Mongolian barbecue

For ages now, most probably since I went to Mongolia, I have been thinking that about the last thing a Mongolian BBQ is is Mongolian. No such food exists in that country. My mother said that it is like that because the used to cook their food on their shields. It seems that the latter is indeed true, but that this is not the origin of the BBQ. In Mongolia, they mostly eat bread and yogurt (as a more traditional food). They do not eat anything they files, swims or burrows. They do not kill animals as this would be against their religion, but they still eat meat. I never saw a BBQ.

People say that as I enjoyed Mongolia, that I should want to eat this Mongolian food, and I would, if it were indeed Mongolian, but it is not. I developed this theory that a Mongolian BBQ is indeed Chinese food, and that they wrongfully attribute it to Mongolians. Well, it seems that this was a close approximation. According to Wikipedia, it is the Taiwanese who came up with this cuisine. So it is Taiwanese food! (And also, it is not a BBQ.)

Anyway, eating food to indicate that you like a place or a people is bizarre. I'd much rather eat food because it is good.