Recipe
🍽️ DINNER
Tsuivan
Steppe-style fried noodles steamed over a mutton and vegetable braise, Mongolia’s one-pan answer to a cold night.
Mongolian · medium · serves 4
prep 30 min · cook 30 min
~775 cal · 39g protein · 77g carbs · 34g fat · 7g fiber · 8g sugars · 10g sat fat (estimated, per serving)
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Tsuivan is Mongolia's stir-fried noodle dish, hand-cut flat noodles steamed over a mutton-and-vegetable and then tossed with the mutton and vegetables, a one-dish meal built for the steppe, where livestock and simple grains are most of what there is.
The noodles are traditionally steamed above the simmering meat and vegetables so they absorb the flavorful vapor before everything is combined. Mutton, cabbage, carrot, onion, and potato make it filling and warming against the cold.
It is a staple of home cooking in Ulaanbaatar and the countryside alike, filling and plain.
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Make it yours
✓ Naturally dairy-, nut-, egg- and pork-free. No swaps needed.
Toggle a diet and the ingredients rewrite themselves with regional substitutes.
🥕 Vegetarian
🌱 Vegan
🌾 Gluten-Free
🥛 Dairy-Free
🥜 Nut-Free
🥚 Egg-Free
🐖 Pork-Free
Dietary labels are a cooking guide, not allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we count coconut as a tree nut, following FDA labeling), fish, and shellfish; we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, read the label on every product you use, and note that a kitchen can cross-contaminate in ways a recipe cannot control.
Ingredients
US
Metric
Serves 4
1 lb mutton or beef, thin strips
2.5 cups all-purpose flour (for hand-cut noodles)
2 carrots, cut in batons
2 cups cabbage, sliced
1 bell pepper, sliced
1 onion, sliced
3 cloves garlic
4 tbsp
as needed water
as needed salt
as needed black pepper
Instructions
1
Knead the flour, a pinch of salt, and water into a firm dough, then roll it thin, oil the surface, and slice into wide ribbons.
2
Brown the meat (or portobello) hard in oil, then add the onion, garlic, carrots, cabbage, and pepper and cook 3 minutes.
3
Add a cup of water, lay the noodle ribbons on top, and do not stir.
✎ Chef’s note
Laying the fresh noodles on top and steaming them, rather than boiling separately, lets them cook in the meaty steam and soak up all the flavour.
4
Cover tightly and steam 12 minutes.
5
Toss everything together over high heat for 2 minutes, so the noodles fry lightly in the gravy.
6
Season boldly with black pepper and serve straight from the pan.
Ulaanbaatar canteen standard.
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🌏 While it simmers, know your destination
📍
Ulaanbaatar. Buuz get counted in the hundreds. Families fold them in batches ahead of Tsagaan Sar, the lunar new year, and set them outside where the weather does a freezer's work, then steam them for every guest through the holiday beside a built-up tower of fried biscuits.
🗺️
Mongolia. The dairy has names and seasons. Suutei tsai is tea boiled with milk and salt and drunk all day; aaruul is curd dried hard on the roof of the ger and kept for months; airag is fermented mare's milk, mildly alcoholic and made in summer when the mares are in milk. The white foods are treated as a category of their own.
🌍
Asia. Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, and its food spans the delicate seasonality of Japanese washoku, the chili-fired curries of India and Thailand, and the wheat-and-lamb traditions of Central Asia. Rice, noodles, soy, and fermentation recur across its regions, while ancient spice routes and religious traditions shaped distinct grammars of flavor. Whether from a street-cart wok or a monastery kitchen, eating is deeply communal and ritual-rich.
The story behind this dish is up top, worth a read while the pot works.
More from Mongolia
Khuushuur (Fried Meat Pastry)Crisp deep-fried half-moon pastries filled with minced mutton, onion, and garlic, the taste of the Naadam festival.
BoortsogSimple fried dough biscuits eaten with milky, lightly salted tea across the Mongolian steppe.
BuuzJuicy steamed dumplings of minced mutton and onion, the dumpling Mongolia eats by the dozen, above all at Tsagaan Sar.
Browse all Mongolia recipes →
Good to know
You’ll need: Steamer.
Storing it: Best fresh. Leftovers keep 2 days refrigerated; loosen with a splash of water or oil as you reheat so they do not clump.
Make it a Mongolia meal
Suutei TsaiDrink
Khailmag (Caramelized Clotted Cream)Dessert
BuuzLunch
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Cuisine
Diet
Frequently asked questions
What is Tsuivan?
Steppe-style fried noodles steamed over a mutton and vegetable braise, Mongolia’s one-pan answer to a cold night.
Where does Tsuivan come from?
Tsuivan is a Mongolian dish from Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia.
Can Tsuivan be made vegan, gluten-free, or dairy-free?
This Tsuivan recipe includes substitution suggestions for vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, nut-free, egg-free, and pork-free versions, including several at once such as gluten-free and dairy-free together. Treat them as a starting guide rather than a guarantee, and see the allergen note below.
Is Tsuivan safe for people with food allergies?
Our dietary labels and substitutions are a cooking guide, not medical or allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we count coconut as a tree nut, following FDA labeling), fish, and shellfish, but we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, always read the label on every product you use, and remember a home or commercial kitchen can cross-contaminate ingredients in ways a recipe cannot control.
How long does Tsuivan take to make?
About 60 minutes total (30 minutes prep, 30 minutes cooking), serving 4.
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