China is, after all, on the other side of the world and possesses a distinct, centuries-old culture, so any new arrival will have to overcome a bit of culture shock especially for the Muslims because of their certain religious teaching about food and prayers.

For the Muslim expats in China, one of the main problems encounters is food. Muslims can eat Halal food (the food prepared by following Islamic dietary laws and customs). For the new comers, it is a sigh of relief that Halal food is widely available in China. And in every city there are different restaurants that are run by Chinese Muslims. The cuisine served in these restaurants blends the original Middle East flavour and traditional Chinese dishes and creates its own style and flavour. The halal food/restaurant/ products can be recognised by Chinese characters清真 (Qīngzhèn). As I asked some Chinese friends they told that these characters mean ‘pure’. These characters, which are usually written in a circle, around that it is written that the certain product is approved by the Islamic organization of China.

One thing, which is hard to understand by the Chinese people, is the preparation of Halal food, especially meat, according to the Islamic laws. The situation is faced by the Muslims when they are invited to have a meal in a Chinese restaurant. Chinese friends assume that their Muslim fellow can eat chicken and mutton. So, the dishes of chicken and mutton are just useless when a Muslim fellow is there who restricts himself/herself only to the vegetables. The reason behind is that according to the Islamic laws, the animal should be slaughtered by the name of God. The ‘slaughtering’ is to be done by cutting the throat windpipe and the blood vessels in the neck causing the animal’s death, but without cutting the spinal cord. According to the Islamic instructions, the blood has to be drained completely because blood is a medium for germs, bacteria, toxins, etc. Moreover, the meat remains fresh for a longer time due to deficiency of blood in the meat. They way of preparation can be a subject of debate for many. But every community has to follow their own believes. Knowing about different cultures can lighten the rigidity existing among different communities.

I hope this blog will help Chinese friends to understand the Muslims’ eating ways and also provide Muslim to explain the reason of avoiding meat at dining table. J