Chinese Islamic cuisine consists of variations of regionally popular foods that are typical of Han Chinese cuisine, in particular to make them halal. Dishes borrow ingredients from Middle Eastern, Turkic, Iranian and South Asian cuisines, notably mutton and spices. Much like other northern Chinese cuisines, Chinese Islamic cuisine uses wheat noodles as the staple, rather than rice. Chinese Islamic dishes include clear-broth beef noodle soup and chuanr.
Due to the large Muslim population in Western China, many Chinese restaurants cater to or are run by Muslims. Northern Chinese Islamic cuisine originated in China proper. It is heavily influenced by Beijing cuisine, with nearly all cooking methods identical and differs only in material due to religious restrictions. As a result, northern Islamic cuisine is often included in home Beijing cuisine though seldom in east coast restaurants.
During the Yuan dynasty, halal and kosher methods of slaughtering animals and preparing food was banned and forbidden by the Mongol emperors, starting with Genghis Khan who banned Muslims and Jews from slaughtering their animals their own way and made them follow the Mongol method.[1][2]
Among all the [subject] alien peoples only the Hui-hui say "we do not eat Mongol food." [Cinggis Qa'an replied:] "By the aid of heaven we have pacified you; you are our slaves. Yet you do not eat our food or drink. How can this be right?" He thereupon made them eat. "If you slaughter sheep, you will be considered guilty of a crime." He issued a regulation to that effect ... [In 1279/1280 under Qubilai] all the Muslims say: “if someone else slaughters [the animal] we do not eat." Because the poor people are upset by this, from now on, Musuluman [Muslim] Huihui and Zhuhu [Jewish] Huihui, no matter who kills [the animal] will eat [it] and must cease slaughtering sheep themselves, and cease the rite of circumcision.[3]
Traditionally, there is a distinction between Northern and Southern Chinese Islamic cuisine despite both using lamb and mutton. Northern Chinese Islamic cuisine relies heavily on beef, but rarely ducks, geese, shrimp or seafood, while southern Islamic cuisine is the reverse. The reason for this difference is due to availability of the ingredients. Oxen have been long used for farming and Chinese governments have frequently strictly prohibited the slaughter of oxen for food. However, due to the geographic proximity of the northern part of China to minority-dominated regions that were not subjected to such restrictions, beef could be easily purchased and transported to Northern China. At the same time, ducks, geese and shrimp are rare in comparison to Southern China due to the arid climate of Northern China.
An Islamic fast food restaurant at Shanghai Expo
A Chinese Islamic restaurant (Chinese:淸眞菜館; pinyin:qīngzhēn càiguǎn) can be similar to a Mandarin restaurant with the exception that there is no pork on the menu and the dishes are primarily noodle/soup based.
In most major eastern cities in China, there are very limited Islamic/Halal restaurants, which are typically run by migrants from Western China (e.g., Uyghurs). They primarily offer inexpensive noodle soups only. These restaurants are typically decorated with Islamic motifs such as Islamic writing.
Another difference is that lamb and mutton dishes are more commonly available than in other Chinese restaurants, due to the greater prevalence of these meats in the cuisine of Western Chinese regions. (Refer to image 1.)
Other Muslim ethnic minorities like the Bonan, Dongxiang, Salar and Tibetan Muslims have their own cuisines as well. Dongxiang people operate their own restaurants serving their cuisine.
Many cafeterias (canteens) at Chinese universities have separate sections or dining areas for Muslim students (Hui or Western Chinese minorities), typically labeled "qingzhen". Student ID cards sometimes indicate whether a student is Muslim and will allow access to these dining areas or will allow access on special occasions such as the Eid feast following Ramadan.
Several Hui restaurants serving Chinese Islamic cuisine exist in Los Angeles.[4][5]San Francisco, despite its huge number of Chinese restaurants, appears to have only one whose cuisine would qualify as halal.
Many Chinese Hui Muslims who moved from Yunnan to Burma (Myanmar) are known as Panthays operate restaurants and stalls serving Chinese Islamic cuisine such as noodles. Chinese Hui Muslims from Yunnan who moved to Thailand are known as Chin Haw and they also own restaurants and stalls serving Chinese Islamic food.
Restaurant in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, advertising Dungan cuisine.
In Central Asia, Dungan people, descendants of Hui, operate restaurants serving Chinese Islamic cuisine, which is respectively referred to as Dungan cuisine there. They cater to Chinese businessmen.[6] Chopsticks are used by Dungans.[7] The cuisine of the Dungan resembles northwestern Chinese cuisine.[8][9]
Most Chinese regard Hui halal food as cleaner than food made by non-Muslims so their restaurants are popular in China.[10] Hui who migrated to Northeast China (Manchuria) after the Chuang Guandong opened many new inns and restaurants to cater to travelers, which were regarded as clean.
The Thai Department of Export Promotion claims that "China's halal food producers are small-scale entrepreneurs whose products have little value added and lack branding and technology to push their goods to international standards" to encourage Thai private sector halal producers to market their products in China.[12]
A 1903-started franchise serving Muslim food is Dong Lai Shun in Hankou.[13]
400 meters have to be kept as a distance from each restaurant serving beef noodles to another of its type if they belong to Hui Muslims, since Hui have a pact between each other in Ningxia, Gansu and Shaanxi.[14][15]
Halal restaurants are checked up upon by clerics from mosques.[16]
Lamian (simplified Chinese:拉面; traditional Chinese:拉麪; pinyin:lāmiàn, Dungan: Ламян)[18] is a Chinese dish of hand-made noodles, usually served in a beef or mutton-flavored soup (湯麪, даңмян, tāngmiàn), but sometimes stir-fried (炒麪, Чаомян, chǎomiàn) and served with a tomato-based sauce. Literally, 拉, ла (lā) means to pull or stretch, while 麪, мян (miàn) means noodle. The hand-making process involves taking a lump of dough and repeatedly stretching it to produce a single very long noodle.
Words that begin with L are not native to Turkic — läghmän is a loanword as stated by Uyghur linguist Abdlikim: It is of Chinese derivation and not originally Uyghur.[19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26]
In the west, this food may be served in a small portion as a soup. In China, a large bowl of it is often taken as a whole meal with or without any side dish.
Chuanr (Chinese: 串儿, Dungan: Чўанр, Pinyin: chuànr (shortened from "chuan er"), "kebab"), originating in the Xinjiang (新疆) province of China and in recent years has been disseminated throughout the rest of that country, most notably in Beijing. It is a product of the Chinese Islamic cuisine of the Uyghur (维吾尔) people and other Chinese Muslims. Yang rou chuan or lamb kebabs, is particularly popular.
Suan cai is a traditional fermented vegetable dish, similar to Korean kimchi and German sauerkraut, used in a variety of ways. It consists of pickled Chinese cabbage. Suan cai is a unique form of pao cai due to the material used and the method of production. Although suan cai is not exclusive to Chinese Islamic cuisine, it is used in Chinese Islamic cuisine to top off noodle soups, especially beef noodle soup.
Nang
Nang (Chinese: 馕, Dungan: Нәң) is a type of round unleavened bread, topped with sesame. It is similar to South and Central Asia naan.
Image gallery
Beef noodle served
Peking duck served at a halal restaurant in Beijing
Niang pi (酿皮, Няң пы), a popular vegetarian noodle cold dish in Linxia
Indonesian cuisine is a collection of various regional culinary traditions that formed in the archipelagic nation of Indonesia. There are a wide variety of recipes and cuisines in part because Indonesia is composed of approximately 6,000 populated islands of the total 17,508 in the world's largest archipelago, with more than 1,300 ethnic groups.
Beef noodle soup is a noodle soup made of stewed or braised beef, beef broth, vegetables and noodles. It exists in various forms throughout East and Southeast Asia.
Islam has been practiced in China since the 7th century CE. There are an estimated 17–25 million Muslims in China, less than 2 percent of the total population. Though Hui Muslims are the most numerous group, the greatest concentration of Muslims reside in northwestern China's Xinjiang autonomous region, which contains a significant Uyghur population. Lesser yet significant populations reside in the regions of Ningxia, Gansu and Qinghai. Of China's 55 officially recognized minority peoples, ten of these groups are predominantly Sunni Muslim.
Chinese Indonesian cuisine is characterized by the mixture of Chinese with local Indonesian style. Chinese Indonesians, mostly descendant of Han ethnic Hokkien and Hakka speakers, brought their legacy of Chinese cuisine, and modified some of the dishes with the addition of Indonesian ingredients, such as kecap manis, palm sugar, peanut sauce, chili, santan and local spices to form a hybrid Chinese-Indonesian cuisine. Some of the dishes and cakes share the same style as in Malaysia and Singapore, known as Nyonya cuisine by the Peranakan.
Lamian is a type of soft wheat flour Chinese noodle that is particularly common in northern China. Lamian is made by twisting, stretching and folding the dough into strands, using the weight of the dough. The length and thickness of the strands depends on the number of times the dough is folded.
Bakmi or bami is a type of wheat based noodles derived from Chinese cooking tradition. It was brought to Indonesia by Chinese immigrants from Southern Chinese provinces like Fujian. It is typically prepared seasoned in soy sauce and topped with pork products, which is often substituted for other protein sources in predominantly Muslim Indonesia. Chinese-style wheat noodles has become one of the most common noodle dishes, especially in Southeast Asian countries which have significant Chinese populations and known by various names.
Afghan cuisine is influenced by Persian, Central Asian, and South Asian cuisines due to Afghanistan's close proximity and cultural ties. The cuisine is halal and mainly based on mutton, beef, poultry and fish with rice and Afghan bread. Accompanying these are common vegetables and dairy products, such as milk, yogurt, whey, and fresh and dried fruits such as apples, apricots, grapes, bananas, oranges, plums, pomegranates, sweet melons, and raisins. The diet of most Afghans revolves around rice-based dishes, while various forms of naan are consumed with most meals. Tea is generally consumed daily in large quantities, and is a major part of hospitality. The culinary specialties reflect the nation's ethnic and geographic diversity. The national dish of Afghanistan is Kabuli palaw, a rice dish cooked with raisins, carrots, nuts, and lamb or beef.
Kyrgyz cuisine is the cuisine of the Kyrgyz, who comprise a majority of the population of Kyrgyzstan. The cuisine is similar in many aspects to that of their neighbors.
Uyghur cuisine is the cuisine of the Uyghur people, which are mainly situated in the autonomous region of Xinjiang.
Indian Singaporean cuisine refers to food and beverages produced and consumed in Singapore that are derived, wholly or in part, from South Asian culinary traditions. The great variety of Singapore food includes Indian food, which tends to be Tamil cuisine and especially local Tamil Muslim cuisine, although North Indian food has become more visible recently. Indian dishes have become modified to different degrees, after years of contact with other Singapore cultures, and in response to locally available ingredients as well as changing local tastes. The local forms of Indian food may be seen as localised or even regional variations of Indian food, or in some cases, a form of hybrid Indian-Singaporean cuisine. Popular 'Indian' dishes and elements of Indian cuisine include:
Lanzhou beef noodles or Lanzhou lamian is a type of beef noodle soup from Lanzhou, China. This dish has an extensive history, and the recipe differs by region due to cultural factors, availability of ingredients, and local innovations.
Betawi cuisine is rich, diverse and eclectic, in part because the Betawi people that create them were composed from numbers of regional immigrants that came from various places in the Indonesian archipelago, as well as Chinese, Indian, Arab, and European traders, visitors and immigrants that were attracted to the port city of Batavia since centuries ago.
Hot pot or hotpot, also known as steamboat, is a dish whereby a heat source placed on the dining table keeps a pot of soup stock simmering, and accompanied with an array of Chinese foodstuffs and ingredients and food offerings provided for the diners to dip into the flavorful broth.
Hui mian is a Henan-style noodle soup. The ingredients used in the dish vary across different cities and restaurants. Typically, hui mian is made with lamb bones and a range of Chinese herbs, such as lycium chinense and star anise. However, kelp, tofu, coriander, quail eggs, chili oil, sugar, garlic, and minced peppers are also common ingredients.
Laghman is a dish of meat, vegetables and pulled noodles from Uyghur cuisine and Central Asian cuisine. In Chinese, the noodle is known as latiaozi or bànmiàn.
Indian Indonesian cuisine is characterized by the mixture of Indian cuisine with local Indonesian-style. This cuisine consists of adaptations of authentic dishes from India, as well as original creations inspired by the diverse food culture of Indonesia. Indian influence can be observed in Indonesia as early as the 4th century. Following the spread of Islam to Indonesia and trading, Muslim Indian as well as Arab influences made their way into Indonesian cuisine. Examples include Indian biryani, murtabak, curry and paratha that influenced Acehnese, Minangkabau, Malay, Palembangese, Betawi and Javanese cuisine.
Gansu cuisine, also known as Long cuisine (陇菜), is the regional cooking style of the Han Chinese deeply influenced by the local Hui people in the Gansu province of Northwestern China.
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