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Guanz Canteen Staple · Noodle Meat Soup

Guriltai Shül

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The name literally just means 'soup with noodles in it' — Mongolia's most-ordered everyday lunch doesn't bother with a fancier name than that.

Hand-cut wheat noodles are simmered in a mutton or beef broth with potato, carrot and onion until the noodles soften and thicken the broth into something closer to a stew. Ulaanbaatar's countless guanz — small, no-frills canteens — serve it as the default cheap lunch for office workers and market traders.

Why it's made this way: As Mongolia urbanized around Ulaanbaatar during the socialist era, guanz canteens needed a fast one-bowl meal built from the same noodle-and-mutton pantry as rural cooking, and guriltai shül became that default order.
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Part of World of Street Food — 3248 dishes from 118 countries. Something wrong here? Tell us in the comments below. Photo credits.