than Chinese dumpling wrappers and need a firm springiness. This thickness serves as the "vessel" that keeps the juices in when steamed.

Put the flour and salt in a bowl, and stir around with chopsticks while adding the boiling water a little at a time. When the dough starts to come together in crumbs, add the oil and bring it together by hand. Turn it out onto a work surface and knead for about 10 minutes until the surface is smooth. Wrap the kneaded dough in plastic wrap and rest it at room temperature for at least 30 minutes.

Make the filling

Add minced onion, garlic, salt, black pepper and cumin to the ground lamb. The important thing here is to add "water." Mixing 2–3 tbsp of water into the filling lets soup collect inside when steamed, so the juices burst out the moment you bite in.

With chopsticks or your hand, mix in one direction until sticky. This "mixing in one direction" technique makes the meat's proteins tangle and bind, so the juices are less likely to escape when steamed. Overmixing makes the filling hard, so stop once it turns sticky.

Rest the mixed filling in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes. Cold filling is easier to wrap and holds more juice when steamed.

Wrap the buuz

The way to wrap buuz is distinctive. It resembles Chinese xiaolongbao or Georgian khinkali, but the Mongolian style is characterized by leaving a small hole at the top. Steam escapes through this hole and the steaming is more even.

How to eat: by hand, sipping the juice

The right way to eat buuz is a manner nurtured over years at the Mongolian table.

First, once you've taken a buuz to your plate, let it cool a little before picking it up by hand. If you bite in while it is hot, the juices can burn your mouth. Put your lips to the hole at the top and first sip the juice inside. This juice is the essence of buuz: a thick, hot soup concentrating the savor and fat of lamb. Then bite into the whole thing, wrapper included.

In Mongolia it is most common to eat them as they are, without soy sauce or dip, but at a table elsewhere, a dip of soy sauce and vinegar, or a touch of chili oil, is also delicious. It seems more Mongolians are also eating them with ketchup.

History of the dish: from the table of the steppe empire to present-day Ulaanbaatar

Tracing the roots of buuz leads to the nomadic culture of Central Asia.

For thousands of years the nomads of the Mongolian plateau have raised the five animals (horses, cattle, sheep, goats and camels) and lived mainly on their milk and meat. High-calorie lamb was an important source of energy for getting through the bitter winters, so it was natural that dishes using plenty of meat, like buuz, developed.

There are two main theories about the direct origin of buuz.

First theory: via Tibet. This holds that the Tibetan steamed dumpling momo came to Mongolia. It is thought that the method of making momo traveled through monks and merchants in the 16th to 17th centuries, when Tibetan Buddhism spread in Mongolia, and merged with Mongolia's lamb culture to become buuz. Some linguists also suggest that the word "buuz" derives from the Tibetan "mog mog."

Second theory: via China. This holds that the Chinese baozi was brought back to Mongolia in the Yuan dynasty (1271–1368). Many Chinese cooks were employed at Kublai Khan's court, and Chinese steaming techniques may have entered Mongolian cooking. The sound similarity between "Buuz" and "Baozi" also supports this theory. Similar historical cultural exchange is a pattern seen in the spread of dishes through colonial rule and trade routes, as with feijoada.

Under either theory, there is no doubt that Mongolia's harsh climate and nomadic culture developed buuz into its present form. In winter temperatures of minus 30 to 40 degrees, buuz can be kept just by laying them out outdoors, a natural freezer, and need only to be steamed again before eating. This convenience as a preserved food is one of the important reasons buuz became Mongolia's national dish.

In present-day Mongolia, "buuz shops" (Buuzny Gazar / Буузны Газар) are found around the capital Ulaanbaatar and are part of everyday casual eating out. It is also common to buy frozen buuz to take away and steam at home. As koshari is Egypt's national fast food, buuz is the flavor of Mongolian everyday life itself.

Techniques for perfect buuz: five tips

1. Add water to the filling to make a "pool of juice"

The greatest appeal of buuz is the juice that floods out the moment you bite in. To produce this juice, it is important to add 2–3 tbsp of water to the filling. With too little water, the inside turns dry even when steamed and it becomes "just a steamed dumpling." Using beef bone broth or chicken stock instead of water gives a still richer juice.

2. Thick in the center, thin at the edge

Buuz wrappers are thicker than dumpling wrappers but not uniformly thick. Roll them thicker in the center (the part that becomes the base) and thinner at the edge (the part that is pleated). If the base is thin, it tears under the weight of the juice when steamed and the soup leaks out. When rolling, don't press the pin on the center of the wrapper; roll only the edge, and the center naturally ends up thicker.

3. At least eight pleats

Skilled Mongolian cooks are said to gather 33 pleats in one buuz, but for home cooking 8–12 pleats are enough. With too few pleats the wrapping is loose and opens when steamed. Aim for eight at first and gradually increase as you get used to it.

4. Wait for plenty of steam in the steamer

The best moment to put buuz in the steamer is when steam is billowing out through the gap in the lid. If you add them while the steam is weak, the dough turns sticky, clings to the steamer, and the wrappers tear when you take them out.

5. Steam for 15–18 minutes; the top hole is the signal

The guide for steaming time is 15–18 minutes. When clear juice shows through the top hole, that is the sign they are done. If the juice is still reddish, they are underheated, so steam another 2–3 minutes. Conversely, oversteaming makes the wrappers soggy and prone to tearing.

Variations: the Mongolian family of meat dishes

Mongolia has several meat dishes that are siblings of buuz. All come from the shared idea of "wrapping lamb in a wheat wrapper."

Khuushuur (Khuushuur / Хуушуур): fried buuz

Khuushuur uses nearly the same filling as buuz but is wrapped in a half-moon shape and fried. The appeal is the contrast of crisp outside and juicy inside. At the Naadam festival (the national summer sports festival), stalls of khuushuur line the grounds. For Mongolians, khuushuur is the "taste of summer" and buuz the "taste of winter."

Bansh (Bansh / Банш): small boiled dumplings

Bansh is a miniature buuz, a small dumpling the size of a thumb tip. It is generally eaten in soup, and is an everyday food alongside Mongolia's tsuivan (Tsuivan / Цуйван) (stir-fried noodles). It also serves as a kind of "Mongolian porridge" eaten when you have a cold or an upset stomach.

Comparison with steamed dumplings in neighboring regions

Buuz is one of the steamed-dumpling cultures spread from East Asia to Central Asia.

Tsagaan Sar: the Mongolian new year with buuz as the star

Essential to the cultural importance of buuz is Tsagaan Sar (Tsagaan Sar / Цагаан Сар), the Mongolian Lunar New Year.

Tsagaan Sar follows a lunar calendar, so the date changes every year, but it is generally held from late January into February. Around this time, each Mongolian household prepares hundreds to over a thousand buuz. The whole family gathers in the kitchen to roll wrappers, wrap the filling and steam them. This "buuz prep" is itself an important family event at the end of the year.

On the first day of Tsagaan Sar, homes receive visitors. Guests are first served milk tea (suutei tsai / Сүүтэй Цай), and then buuz, steaming hot. It is polite for a guest to finish at least one buuz, since leaving buuz uneaten would mean refusing the hospitality.

Storing and freezing: recreating the Mongolian "natural freezer" at home

Buuz freeze very well. In Mongolia in winter, laying them out outdoors makes a natural freezer, but at home you can arrange them on a tray or pan and put them in the freezer.

Freezing steps:

1. Arrange unsteamed buuz on a tray lined with parchment paper
2. Leave space so the buuz don't touch each other
3. Put in the freezer; the surface firms in 2–3 hours
4. Once firm, move them to a freezer bag
5. About 1 month in the freezer

To steam again: Put them in the steamer while still frozen and steam 18–22 minutes. The point is to steam them without thawing. I don't recommend thawing in the microwave because the wrappers turn sticky.

Frequently asked questions

Q1. Can I make it with meat other than lamb?

Yes. You can make it with beef, pork, or a mix of ground beef and pork. However, the distinctive flavor of Mongolian buuz comes from lamb, so I strongly recommend using lamb if you can. Beef has little fat, so adding 1 tbsp neutral oil to the filling keeps it juicy.

Q2. What if I don't have a steamer?

A frying pan can stand in. Line the pan with parchment paper, arrange the buuz, pour in about 1 cm of water, cover, and steam-fry over medium heat for 15 minutes. You get "pan-fried buuz" with a crisp bottom, which is tasty in its own way. The result is close to Chinese pan-fried xiaolongbao (shengjianbao).

Q3. Is it okay to close the hole at the top?

You can eat it closed, but without the hole you can't judge when it is done, and there is a risk that the inside is undercooked. The hole also lets steam circulate evenly and improves the wrapper's texture. Try the wrapping method that leaves the hole first.

Q4. Can I reheat frozen buuz in the microwave?

I don't recommend it. In the microwave the wrappers turn rubbery and sticky and the bottoms soggy. The best way to cook frozen buuz is to steam them: 18–22 minutes from frozen. If you don't have a steamer, use the frying pan method from Q2.

Q5. Can children eat it?

Yes. Halve the cumin and black pepper and the flavor is easy for children. However, the juice inside is very hot, so for small children widen the hole to let the steam out and let it cool 3–5 minutes before handing it over.

Sources