Buuz

Steamed dumplings filled with seasoned minced mutton or beef and onion, pinched into a distinctive pleated shape.

Buuz are among the most iconic dishes in Mongolia, eaten year-round but especially central to Tsagaan Sar, the Lunar New Year celebration, when families gather to make and eat thousands of buuz together over several days of visiting relatives. The dumplings likely developed through centuries of exchange along trade routes connecting Mongolia to Chinese steamed bun and dumpling traditions, adapted to Mongolia's pastoral diet of mutton and beef rather than the pork common in Chinese versions.

The filling is traditionally mutton or beef with a generous amount of onion and minimal seasoning beyond salt and pepper, letting the meat's flavor come through. The dough is pleated into a distinctive twisted top with a small steam hole left open.