Jenko's Mongolian Barbecue

General information

A unique dining experience in pleasant surroundings and great fun for all the family!

The concept dates to the 13th century. The transcripts of Marco Polo's writings mention Mongolian warriors chopping their food with swords and cooking on upturned shields over an open fire. Over time the method of cooking over a fire on a flat metal surface spread to other parts of Asia. Today the best-developed form of this style of cooking found in the UK is at Jenko's Mongolian Barbeque in the purpose built log cabin at The Compasses Inn - Telford.

Firstly grab a bowl, starting filling it up with the fresh Vegetables we have on offer. We then have a vary of Fish or Meat, Prawns, Salmon, Beef, Gammon, Pork etc.. You can make a vegetarian dish, or if you're allergic to any spice or have a nut allergy this can be cooked separate, ask any member of staff for help!

Then, you proceed to a saucing station, where you choose from a selection of sauces & spices. Want a Szechuan sauce? Or a sweet chilli sauce? Coriander? Garlic? Just follow the directions by adding a ladle of this, two ladles of that and a dash of the other, and you're set.

Carry the bowl to the chef, where it will be poured onto the Mongolian grill (A massive, waist-high cylinder that maintains a very intense heat) and stirred around with cool wooden swords.

The food comes from the grill hot, utterly free of grease, and filled with simple, direct flavours. You then can choose to add Rice, Pasta or noodles to your food.

Of the sauces, I especially recommend the Szechuan and the black bean versions, which are nicely balanced and quite palatable. But if you're making multiple visits, it makes sense to try small portions and sample the various sauces until you find one you like – and, of course, there's nothing to stop you from devising your own combination and I must say, anybody who can't enjoy the sight of a cook using a sword to stir sizzling food around a giant metal disk needs to get back in touch with his or her inner warrior.