The Secret is in the Sauce at Genghis

Finally, summer has arrived. In a mere month, the Puget Sound region has transformed from damp, mopey grayness to brilliant blue skies and temperatures justifying the wearing of forgotten items such as shorts and flip-flops.

While summer brings welcomed sunshine and warmth, it also totes with it a host of expenses special to the season. With kids out of school, childcare costs and fees pop up. Concert tickets for venues such as  and The Gorge Amphitheater go for slightly more than a song. And perhaps you’re among those who spent a small fortune on pyrotechnics celebrating the Independence Day weekend.

In the wake of summer spending, inexpensive dining options are a must. Cooking at home can be a budget-conscious strategy, but mark my words, there will come that hot summer evening when you just don’t feel like standing over your stove.

Thus, with dinner on the cheap as my mission, this week I headed into Lynnwood to check out a known dining bargain:  Mongolian barbecue. The destination: Genghis. Positioned in a behemoth, slightly depressive strip mall complex along commerce-dense 44^th Avenue W, I found Genghis to be a quiet spot outfitted with mod furniture and cheerful staff.

Typical Mongolian barbecue, also known as Mongolian grill, is said (by self-promoting Mongolian grill restaurants) to have originated centuries ago with the armies of Mongolian warrior Genghis Khan. Legend has it that the soldiers cooked meat on top of their round shields, a nod to the circular flat-top griddles used in modern Mongolian barbecue joints. Wikipedia much less romantically states that Mongolian grill is a cooking style that originated in Taiwanese restaurants around 40 years ago.

Regardless of its beginnings, Mongolian grill today is an inexpensive way to fill up on a blend of noodles, vegetables, and proteins freshly cooked with a minimal grease factor. Lynnwood’s Genghis embraces the standard Mongolian restaurant model in which the diner loads up his or her bowl with desired ingredients from a fresh bar and then turns over the vessel to the grillmaster for a speedy stir-and-sizzle. Control over ingredients allows the meal to be relatively healthy depending on personal choices.

Protein selections at Genghis include chicken, beef, fish, tofu, and the decidely non-Mongolian Polish sausage as well as shrimp for an extra buck. Three noodles choices join the abundant produce collection which among other things offers broccoli, onions, bell pepper, carrots, mushrooms, bamboo shoots, two varieties of corn, pineapple, and tomatoes.

Although I’m no Mongolian grill newbie, I was clearly out of practice as it took me two tries to nail things at Genghis. On my first pass I overlooked key essentials including plenty of leafy green spinach to boost the vegetable quotient of my dish. I also found myself wishing I’d had the option to include some crunchy nuts, only to find during round #2 that peanuts and sesame seeds were available when I picked up my plate.

Unlike some Mongolian grills, Genghis is not an all-you-can-eat affair and diners pay $7.25 per bowl ($5.25 for a smaller kid’s bowl). Though I was a bit tentative in my stacking of vegetables and noodles, I watched other patrons’ impressive bowl-filling skills result in some mighty generous plates of food.

Initially, I was disappointed that the Genghis bar had only four cooking sauces—soy, garlic, spicy, and sesame—to flavor my raw ingredients. Past experience at other Mongolian eateries had led me to expect a wide variety of liquid seasonings complete with “recipes” for mixing custom concoctions.

Disappointment turned to joy, however, as upon being presented with my platter of cooked meat and vegetables (plus a side of rice) I was invited to choose from among a half-dozen finishing sauces. The selection included peanut curry, sweet and sour, spicy Mongolian, orange teriyaki, plum sauce and strangely enough, a creamy white mushroom sauce that just seemed fundamentally wrong for Asian stir-fry. I suppose there’s a sauce for everyone.

As I personally picked my own ingredient combinations (Chinese noodles, chicken, predominantly broccoli and corn for one…rice noodles, beef, and lots of spinach and tomatoes for the other) I certainly can’t complain about the composition of my dishes. I also can’t complain about the cooking, as the vegetables came to me tender and crisp with thin strips of meat that were juicy and flavorful.

Although I found the peanut curry sauce to be a bit heavy, the orange teriyaki dressing offered a lovely touch of tangy sweetness to complement my meal. Spicy Mongolian sauce was another winner, rich with soy sauce and a distinct kick of chili.

Whether you're a college student saving pennies during summer term, a parent feeding a flock of hungry kiddos, or just someone who likes a dining bargain--check out Mongolian barbecue at Genghis. The inexpensive customized plates paired with flavorful sauces are satisfying for stomach and wallet alike.