Guriltai shöl is a core soup of the nomadic Mongolian household — mutton and hand-cut wheat noodles in a clear, fat-rich broth. Simple and sustaining, it is the everyday bowl of the steppe.
A clean, fat-slicked broth tastes purely of mutton and sweet vegetables, with soft flat noodles giving body. It is quiet, restorative food: warming, mildly savory, and easy to drink down to the last spoon.
Starting the meat in cold water and skimming yields a clean broth, while a long gentle simmer extracts collagen and fat for body. Cooking the noodles in the soup at the end thickens it slightly with released starch.
Variations
Beef or goat in place of mutton, addition of turnip or cabbage, or a richer version with extra tail fat.
On the Palate
Where Guriltai Shol sits in the Mongolian flavor cloud
Ingredients
Serves 4
How it's made
8 steps · 30 min
- 110 min
Knead a firm dough of flour, water and salt and let it rest while the meat cooks.
- 25 min
Cut fatty mutton into bite-size pieces and place in a pot with cold water.
- 340 min
Bring to a boil, skim the foam, then simmer gently until the meat is tender.
Watch outSkim off every bit of grey foam as it rises before you drop the heat — clear it now and the broth stays clean instead of cloudy.
- 48 min
Roll the rested dough thin and cut into short flat noodles.
- 512 min
Add chopped onion, diced potato and carrot to the broth and simmer until nearly soft.
- 66 min
Drop in the noodles and cook until they float and turn tender.
Watch outThe noodles are ready the moment they bob up and lose their raw firmness — pull them then, they keep softening in the hot soup.
- 72 min
Season the soup with salt and a little ground pepper.
- 83 min
Ladle into bowls, sharing meat, noodles and broth, and scatter spring onion on top.
