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Mongolian BBQ

Mongolian barbecue is a method of preparing stir-fried noodle dishes. Despite its name, the dish is not Mongolian, nor was it influenced by Mongolian cuisine. It was developed in Taiwan by a Chinese expat during the 1950s. Furthermore, it is also unrelated to actual barbecue traditions (such as American or Korean barbecue), since it is not cooked on a perforated grill above the smoke of an open flame, but rather a specialized flatiron grill. It has more in common with Teppanyaki. Mongolian barbecue was created by Taiwanese comedian and restaurateur Wu Zhaonan. A native of Beijing, Wu fled to Taiwan after the outbreak of the Chinese Civil War, and opened a street food stall in Yingqiao [zh], Taipei in 1951. While he initially wished to name the dish "Beijing barbecue", due to political sensitivity associated with the city which had been recently designated as the capital of the People's Republic of China, the name "Mongolian barbecue" was chosen despite the lack of connection to Mongolia. Wu's food stall attracted a wide clientele including diplomats and wealthy businesspeople despite serving a relatively cheap and unsophisticated dish;[citation needed] however, it was later destroyed by flooding originating from a typhoon during which Wu almost drowned. He was later able to develop a highly successful career as a comedian and left the restaurant business. Numerous imitators emerged to capitalize on the popularity of the dish he created, including Genghis Khan, Tang Palace, Great Khan, and Heavenly Khan. The dish was later successfully introduced outside Taiwan.

Source: Wikipedia