Pete C.wrote:

> James wrote:
> >
> > Seems a lot of places feature Mongolian Grill. Is it an western
> > invention?
> >
> > They feature meats, seafood, vegetables but the only foods native
> > Mongolians have access to are sheep, horses, milk & milk products.
> > Never saw a Mongolian Grill in any travel films.
>
> It's a DIY stir-fry kinda place, almost certainly a western invention.
> Unlikely to have any authenticity anywhere, but certainly tasty.
>
> Got the Genghis Grill version in my area and it's always very good. Hard
> to miss when I select every ingredient myself and they just cook it.
>

It kind of followed on the fondue fad of the 60's - 70's, there was a resto
in my Chicawgo nabe decades ago called "Mongolian House" which featured this
schtick, there are many permutations. Some Japanese and Korean places have
a similar cooking style:

http://www.beijingservice.com/beijin...hts/hotbot.htm

"Mongolian Hot Pot

Mongolian hot pot was originated from northern nomadic tribes. The Mongolian
version of the steaming feast has been called the father of all Chinese hot
pot. The Chinese hot pot boasts a history of more than 1000 years and built
its popularity during the Tang Dynasty [628-907]. In the following
dynasties, the culinary style was adopted by imperial chefs in the middle of
17th century, with mutton hot pot becoming a favorite of the Supreme Qing
rulers.

You're served with slices of raw mutton. You dip them into the boiling water
in the hot pot placed in the middle of the table of the table, coat them
with a do-it-yourself sauce, and start eating.

Now Chinese hot pot can be divided into many kinds. Some of them are listed
as followed.

1 . Mongolian-style
The main ingredient of the modern Mandarin version of Mongolian-style
hot-pot is prime mutton taken from tiny sheep raised in inner Mongolia.
Chefs cut the iced mutton into paper---thin slices and prepare a source
containing ingredients like sesame butter, soy sauce, chili oil, chopped
chives, glutinous rice wine, shrimp sauce, vinegar and Chinese parsley. The
traditional hot-pot meal is not considered complete without bean curd,
sesame pancakes and Chinese cabbages.
The best Mandarin hot-pot restaurant in Beijing is Donglaishun, on
Wangfujing, the Fifth Avenue in Beijing. The mutton slices here are finer
and thinner than anywhere else. The bubbling stock, into which the mutton is
dipped, is favored with mushrooms and dried shrimps to create the
traditional Mandarin taste.

2 . Sichuan-style
Unlike the royal hot pot favored by the Mandarin aristocrats, the
Sichun-style version has always been a food of the common folks. The Sichuan
hot pot, like the rest of that humid and populous province's cuisine, tastes
very spicy. The broth is flavored with chili peppers and other pungent herbs
and spices. The main ingredients include hot pepper, Chinese crystal sugar
and wine. Slices of kidney, chicken breast, beef tripe, goose intestines,
spring onion, soya bean sprouts, mushrooms eel, duck and sea cucumber form
the meat content of the dish.
And for those who like to cool their palate after the chili shock, many
Sichuan restaurant now serve a hot pot that is divided into two sections-one
containing a spicy broth, the other a milder, white stock.

3 . Catonese-syle
The southern style is sweeter and features the seafood ingredients that have
become popular in most Cantonese eateries. Fresh shrimps, scallops, crab
meat, white eels and scuttle fish form the staples of this hot pot style.
They are served with a sweetish white sauce."

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