Tibetan Butter Tea Momos (Yak-Style Beef Dumplings)
Hearty steamed dumplings spiced with ginger and scallion, served alongside a simmered bowl of Tibetan butter tea — the classic plateau comfort meal.
Momos are the dumpling of choice across Tibet, Nepal, and the Himalayan belt, and they are almost always served with a steaming bowl of butter tea on the side. This recipe uses beef as a accessible stand-in for yak meat, seasoned simply so the meat's richness — not a heavy sauce — carries the dish, just as it would on the plateau.
The brick tea itself needs to be simmered, not steeped. Break a chunk off the brick, boil it hard in water for a good ten minutes to pull out its full color and strength, then churn it with butter and salt. This long simmer is what separates brick tea from nearly every other tea style — treat it like a stock, not a delicate infusion.
Salted butter tea has a savory, almost soup-like quality that some newcomers find unusual at first — think of it less as 'tea' in the Western sense and more as a warm, fatty, mineral-rich broth meant to be sipped throughout the meal, refilled continuously as is Tibetan custom.
Serve the momos hot, straight from the steamer, with a simple chili-garlic dipping sauce on the side and the butter tea poured fresh. This is filling, warming food built for cold climates and long days — exactly what it was designed for.
Ingredients
- 500g ground beef (or ground yak/lamb if available)
- 1 small onion, finely minced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1-inch piece ginger, grated
- 2 scallions, finely chopped
- 1 tbsp soy sauce
- 1/2 tsp ground Sichuan pepper
- Salt and black pepper to taste
- 1 tbsp neutral oil
- 24 store-bought or homemade dumpling wrappers
- 1 piece (about 15g) Tibetan brick tea, broken apart
- 4 cups water (for tea)
- 2 tbsp unsalted butter
- 1/2 tsp salt (for the tea)
How to make it
- 1Make the filling: combine beef, onion, garlic, ginger, scallions, soy sauce, Sichuan pepper, salt, pepper, and oil in a bowl. Mix vigorously by hand until the mixture becomes slightly sticky and well bound.
- 2Place a spoonful of filling in the center of each wrapper. Pleat the edges closed, pinching firmly at the top to seal into a small pouch.
- 3Steam the momos in a lined steamer basket over boiling water for 12–15 minutes, until the wrapper is translucent and the filling is cooked through.
- 4While the momos steam, make the butter tea: break the brick tea into the water and bring to a hard boil. Simmer uncovered for 10 minutes until the liquid is dark and strong.
- 5Strain the tea into a blender or churn, add the butter and salt, and blend or whisk vigorously for 1–2 minutes until emulsified and slightly frothy.
- 6Serve the momos hot with a chili-garlic dipping sauce, pouring the hot butter tea into bowls alongside.
Want to learn more about Tibetan Brick Tea? Visit its full profile.
Back to Tibetan Brick TeaYou might also like
What to Eat with Tibetan Brick Tea
Tibetan brick tea is almost never drunk alone — it's simmered into butter tea and built into a full meal alongside roasted barley, yak meat, and hearty dumplings.
Tsampa Honey Balls with Brick Tea Glaze
Toasted barley flour shaped into sweet honey balls and finished with a dark, smoky brick tea reduction — a modern, dessert-leaning spin on a staple plateau ingredient.