Recently I was surprised to find out that a friend and fellow food lover, Rebecca (editor, author, publisher and all around care-taker for The Magical Buffet) had never had Mongolian BBQ. I sputtered, I objected, I pointed out her opportunities to have enjoyed this unique experience, and what did I get for my concern? Suggestions that if I were to write about it, she'd try it.

Ahem, very well then.

Mongolian BBQ in it's modern American implementation, for those unfamiliar with it, has little to do with BBQ or the Mongolians. It's origins are commonly traced to Taiwan and is a product of the mid to late 20th century.

The basic concept of Mongolian BBQ is you fill bowl(s) with raw foods, spices and sauces, which are then handed over to the cook to be prepared as you watch.

The actual ingredients and methodology vary dramatically from place to place. In the less "traditional", more quickly thrown together implementations (often added as an after thought to an Asian inspired buffet style restaurant) you will find a flat top rectangular griddle and a chef at the ready with a few sturdy spatulas to cook what you've brought.

In the places that focus more on the Mongolian BBQ aspect of their restaurant, you will often find a wide, round griddle with a hole in the center and the cooks running it may even be using long wooden sticks (world's largest chopsticks!!) to push the food around on the griddle and prepare it. In either case, your results are about the same. How good your meal is varies little with the cook and depends more upon the ingredients and your skill at selecting ingredients.

Along the walls, more often than not, you will find a few basic "recipes" that tell you how to sauce your foods. A sample recipe card might say:

    Beef:
   
    2 ladles Hoisin Sauce
    2 ladles Combo Sauce
    1/2 ladle Soy Sauce
    1 ladle Garlic Jam
    1 lade Sesame Oil

These are good to start with, get some basic ideas of what flavors you get from each sauce. Most people can't tell you that Hoisin Sauce is derived largely from Sweet Potato and contains soy sauce, vinegar, garlic, chili peppers, etc. So your best bet, is to start with their suggestions, then just keep trying several combinations, found out what works for you.

With that in mind though, you have to build your foundation flavors before you ever begin to worry about sauces. So your first question should be, what kind of meat (if any) do I want?

Beef, Chicken and Pork will almost certainly be options. However, depending on the quality of your Mongolian BBQ, squid, shrimp, tofu, scallops and salmon are often choices as well. Once you have decided what meat you want you can build on that by listening to your taste buds.

Sweet, Salty and Sour

Sweet - Red Bell Pepper, Yellow Onion, Pineapple, Carrot - these are commonly found in the vegetable section of a Mongolian BBQ and can help contribute some of that sweet flavor you're hoping to find.

Salty - Well, essentially we are talking about a variation of Chinese food in most cases, so Soy Sauce is your best bet, but look around for garlic salt, or the like that they might have among the dry spices to help you out.

Sour - Lemon juice, lime juice or the like, is often available and just a touch will really bring out flavors in your food that you had not realized were there.

Aromatic vegetables and textural selections are very important as well.

Do you want the savory flavors of celery (a little can go a long ways), green onion, green pepper (a touch of bitter in the green pepper to get that fourth flavor group in there too).

What about the crisp crunch of water chestnut? The sauce absorbing chewiness of broccoli florets? The spongy, moist, flavorful squish of mushrooms?

It's ok to close your eyes for a moment and try to image what the flavors and textures might be like when married together in the sauces you choose.

Ultimately, how well you know your flavors and how familiar you become with your sauces is the key to how good your creations will taste. A good beginners tip is to try to recreate some simpler dishes you already know.

My cautions with Mongolian BBQ are few and simple.

First, it cooks down more than you think it will, so be prepared to get back something that appears much smaller than what you handed over.

Premium ingredients tend to go fast and aren't always restocked quickly. Some places skimp on the shrimp, so coming early when everything is full and fresh is best.

Make sure it isn't too dry, the meats themselves are lean and sliced thin, the vegetables are from cold storage and have been in a humidity regulated environments, so they are dry. Make sure you've used enough sauce (or even added some water) to account for that.

Be adventurous, but in small steps. Don't put together a giant dish of things you've never seen together, then get back to your table and find that you just won't eat it and have wasted that food.

Bring a friend! If someone already knows the ins and outs, let them show you the ropes.

With that in mind, here's a favorite of mine.

Beef and Scallops in Spicy, Brown Sauce

Layer the bottom of the bowl (or one of the two bowls if they are small - cereal sized bowls) with mushrooms, then add yellow onion, red and green pepper, snow peas, celery, broccoli, scallops and beef.

Add a ladle of Garlic Sauce (might also just be called Garlic or Garlic Jam), a spoonful (or less if you must) of Chili Oil (a paste of ground chilis, get some of the chilis too, not just oil), two ladles Hoisin Sauce and two ladles Combo Sauce (both are usually indistinguishable appearing opaque brown sauces), 1/2 ladle of soy sauce, 1 ladle of sesame oil, 1/2 ladle of cooking wine and a touch of lemon juice.

Serve atop steamed rice with a dash of soy sauce and enjoy.

If you don't like it, you've no one to blame but yourself (or well...ok, fine, you could blame me in this one, rare case). However, I would implore you to try, try again no matter what you thought about it. So many amazing combinations are waiting there to be discovered by you.