The Mongolian grill is a heavy, round iron grill that, heated up to 500 degrees Fahrenheit, rapidly cooks meats and vegetables in a soy-based sauce, redolent with anise, ginger and garlic. The grills, some of which measure up to 5-feet wide, dwarf Japanese teppan-yaki, but both cooking surfaces were introduced in the West for oversized stir-fry meals called "barbecue." Mongolian grills are large enough to stand on their own, so restaurants surround them with elevated counters where diners place their choices of meat and vegetables for chefs to cook and sauce.
Step 1
Preheat a clean grill to between 400 and 500 degrees Fahrenheit. Wipe it with a clean cloth with a bit of peanut oil on it to remove any dust.
Step 2
Assemble ingredients and slice beef, lamb, pork and vegetables into narrow strips that are 2- to 3-inches long. Allow guests to assemble their choice of ingredients in individual bowls.
Step 3
Put soy sauce, water, wine, spices and a cup each of the green onion and parsley in a saucepan. Place the saucepan in the center of the grill and bring it to a simmer. Add extra green onions and parsley to the sauce after each serving of meat to ensure that each diner receives some to garnish his dinner.
Step 4
Wipe the grill again with another cloth and peanut oil to lubricate the grill. Dip meat from the first bowl in the sauce with long chopsticks or tongs and lay it on the grill.
Step 5
Continue around the grill, arranging each diner's meat choices on a separate "slice" of the circular grill. When you get back around to the first diner's choice, turn the meat with your chopsticks, add the vegetables and sprinkle the dinner with 2 or 3 tbsp. of sauce. Continue around the grill until all of the meat and vegetables are on the grill.
Step 6
Toss the first dinner with a spatula and scoop it into a clean bowl. Continue around the grill until all diners are served. Serve a dish of rice to each dinner and provide a second saucepan of warm sauce for diners to spoon onto dinners as desired.
Tips and Warnings
- Professional chefs often tend as many as eight dinners on one grill. Chances are that you lack their stir-fry dexterity and quickness. Do two or three dinners at a time to avoid overcooking veggies. If you cannot find star anise or ginger root, substitute 1 tbsp. of Chinese Five-Spice powder for these two ingredients.
- Exercise care -- grills are extremely hot. Avoid splashing sauce and use long-handled cooking implements. Avoid putting cooked meats and vegetables into bowls that have held raw meat. Always discard sauce used to dip raw meat before cooking.
Things You'll Need
- Clean white cloths
- Peanut or safflower oil
- Long chopsticks or tongs
- Steel spatula or grill blade
- 1 lb. boneless beef, lamb, pork per diner
- 1 cup shredded cabbage, carrots and sliced onion per diner
- Bean sprouts, rinsed and drained
- Large bowls
- Saucepan
- 1 cup Chinese soy sauce
- 1 cup mirin wine
- 5 cups water
- Crushed black pepper
- 4 Star anise
- 4 tbsp. crushed garlic
- 1 tbsp. sugar
- 2 tsp. grated ginger root
- 3 cups green onions, chopped
- 3 cups Chinese parsley
- Serving spoons
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