Chinese Islamic cuisine
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Chinese Islamic cuisine is cuisine of the Hui (ethnic Chinese Muslims) and other Muslims living in China. Due to the large Muslim population in western China, many Chinese restaurants cater to Muslims or cater to the general public but 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 as part of Beijing cuisine.
Traditionally, there is a distinction between northern and southern Chinese Islamic cuisine despite both utilizing mutton and lamb: northern Chinese Islamic cuisine heavily utilizes beef, but rarely any ducks, geese, shrimp or seafoods, while southern Islamic cuisine is just the opposite, with heavy utilization of ducks, geese, shrimps and seafoods in comparison, but not beef. The reason for this difference was that in oxens have been long used for farming and for majority of the time, regimes of Chinese proper have strictly prohibited the slaughter of oxens for food. However, due to the geographic proximity of northern part of the China proper to minorities dominated regions that were not subjected to such restrictions, beef could be easily purchased from these regions 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. The distinct utilization of the available material of the local area therefore resulted in the difference between northern and southern Chinese Islamic cuisine.
A Chinese Islamic restaurant (清真菜館 mandarin: qīng zhēn cài guǎn) can sometimes be similar to a Mandarin restaurant with the exception that there is no pork on the menu. The Chinese word for halal is "pure truth" (清真, pinyin: qīngzhēn) food (菜, cài), so a Chinese Islamic restaurant is a "qingzhen restaurant" that serves "qingzhen" food.
In most major cities in China, there are small Islamic restaurants typically run by migrants from Western China (e.g., Uyghurs), which offer inexpensive noodle soup. These restaurants are typically decorated with Islamic motifs such as pictures of Islamic rugs and Arabic 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.
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.
Famous Dishes
Lamian
Lamian (simplified Chinese: 拉面; traditional Chinese: 拉麵; pinyin: lāmiàn) is a Chinese dish of hand-made noodles, usually served in a beef or mutton-flavored soup (湯麵 tāngmiàn), but sometimes stir-fried (炒麵 chǎomiàn) and served with a tomato-based sauce. Literally, 拉 (lā) means to pull or stretch, while 麵 (miàn) means noodle. The hand-making process involves taking a lump of dough and repeatedly stretching it to produce a single very long noodle.
Chuanr
Chuanr (Chinese :串儿, pinyin: chuànr; "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.
Yunnan cheese
Yunnan cheese is a milk cheese made in Yunnan province in China. It goes by several different names locally, including the general word for cheese in Mandarin, rǔ lào 乳酪. It is made by mixing water buffalo milk and rice vinegar.
Beef noodle soup
Beef noodle soup is a noodle soup dish composed of stewed beef, beef broth, vegetables and wheat noodles. It exists in various forms throughout East Asia and Southeast Asia. The most common Vietnamese version is called Bo kho, but which uses rice noodles instead. It was created by the Hui people during the Tang Dynasty of China.
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.
Suan cai
Suan cai or Chinese Sauerkraut is a traditional Chinese cuisine vegetable dish 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.
Beef bun
niúròu bǐng 牛肉饼 (beef bun) is a type of Chinese pastry. It is one of the most standard pastries in Hong Kong and can also be found in most Chinatown bakery shops overseas. The bun has a ground beef filling, sometimes include pieces of onions.
- nang 馕 (Round unleavened breads, topped with sesame - similar to South and Central Asia naan)
External links
- A San Francisco Chronicle article on a Chinese Islamic restaurant in the US
- www.chinaheritagequarterly.org