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Finished khuushuur: golden half-moon fried pastries on a plain plate, one cut open to show the cooked ground beef and onion filling
Serves4 servings
CuisineMongolian
East Asia

Khuushuur: Mongolian Half-Moon Fried Beef Pockets

How to make khuushuur, Mongolian half-moon pockets of plain flour-and-water dough filled with ground beef, onion, black pepper and salt, then fried. Follows the beef recipe Dr. Odgerel Batsaikhan shared with WPSU World Kitchen, step by step from filling to shaping to frying, with a separate food-thermometer check for the ground-beef filling.

Cooking flow

Cooking steps

STEP 11 / 26

Chop the onion

Hands chopping a quarter onion on a clean cutting board
Chop only the onion at this stage

Finely chop the 1/4 onion on a clean board.

STEP 22 / 26

Add the onion to the beef

Chopped onion being added to raw ground beef in a bowl
The salt and pepper stay aside for now

Put the ground beef in a bowl and add the chopped onion.

STEP 33 / 26

Add the black pepper

Black pepper being ground over the raw beef and onion
Pepper goes in before the salt

Add the 1/2 teaspoon black pepper to the beef and onion. Keep the salt aside.

STEP 44 / 26

Mix the beef, onion and pepper

A hand mixing raw ground beef, chopped onion and black pepper
Beef, onion and pepper are mixed before salting

Mix the beef, onion and black pepper together.

STEP 55 / 26

Add the salt

Salt falling from a spoon onto the mixed raw beef filling
Salt goes into the filling, not the dough

Add the 1/2 tablespoon salt to the mixed filling.

STEP 66 / 26

Mix in the salt

A spoon mixing the salted raw beef filling
The finished raw filling waits in its own bowl

Mix again so the salt is worked through the filling. Keep the raw filling in its bowl until shaping, and do not taste it.

STEP 77 / 26

Pour the water into the flour

Water being poured into a bowl of flour
The dough uses only flour and water

Put the 3 cups flour in a separate bowl and pour in the 1 cup water.

STEP 88 / 26

Bring the dough together

Hands combining flour and water into a soft dough
Mix until the dough comes together

Combine the flour and water into a soft dough that you can handle.

STEP 99 / 26

Rest the dough

Plain dough resting in a bowl on the counter
A 15-minute rest before shaping

Let the dough rest for 15 minutes.

STEP 1010 / 26

Cut the dough into slices

A knife cutting the dough into thick slices
Cut first; the rolling comes next

Cut the dough into slices about 3 cm thick.

STEP 1111 / 26

Roll each slice into a rope

Hands rolling a piece of plain dough into a smooth rod
Roll each slice into a solid rope

Roll each slice back and forth on the board into a rope.

STEP 1212 / 26

Cut the rope into pieces

A knife cutting the dough rope into pieces
Cut the rope into pieces; flatten them in the next step

Cut each rope into pieces about 4 cm wide.

STEP 1313 / 26

Flatten each piece

A fingertip pressing one dough piece flat
Flatten each piece by hand first

Press each piece flat with your fingers.

STEP 1414 / 26

Roll out a circle

A rolling pin rolling a dough piece into a circle
A round about 10 cm across, a little thicker in the middle

Roll a flattened piece into a circle about 10 cm across, leaving the center slightly thicker than the edge. Roll out only a few at a time so you can fill and close them soon after rolling.

STEP 1515 / 26

Add the filling

A spoon placing raw beef filling on one half of a dough circle
Keep the edge clear of filling

Place about 1.5 teaspoons of raw filling on one half of the circle. Leave a clean margin around the edge.

STEP 1616 / 26

Fold in half

Hands aligning the edges of a folded half-moon pastry
Line the edges up before pressing

Fold the dough over the filling so the two edges meet in a half-moon.

STEP 1717 / 26

Press the edge closed

Fingers pressing the edge of a half-moon pastry closed
A simple pressed edge, with no pleats or braid

Press the aligned edges firmly together with your fingers along the whole curve to close the pastry. Repeat steps 14–17 with the remaining dough and filling.

STEP 1818 / 26

Pour the oil into the pan

Oil being poured into an empty frying pan
Oil goes into the cold, empty pan

Pour the 1/2 cup canola oil into a dry, empty frying pan before you turn on the heat.

STEP 1919 / 26

Heat the oil

A pan of oil over a burner with a splatter screen beside it
Medium heat, with the splatter screen ready

Set the pan over medium heat. Keep a splatter screen ready beside the pan.

STEP 2020 / 26

Fry the first side

A half-moon pastry frying in oil under a mesh splatter screen
The screen catches splatters; the pan stays open to it

Carefully place the sealed pastries in the oil and cover the pan with the splatter screen. Fry over medium heat for about 2 minutes. Do not close the pan with a lid.

STEP 2121 / 26

Turn and fry the second side

A turner flipping one pastry in the frying pan
Turn each piece to fry the second side

Turn each pastry over and fry the other side for about 2 minutes.

STEP 2222 / 26

Check the color

Small half-moon pastries frying golden in a pan of oil
Golden outsides are an appearance cue, not a doneness test

Check that both sides are golden. The color tells you how the outside looks. It does not tell you the beef inside is fully cooked.

STEP 2323 / 26

Measure the filling temperature

A food thermometer probe inserted into the filling of a fried pastry
Measure the thickest filling with a real thermometer

Turn off the heat and lift the thickest pastry out of the oil and away from the heat. Insert a food thermometer through the side into the thickest part of the beef filling. It should read at least 160°F (71°C). If it does not, return the pastry to the oil, keep frying, and measure again. Do not judge doneness by color, steam, frying time or how pink the meat looks.

STEP 2424 / 26

Drain the oil

A skimmer holding a fried pastry over a wire rack to drain
Let excess oil drip off on a rack

Lift the fried pastries onto a wire rack set over a tray and let the oil drain. For cooked pastries, use a clean utensil, not one that touched the raw filling.

STEP 2525 / 26

Plate

Tongs placing a fried pastry onto a plain plate
Plate the khuushuur plain

Move the drained khuushuur onto a serving plate.

STEP 2626 / 26

Serve right away

Freshly fried khuushuur on a plain plate at a home table
Eat them while they are freshly fried

Serve the khuushuur freshly fried, as they are, with no sauce or side added.

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Ingredients

Ingredients

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Ingredients

Ingredient Amount Role
All-purpose flour 3 cups Dough
Water 1 cup Dough
Ground beef 1 pound (460 g) Filling
Onion 1/4 Filling. Chopped
Salt 1/2 tablespoon Filling only. Add after the beef, onion and pepper are mixed
Black pepper 1/2 teaspoon Filling
Canola oil 1/2 cup For frying. This is oil for the pan, not an amount the pastries absorb
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Khuushuur: Thin Fried Dough Around Beef Filling

What this recipe keeps

A plain dough of flour and water, a filling of ground beef, onion, black pepper and salt, and a half-moon shape fried golden on both sides. There is nothing else in it: no extra vegetables, herbs, garlic or sauce.

Khuushuur is a half-moon pocket of wheat dough folded around raw ground beef and fried in oil until golden. The dough is rolled into small rounds a little thicker in the center than at the edge. A small spoonful of filling goes on one side, and the round is folded over and closed. The result is a crisp, flat pastry with seasoned beef inside.

This article follows the khuushuur recipe that WPSU World Kitchen published from its program on Mongolia. On that program, WPSU invited Dr. Odgerel Batsaikhan to present khuushuur as a traditional Mongolian dish. The recipe is the beef version. It serves 4 and uses only seven ingredients. The filling is mixed in a set order: beef, onion and black pepper first, then salt. The dough rests for 15 minutes before shaping.

We have not test-cooked this recipe in our own kitchen. The amounts, sizes and frying cues below come from the WPSU World Kitchen recipe. The temperature check for the beef filling is a separate food-safety addition based on FoodSafety.gov, not part of the WPSU recipe.

What Khuushuur Is, and What This Version Includes

Mongolian cooking also has buuz, another filled dumpling. The Mongolfood.info recipe pages describe the two as different in shape and cooking method: buuz are steamed, while khuushuur are flat half-moons fried in oil. Here we use that comparison only to tell the two apart. Its own ingredients and edge-folding style are not used in this recipe.

The WPSU recipe PDF briefly notes that khuushuur is commonly made with lamb or beef. Its ingredient list is for ground beef, so this article uses beef only. The same PDF also includes a separate raw cabbage salad recipe and mentions optional condiments such as ketchup. Those are outside this article, which covers freshly fried khuushuur served plain.

A few details are not given in the recipe, and we have not filled them in:

  • Cup size. The PDF gives cups but does not say which cup standard. We do not convert the flour or water to grams or to other cup sizes.
  • Number of pieces. The recipe serves 4 but does not say how many khuushuur it makes.
  • Oil temperature. The PDF says medium heat and gives no number.
  • Overall time. The PDF lists 30 minutes of preparation, 20 minutes of cooking and a total of 1 hour. These figures do not line up with each other, so this article does not promise an overall time.

Ingredients (Serves 4)

Uncooked khuushuur ingredients set out separately: flour, water, raw ground beef, an onion wedge, salt, black pepper and canola oil
Keep the dough ingredients, filling ingredients and frying oil separate until each step

The dough uses flour and water only. The beef, onion, black pepper and salt all go into the filling. The canola oil is for frying.

Equipment

  • Knife and cutting board
  • Mixing bowl for the filling
  • Mixing bowl for the dough
  • Measuring cup and measuring spoons
  • Rolling pin
  • Spoon for the filling
  • Frying pan
  • Splatter screen
  • Turner or tongs
  • Food thermometer
  • Wire rack set over a tray, and a skimmer
  • Serving plate

Choosing and Handling the Ingredients

Keep the dough plain. The dough is flour and water only, with no salt or oil. All the seasoning goes into the filling.

Keep the filling to beef, onion, black pepper and salt. Ground beef, onion, black pepper and salt are the whole filling. This version does not add water, garlic, herbs or other vegetables to the meat.

Keep raw meat separate. Keep the bowl, spoon and board used for the raw filling away from cooked food. Do not taste the raw filling to check seasoning.

Method: Filling, Dough, Shaping and Frying

Order of work

Make the filling first, then the dough. While the dough rests for 15 minutes, keep the raw filling in its own bowl. Shape only a few pieces at a time, so each round can be filled and closed soon after rolling.

Cooking the ground beef through

Fry the pastries over medium heat for about 2 minutes per side until golden. In step 23, check that the thickest beef filling reaches at least 160°F (71°C) with a food thermometer. Golden color, steam, frying time or a photo cannot stand in for a thermometer reading.

When Things Go Wrong

What you see What to do
The outside is golden, but the thermometer reads below 160°F (71°C) Return the pastry to the oil, keep frying, and measure the thickest filling again. Golden color alone does not show the beef is cooked through
The edge will not stay closed Leave a clean margin when you add the filling, keep to about 1.5 teaspoons, and press the aligned edges firmly along the whole curve
The rolled rounds dry out or get hard to close Roll out only a few circles at a time so each one is filled and closed soon after rolling
Oil spits from the pan Keep the splatter screen over the pan while frying. Do not switch to a tight lid, which would turn frying into steaming
You are not sure about the seasoning Do not taste the raw filling. Season as written: black pepper mixed in first, salt added after

What This Version Leaves Out

Keep it simple

This recipe is the beef version, served plain and freshly fried. Anything beyond that would be a different recipe, not a small adjustment.

  • Lamb. The WPSU PDF notes that khuushuur is commonly made with lamb or beef, but its ingredient list is for ground beef. This article gives no amounts for a lamb version.
  • Extra filling ingredients. No garlic, water, herbs or other vegetables go into the meat here.
  • Decorative edges. The WPSU recipe does not call for a braided or pleated edge. This article simply presses the edge closed. We do not present that as a traditional or required method.
  • Sides and sauces. The WPSU PDF includes a separate raw cabbage salad and mentions optional condiments such as ketchup. They are not part of this recipe.
  • Storage and reheating. This article covers making khuushuur and eating them right away. It does not give a method for storing or reheating them.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many khuushuur does this make?

The WPSU recipe gives a serving size of 4 but not a piece count, so we do not give one either.

What size cup should I use?

The recipe uses cups without naming a standard. Measure the flour and water with the same cup. We have not converted these amounts to grams or to other cup sizes.

How long does it take?

The WPSU PDF lists 30 minutes of preparation, 20 minutes of cooking and a total of 1 hour. These figures do not match each other, so we do not give an overall time. The specific times in the method are the 15-minute dough rest and about 2 minutes of frying per side over medium heat.

If the recipe says about 2 minutes per side, why use a thermometer?

Frying time and golden color are cues for how the outside looks, and pan heat varies. The WPSU recipe does not give an internal temperature. FoodSafety.gov lists 160°F (71°C) as the safe minimum internal temperature for ground beef and recommends checking with a food thermometer. This article adds that check as a separate safety step, measured in the thickest filling.

How is khuushuur different from buuz?

Both are Mongolian filled dumplings. According to Mongolfood.info, buuz are steamed, while khuushuur are shaped into flat half-moons and fried in oil.

Can I keep leftovers?

This article covers khuushuur fried and eaten fresh. It does not include storage or reheating instructions.

Sources