Hello everyone! I just finished my language proficiency exam and my last health volunteer assessment interview, so now I just have a long weekend separating me from finding out my site placement where I will live and work for the next two years! I thought that the exam and interview went well, but I won't know any results until Monday, when I will get a certificate with my language proficiency (novice intermediate, novice high, intermediate low, etc). Mongolian Peace Corps volunteers are supposed to reach novice high level by the end of summer training, so let's hope that I got at least that!
Today I am going to talk about how to make the Mongolian traditional food called Hooshor (Хуушур). Hooshor is basically like a flat, meat filled empanada or hot pocket. Many families eat it often, and it is basically the only food that is eaten for the two day celebration of Naadam. Another food, called Booz (Бууз, pronounced like the word 'boats'), is eaten regularly and also during White Month (Цагаан Сар/Tsagaan Sar), which is the Mongolian Lunar New Year celebration. I'm sure I will have an update about Booz closer to Febuary for White Month/Tsagaan Sar.
So, I don't have a recipe for Hooshor. I'm not sure if a recipe exists, because it seems like the sort of thing that you just get a feel for making over time. Here is my best guess for the ingredients involved, and hopefully the pictures will give you an idea of amounts:
For the floury outside layer (I don't have any pictures of this being prepared because my host mom usually makes the dough in advance and lets it rise a little):
For the filling:
***You can also make potato hooshor, which are very delicious! They usually are made with boiled and mashed potatoes, a few carrots or other boiled and mashed vegetables, possibly some meat and salt for flavor. Besides the filling, all of the steps are the same.
First, start by preparing the dough and letting the dough set for a while. Then, mix the meat, salt, and whatever else you feel like adding in.
Hooshors being fried: The vegetable oil is heated up, and then hooshors are added. Depending on the filling, size, and temperature of the oil, the cooking time can vary. The best method is to check the underside, and if it is lightly brown, then it is time to flip!
The best location to eat hooshor is Naadam, the two day festival held every July. A man from Celenge Province where I am living won the national wrestling competition that is an integral part of Naadam (the other two sports being long distance horse racing and archery). He decided that the best use of his prize money would be to host another Naadam in his province, so Sukhbaatar had a second Naadam last Friday. We made these hooshor at home on Friday with the intention of bringing them to Naadam to watch the end of the wrestling tournament, but we finished just as Naadam finished. Instead, we picked up the rest of our family that had stayed at Naadam, and headed down to the river to eat our hooshor. Definitely a great way to start the weekend!
Now, I am off to take a nap before celebrating the completion of exams with my friends. I hope everyone has a great weekend, and that everyone in Boone County has a great fair week!
Баяртай! Goodbye!
Today I am going to talk about how to make the Mongolian traditional food called Hooshor (Хуушур). Hooshor is basically like a flat, meat filled empanada or hot pocket. Many families eat it often, and it is basically the only food that is eaten for the two day celebration of Naadam. Another food, called Booz (Бууз, pronounced like the word 'boats'), is eaten regularly and also during White Month (Цагаан Сар/Tsagaan Sar), which is the Mongolian Lunar New Year celebration. I'm sure I will have an update about Booz closer to Febuary for White Month/Tsagaan Sar.
So, I don't have a recipe for Hooshor. I'm not sure if a recipe exists, because it seems like the sort of thing that you just get a feel for making over time. Here is my best guess for the ingredients involved, and hopefully the pictures will give you an idea of amounts:
For the floury outside layer (I don't have any pictures of this being prepared because my host mom usually makes the dough in advance and lets it rise a little):
- flour
- salt
- yeast
- water
For the filling:
- ground MEAT. Lots of it.
- garlic (optional)
- onions or green onions (optional)
- salt (NOT optional to Mongolians!)
***You can also make potato hooshor, which are very delicious! They usually are made with boiled and mashed potatoes, a few carrots or other boiled and mashed vegetables, possibly some meat and salt for flavor. Besides the filling, all of the steps are the same.
First, start by preparing the dough and letting the dough set for a while. Then, mix the meat, salt, and whatever else you feel like adding in.
The dough is ready, and after deciding to add a bit more garlic, we were ready to begin!
Our meat mixture: my host mom likes lots of garlic. I have seen Mongolians taste a little bit of the meat mixture by licking some of it to see if it is good. I would not recommend this, for obvious meat safety issues!
The dough is ready to be rolled out. To do this, first cut the dough into roughly ping-pong sized pieces, which will be rolled out to form each hooshor pocket.
Our ping-pong sized pieces. My cousin is spreading extra flour on the pieces and the board to help with rolling out. Also, the bruise on her arm is from getting in a small car accident--from what I understood, the car suddenly stopped or hit a large bump, and she hit her arm really hard on the door--about a week before this.
My cousin was in charge of rolling out hooshors the day I took these photos. My mom was frying, and my mom's younger brother was pinching the hooshor closed, which is an artform you will see later on. I was in charge of taking pictures (self assigned), staying out of the way (self assigned), and assisting in pinching hooshor (half-heartedly assigned to keep the American involved).
After the small piece of dough is rolled flat, a small amount of filling is added. Too much, and the hooshor will not pinch closed, and too little and the hooshor is too doughy.
After some filling is added is the trickiest part of preparing hooshor. There are multiple ways of pinching the hooshor closed, and I just couldn't get the hang of my uncle's method even though I tried for a good half hour. First, he would fold the dough in half, with most of the filling in the center. Then, he would start to pinch the sides together, alternating between each side of the dough edge.
This forms a neat edge where there are alternating puckers and no open holes in the dough. He makes it look easy, believe me!
Then, after the hooshor is fully sealed (look at that beautiful edge pattern!), pat the hooshor to flatten it and squish around the filling to be equally spread out. pat, pat, pat! This is one part of the hooshor pinching that I could actually do!
My uncle's finished hooshor, ready to be fried. Note the pretty edging and uniform appearance....
And then here is one of my best attempts at hooshor pinching. Easily recognizable by my awful edging and uneven dough. My host mom ate this one, and she said it still tasted good, so there is yet hope for us beginners!
Hooshors being fried: The vegetable oil is heated up, and then hooshors are added. Depending on the filling, size, and temperature of the oil, the cooking time can vary. The best method is to check the underside, and if it is lightly brown, then it is time to flip!
You can see the light brown color of the top hooshor, which was turned at just the right time. After a little while on this side, check the underside again and remove when both sides are lightly browned.
Let cool for a few minutes before devouring as many as you can. Beware of dripping juices escaping from the bottom of the hooshor as you eat! It is hot and will probably stain your clothes!
The best location to eat hooshor is Naadam, the two day festival held every July. A man from Celenge Province where I am living won the national wrestling competition that is an integral part of Naadam (the other two sports being long distance horse racing and archery). He decided that the best use of his prize money would be to host another Naadam in his province, so Sukhbaatar had a second Naadam last Friday. We made these hooshor at home on Friday with the intention of bringing them to Naadam to watch the end of the wrestling tournament, but we finished just as Naadam finished. Instead, we picked up the rest of our family that had stayed at Naadam, and headed down to the river to eat our hooshor. Definitely a great way to start the weekend!
Now, I am off to take a nap before celebrating the completion of exams with my friends. I hope everyone has a great weekend, and that everyone in Boone County has a great fair week!
Баяртай! Goodbye!
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