To my mind, Mongolian Hot Pot (huo guo) is one of the region's most supreme and more balanced meals (depending on the fattiness of the meat you select). Unlike hot pot from other Chinese regions, it lacks the burning spice but is packed with a melange of flavors. Wafer thin slices of mutton, lamb, tofu, greens, noodles and mushrooms can be selected to blanch in the soup.

Dipping sauces of sesame may or may not be provided. Branches of the Mongolian franchise Little Sheep (Xiao Fei Yang) can be found in major Chinese cities such as Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen and as far afield as the US and Canada.

The traditional use of milk foods (known as "white food") in Mongolian cuisine is in contrast to other parts of China which tend to avoid dairy foods. Mongolians have traditionally made use of milk from the five domestic animals they usually keep - sheep, cows, goats, camels and horses.

Dried milk curds are baked in the sun during the summer to make aarul for the winter; the milk from female horses is fermented to produce aireg; and a sour yoghurt called tarag is made. Another typical food is a hard dried cheese called eetsigii.

Milk is a staple drink, served with most meals. In contrast to the recent fad for sickly sweet milk tea seen in many Chinese cities, Mongolian tea is seasoned with salt. Brick tea is brewed with water in a pan, and once good and strong, sheep's or cow's milk is added along with a pinch of salt. The milk tea is ladled in bowls. At breakfast and other meals, various forms of bread or you bing (fried pancakes) are dipped into the tea.

Undoubtedly, Mongolian cuisine is high in fat and overall calories, but if you aim to match your consumption of Mongolian goodies with physical activity to rival a Mongolian herdsman, then all should be well!

(China Daily September 17, 2008)