Tastes Like Horse (ed. 12): мантуун бууз

tastes like beef, originally uploaded by Wanderings.

This picture is from last summer, but you'll have to forgive me since I didn't have my camera with me when Joel served up some tasty mantuun buuz (pronounced "mahnten bodes") at his restaurant the other day. Unlike their sad, meat-filled cousins, these buuz are quite tasty. It's the same filling in a different package, but OH does that make all the difference. Instead of seasoned, minced meat (beef, mutton, horse - take your pick) and onions wrapped up in a plain, droopy, wonton-style dough, you've got seasoned, minced meat and onions folded into a warm, springy, yeasty bread dough and then steamed until the bread is almost sweet and the meat is juicy. Mmm-mmm-mmmmm.

They may not look like much to you, but when your other options in the "Mongolian Cuisine" category are limp, greasy [regular] buuz or heavy, oily khuushuur, these almost-piroshki dumplings start to sound pretty tasty.