[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":375},["ShallowReactive",2],{"recipe:tsuivan":3,"recipe:country:mongolia":193},{"slug":4,"title":5,"nativeName":6,"pronunciation":7,"countrySlug":8,"emoji":9,"summary":10,"intro":11,"story":12,"whyThis":13,"tips":18,"substitutions":25,"variations":38,"serveWith":48,"storage":50,"faq":51,"equipment":67,"baseServings":71,"prepMinutes":72,"cookMinutes":73,"restMinutes":74,"difficulty":75,"course":76,"diet":78,"mainIngredients":80,"ingredients":86,"instructions":143,"nutrition":169,"images":176,"keywords":186,"publishedAt":191,"updatedAt":191,"authorSlug":192},"tsuivan","Tsuivan (Mongolian Steamed Noodles with Mutton)","Цуйван","TSOO-ee-van","mongolia","🍜","Hand-cut noodles steamed directly over stewing mutton and vegetables, then tossed through them so they take on the fat and juices instead of boiling away in water.","Tsuivan is a one-pot noodle dish where the noodles never touch boiling water. Strips of hand-rolled dough are laid over mutton, onion, carrot, cabbage and potato that are already stewing at the bottom of the pot, the lid goes on, and the noodles cook in the steam rising off the meat. Then everything is tossed together. The result is chewy, glossy, faintly smoky-tasting noodles carrying the rendered mutton fat, with soft vegetables and shreds of meat through them. Seasoning is close to nothing — salt, pepper, sometimes a splash of soy — because the fat does the work.","The name points east: tsuivan is generally understood to derive from the Chinese chao mian, the same root as chow mein, arriving in Mongolia through the long trade and administrative contact with China and adapting almost beyond recognition. What travelled was the idea of noodles cooked with meat and vegetables rather than in soup. What Mongolia added was the steaming method, which suits a kitchen where water is precious, fuel is limited and boiling a large pot then discarding the water is simply wasteful.\n\nThat frugality shapes the flavour. Because the noodles absorb steam carrying mutton fat rather than plain water, every strand is seasoned from the inside. Nothing is drained away. In a ger the whole dish happens in one pot on one stove, and the same logic holds in a city apartment — it remains one of the most common home dinners in Mongolia and a fixture on every guanz canteen menu, usually written on the wall alongside the price and nothing else.\n\nThe noodles are traditionally made by rolling dough into a large thin sheet, oiling it lightly, rolling it up like a carpet and slicing across to give long ribbons. Cutting them slightly thick is deliberate: they need to survive steaming and then a vigorous toss without collapsing. Vegetables vary with what a household has — carrot and potato are near-universal, cabbage very common, and turnip appears in the countryside. Meat is whatever the family slaughtered, which in practice means mutton, and the cut is not fussy. Tough shoulder or neck is preferred, since the stew at the bottom of the pot has time to soften it while the noodles steam above.",[14,15,16,17],"The real steaming method rather than a boiled-noodle shortcut, which is what gives tsuivan its texture.","Timings that get the mutton tender before the noodles go on, so nothing is chewy or overcooked.","Hand-cut noodles from four ingredients, with a store-bought fallback that actually works.","Tells you what the pot should look and sound like at each stage instead of relying on the clock.",[19,20,21,22,23,24],"Cut the noodles thicker than you think — around 5 mm wide. Thin ones turn to mush during the final toss.","Oil the rolled dough sheet before rolling it up, or the layers weld together and you will cut a solid block instead of ribbons.","The stew underneath must be wet but not soupy: about 2 cm of liquid. Too much and the noodles boil; too little and the pot scorches before they cook.","Do not lift the lid during the first 15 minutes of steaming. Every peek costs you steam, and the top noodles stay raw.","Toss with two forks or long chopsticks, lifting from the bottom, so the noodles coat in fat without breaking.","Brown the mutton properly before adding liquid — the dark crust is most of what flavours the finished noodles.",[26,30,34],{"original":27,"swap":28,"note":29},"Hand-cut noodles","Fresh thick wheat noodles or udon","Use them raw, not pre-boiled, and add 2 to 3 minutes to the steaming time. Dried noodles do not work well — they need more water than the pot provides.",{"original":31,"swap":32,"note":33},"Mutton","Lamb shoulder, beef chuck or beef shank","Beef needs about 15 minutes longer at the stewing stage. Whatever you use, choose a fatty cut, because the fat is the seasoning.",{"original":35,"swap":36,"note":37},"Cabbage and potato","Turnip, bell pepper, or green beans","Countryside versions use whatever is on hand. Keep the total vegetable volume similar so the pot stays balanced.",[39,42,45],{"name":40,"description":41},"Tsuivan with dried meat","Made with borts, air-dried shredded meat, rehydrated in the pot — the winter version when fresh meat is gone.",{"name":43,"description":44},"Vegetable tsuivan","Built on potato, carrot, cabbage and plenty of oil instead of mutton, seasoned more assertively with garlic and pepper to compensate.",{"name":46,"description":47},"Soy-forward city style","Ulaanbaatar canteens often finish the toss with a spoonful of soy sauce, a modern touch that deepens colour and salt.",[49],"Salted milk tea, and a sharp pickled cabbage or cucumber salad to cut the fat.","Tsuivan keeps 3 days refrigerated and is widely considered better the next day, once the noodles have fully absorbed the fat. Reheat in a covered pan over medium heat with a splash of water, tossing until steaming through — the water rehydrates the noodles that stiffened in the fridge. It does not freeze well: the noodles turn soft and grainy on thawing. Do not microwave uncovered, or the top layer dries into hard strands.",[52,55,58,61,64],{"question":53,"answer":54},"Why steam the noodles instead of boiling them?","Boiling leaches flavour into water you then throw away. Steaming over the stewing meat means the noodles absorb mutton fat and juices as they cook, so they are seasoned all the way through and the pot uses far less water and fuel. It is also why tsuivan tastes noticeably richer than a boiled-noodle stir-fry.",{"question":56,"answer":57},"My noodles came out gluey and stuck together. What went wrong?","Usually too much liquid in the pot, so the lower noodles boiled rather than steamed. Keep the stew to about 2 cm of liquid. It can also be under-oiled dough layers sticking together during cutting, or noodles rolled too thin to survive the final toss.",{"question":59,"answer":60},"Can I use store-bought noodles?","Yes. Fresh thick wheat noodles or udon are the best match, added raw straight onto the stew with 2 to 3 extra minutes of steaming. Avoid dried noodles, which need far more water than the pot supplies, and avoid pre-cooked noodles, which turn to paste.",{"question":62,"answer":63},"How do I know the noodles are done?","Lift a strand from the top layer after 20 minutes — it should be tender with a slight chew at the centre and no white floury core when you bite it. The top layer cooks last, so if that one is done, everything below it is.",{"question":65,"answer":66},"Is tsuivan the same as chow mein?","They share a root — the name comes from the Chinese chao mian — but the dishes have diverged. Chow mein is stir-fried in a wok with sauce; tsuivan is steamed over stewing meat in a covered pot with almost no seasoning beyond salt and pepper, giving softer noodles and a much more mutton-driven flavour.",[68,69,70],"Heavy pot or Dutch oven with a tight lid","Rolling pin","Long chopsticks or two forks for tossing",4,40,55,20,"medium",[77],"main",[79],"dairy-free",[81,82,83,84,85],"lamb","flour","carrot","cabbage","potato",[87,92,96,100,104,108,110,115,119,121,123,126,129,131,134,139],{"ref":82,"qty":88,"unit":89,"name":90,"group":91},300,"g","plain flour","For the noodles",{"qty":93,"unit":94,"name":95,"group":91},150,"ml","water",{"qty":97,"unit":98,"name":99,"group":91},0.5,"tsp","fine salt",{"qty":101,"unit":102,"name":103,"group":91},2,"tbsp","neutral oil, for oiling the dough sheet",{"ref":81,"qty":105,"unit":89,"name":106,"group":107},500,"mutton or lamb shoulder, in thin bite-sized slices","For the stew",{"qty":101,"unit":102,"name":109,"group":107},"mutton fat or neutral oil",{"ref":111,"qty":112,"unit":113,"name":114,"group":107},"onion",1,"piece","large onion, sliced",{"ref":116,"qty":71,"unit":117,"name":118,"group":107},"garlic","clove","garlic, sliced",{"ref":83,"qty":101,"unit":113,"name":120,"group":107},"carrots, in matchsticks",{"ref":85,"qty":101,"unit":113,"name":122,"group":107},"potatoes, in thin batons",{"ref":84,"qty":124,"unit":89,"name":125,"group":107},250,"white cabbage, shredded",{"qty":127,"unit":94,"name":128,"group":107},400,"water or light stock",{"qty":130,"unit":98,"name":99,"group":107},1.5,{"ref":132,"qty":112,"unit":98,"name":133,"group":107},"black-pepper","ground black pepper",{"ref":135,"qty":112,"unit":102,"name":136,"optional":137,"group":138},"soy-sauce","soy sauce",true,"To finish",{"ref":140,"qty":141,"unit":113,"name":142,"group":138},"scallions",3,"scallions, sliced",[144,148,152,155,158,163,166],{"title":145,"text":146,"timerSeconds":147},"Make the noodle dough","Mix the flour, salt and water into a stiff dough, knead 5 minutes until smooth, then cover and rest 20 minutes. It should be firmer than bread dough — barely tacky, and slow to spring back when pressed.",1200,{"title":149,"text":150,"tip":151},"Roll and cut the noodles","Roll the dough into a large sheet about 2 mm thick, brush the whole surface with oil, then roll it up loosely like a carpet and slice across into 5 mm ribbons. Shake the coils apart, dust with flour and set aside uncovered.","Skip the oil and the layers fuse — you will cut a solid log instead of separate noodles.",{"title":153,"text":154},"Brown the mutton","Heat the fat in a heavy pot over high heat and sear {qty:lamb} of mutton in a single layer without moving it, until the undersides are deeply browned and the pot smells of roasted meat rather than raw fat. Stir once and brown the second side.",{"title":156,"text":157},"Add the vegetables","Stir in the onion and garlic and cook until the onion is translucent and slick with fat, then add the carrot, potato and cabbage with the salt and pepper. Toss until the cabbage collapses by about half.",{"title":159,"text":160,"timerSeconds":161,"tip":162},"Stew until tender","Pour in the water, bring to a simmer, cover and cook 30 minutes over low heat until the mutton pulls apart under a fork. Check the level: you want roughly 2 cm of liquid left, no more.",1800,"Too much liquid boils the noodles instead of steaming them. Reduce it uncovered for a few minutes if the pot looks soupy.",{"title":164,"text":165,"timerSeconds":147},"Steam the noodles on top","Pile the noodles loosely over the stew without pressing them down, cover tightly and steam 20 minutes over low heat. Do not lift the lid — a strand from the top layer should be tender with no white core when the time is up.",{"title":167,"text":168},"Toss and serve","Add the soy sauce if using and toss everything from the bottom up with long chopsticks until the noodles are evenly coated and glossy with fat and no pale strands remain. Scatter the scallions over and serve straight from the pot.",{"calories":170,"protein":171,"carbs":172,"fat":173,"fiber":174,"sodium":175,"estimated":137},620,32,66,25,6,980,[177,180,182,184],{"src":178,"alt":179},"\u002Fimages\u002Frecipes\u002Ftsuivan\u002Fhero.jpg","Tossed Mongolian tsuivan noodles glossy with mutton fat, shredded cabbage, carrot batons and pieces of lamb",{"src":181,"alt":179},"\u002Fimages\u002Frecipes\u002Ftsuivan\u002Fhero-16x9.jpg",{"src":183,"alt":179},"\u002Fimages\u002Frecipes\u002Ftsuivan\u002Fhero-4x3.jpg",{"src":185,"alt":179},"\u002Fimages\u002Frecipes\u002Ftsuivan\u002Fhero-1x1.jpg",[4,187,188,189,8,190],"mongolian noodles","steamed noodles","mutton noodles","one pot","2026-08-20","dishroute-kitchen",{"items":194,"total":199,"page":112,"limit":373,"hasMore":374},[195,222,240,259,278,294,311,329,347,366],{"slug":196,"title":197,"nativeName":198,"countrySlug":8,"baseServings":199,"prepMinutes":72,"cookMinutes":200,"restMinutes":201,"difficulty":75,"course":202,"diet":205,"mainIngredients":209,"images":212,"keywords":216,"publishedAt":221,"updatedAt":221,"authorSlug":192},"aaruul","Aaruul (Mongolian Dried Milk Curd)","Ааруул",10,30,4320,[203,204],"snack","dessert",[206,207,208],"vegetarian","gluten-free","nut-free",[210,211],"milk","yogurt",[213],{"src":214,"alt":215},"\u002Fimages\u002Frecipes\u002Faaruul\u002Fhero.jpg","Pale hard chunks of Mongolian aaruul dried milk curd on a woven rack, some pressed with a carved pattern",[196,217,218,219,220,8],"mongolian dried curd","tsagaan idee","dried cheese snack","milk preservation","2026-08-21",{"slug":223,"title":224,"nativeName":225,"countrySlug":8,"baseServings":71,"prepMinutes":199,"cookMinutes":74,"difficulty":226,"course":227,"diet":229,"mainIngredients":230,"images":231,"keywords":235,"publishedAt":191,"updatedAt":191,"authorSlug":192},"bantan","Bantan (Mongolian Flour Crumb Soup)","Бантан","easy",[228],"soup",[79],[82,81,111],[232],{"src":233,"alt":234},"\u002Fimages\u002Frecipes\u002Fbantan\u002Fhero.jpg","Bowl of Mongolian bantan, a cloudy mutton broth thickened with soft flour crumbs and scattered scallion greens",[223,236,237,238,8,239],"mongolian soup","flour soup","hangover soup","comfort food",{"slug":241,"title":242,"nativeName":243,"countrySlug":8,"baseServings":244,"prepMinutes":173,"cookMinutes":200,"restMinutes":200,"difficulty":226,"course":245,"diet":247,"mainIngredients":248,"images":250,"keywords":254,"publishedAt":221,"updatedAt":221,"authorSlug":192},"boortsog","Boortsog (Mongolian Fried Dough Biscuits)","Боорцог",8,[246,203],"bread",[206,208],[82,249,210],"butter",[251],{"src":252,"alt":253},"\u002Fimages\u002Frecipes\u002Fboortsog\u002Fhero.jpg","Pile of golden Mongolian boortsog fried dough biscuits in fingers and twisted knots beside a bowl of milk tea",[241,255,256,257,258,8],"mongolian biscuits","fried dough","boov","tsagaan sar",{"slug":260,"title":261,"nativeName":262,"countrySlug":8,"baseServings":71,"prepMinutes":263,"cookMinutes":173,"difficulty":226,"course":264,"diet":265,"mainIngredients":266,"images":268,"keywords":272,"publishedAt":191,"updatedAt":191,"authorSlug":192},"budaatai-khuurga","Budaatai Khuurga (Mongolian Mutton Fried Rice)","Будаатай хуурга",15,[77],[79],[81,267,85,83,111],"rice",[269],{"src":270,"alt":271},"\u002Fimages\u002Frecipes\u002Fbudaatai-khuurga\u002Fhero.jpg","Pan of Mongolian budaatai khuurga fried rice with browned mutton strips, carrot matchsticks and potato batons",[273,274,275,276,8,277],"budaatai khuurga","mongolian fried rice","mutton rice","lamb fried rice","weeknight dinner",{"slug":279,"title":280,"nativeName":281,"countrySlug":8,"baseServings":71,"prepMinutes":282,"cookMinutes":74,"restMinutes":200,"difficulty":75,"course":283,"diet":284,"mainIngredients":285,"images":286,"keywords":290,"publishedAt":191,"updatedAt":191,"authorSlug":192},"buuz","Buuz (Mongolian Steamed Mutton Dumplings)","Бууз",60,[77],[79],[81,82,111,116],[287],{"src":288,"alt":289},"\u002Fimages\u002Frecipes\u002Fbuuz\u002Fhero.jpg","Pleated Mongolian buuz dumplings crowded on a steamer tray, wrappers glossy and taut with mutton filling",[279,291,292,258,8,293],"mongolian dumplings","steamed mutton dumplings","lamb dumplings",{"slug":295,"title":296,"nativeName":297,"countrySlug":8,"baseServings":71,"prepMinutes":173,"cookMinutes":298,"restMinutes":74,"difficulty":226,"course":299,"diet":300,"mainIngredients":301,"images":302,"keywords":306,"publishedAt":191,"updatedAt":191,"authorSlug":192},"guriltai-shul","Guriltai Shul (Mongolian Mutton Noodle Soup)","Гурилтай шөл",95,[228,77],[79],[81,82,85,111,83],[303],{"src":304,"alt":305},"\u002Fimages\u002Frecipes\u002Fguriltai-shul\u002Fhero.jpg","Bowl of Mongolian guriltai shul mutton noodle soup with torn dough strips, potato chunks and carrot coins",[307,236,308,309,8,310],"guriltai shul","mutton noodle soup","lamb soup","hand cut noodles",{"slug":312,"title":313,"nativeName":314,"countrySlug":8,"baseServings":174,"prepMinutes":200,"cookMinutes":315,"restMinutes":263,"difficulty":316,"course":317,"diet":318,"mainIngredients":319,"images":320,"keywords":324,"publishedAt":191,"updatedAt":191,"authorSlug":192},"khorkhog","Khorkhog (Mongolian Hot-Stone Mutton)","Хорхог",100,"hard",[77],[79,207],[81,111,85,83],[321],{"src":322,"alt":323},"\u002Fimages\u002Frecipes\u002Fkhorkhog\u002Fhero.jpg","Mongolian khorkhog mutton on the bone piled with blackened hot stones and dark glossy broth in a heavy pot",[312,325,326,327,8,328],"hot stone cooking","mongolian mutton","boodog","outdoor cooking",{"slug":330,"title":331,"nativeName":332,"countrySlug":8,"baseServings":71,"prepMinutes":333,"cookMinutes":173,"restMinutes":200,"difficulty":75,"course":334,"diet":336,"mainIngredients":337,"images":338,"keywords":342,"publishedAt":191,"updatedAt":191,"authorSlug":192},"khuushuur","Khuushuur (Mongolian Fried Meat Pastries)","Хуушуур",45,[335,77],"street-food",[79],[81,82,111],[339],{"src":340,"alt":341},"\u002Fimages\u002Frecipes\u002Fkhuushuur\u002Fhero.jpg","Stack of golden Mongolian khuushuur pastries with blistered fried surfaces, one torn open showing mutton filling",[330,343,344,345,8,346],"mongolian fried pastry","naadam food","mutton pie","street food",{"slug":348,"title":349,"nativeName":350,"countrySlug":8,"baseServings":71,"prepMinutes":351,"cookMinutes":74,"difficulty":226,"course":352,"diet":354,"mainIngredients":355,"images":356,"keywords":360,"publishedAt":191,"updatedAt":191,"authorSlug":192},"suutei-tsai","Suutei Tsai (Mongolian Salted Milk Tea)","Сүүтэй цай",5,[353],"drink",[206,207,208],[210,249],[357],{"src":358,"alt":359},"\u002Fimages\u002Frecipes\u002Fsuutei-tsai\u002Fhero.jpg","Bowl of Mongolian suutei tsai salted milk tea, pale beige with a light foam, beside a shaved block of brick tea",[361,362,363,364,8,365],"suutei tsai","mongolian milk tea","salted tea","brick tea","hospitality drink",{"slug":4,"title":5,"nativeName":6,"countrySlug":8,"baseServings":71,"prepMinutes":72,"cookMinutes":73,"restMinutes":74,"difficulty":75,"course":367,"diet":368,"mainIngredients":369,"images":370,"keywords":372,"publishedAt":191,"updatedAt":191,"authorSlug":192},[77],[79],[81,82,83,84,85],[371],{"src":178,"alt":179},[4,187,188,189,8,190],24,false,1787360065892]