Hui people's dietary customs have a long history. As early as the middle of the 7th century, Arab and Persian Muslim merchants who came to Chang 'an by land naturally brought many halal food spots in the Arab and Persian regions while doing business. For example, the baked wheat cake of the Hui nationality is said to have been introduced from the Tang Dynasty, and there is also a legend among the people that the Western Regions sell cakes in Chang 'an. These Hui ancestors lived in Chang 'an and other places for a long time according to their original diet methods and systems. Hui ancestors who came to Guangzhou and Quanzhou by sea also brought many halal noodles and dishes. For example, in the Tang Dynasty, "oil fragrance" prevailed. According to legend, oil incense was introduced into China from Bukhara and Isfahan in ancient Persia. According to the monk Huilin, in "All Classics, Sounds and Meanings", "This oil cake was originally eaten by Hu, but it served China well". The cake "Haluwa" in the Hui people's settlement in northwest China was originally a dessert in the Arab region. "Haruwa" means "sweet" in Persian. It has been popular since Chang 'an in Tang Dynasty. There was a Muslim festival in the Song Dynasty called "Frozen Persian Ginger Drum". According to legend, this dish was introduced to China by Hui ancestors from Persia, first along the coast and then inland. In Yuan Dynasty, after the formation of the oral Hui nationality, the Hui people's diet became more diversified. First, there are many varieties and patterns, and there are Hui food stalls in the streets and markets. Second, it has the dietary characteristics of returning disabled people. It not only retains and inherits some authentic dishes from Arabia and Persia, but also absorbs some production methods of China dishes and pasta. The combination of the two is used by the Hui people. For example, "Tuotun Steamed Bread" is a kind of food absorbed and created by Hui people on the basis of Arabian scones and China scones. There are also pure dishes such as "bald hemp food" and "give up and leave" (sherbet).
People in the Yuan Dynasty wrote ten volumes of Complete Works of Household Articles, including a section "Hui people's food", which recorded Hui cuisine and its making method. For example:
Set spikes, peel 2 kg of walnut kernel with warm water, dry it, mash it in a rolling basin, add 1 kg of cooked honey, knead it into 1 kg of Chang Qu sesame seed cake, shake three pieces evenly, knead it into small business bumps, wrap it with Chang Qu sesame seed cake agent, knead it into plum samples, and put it in the furnace for gelatinization.
Chop the rice cake, cook the sheep's head until it is boneless, the original juice of the beans turns sweet, the glutinous rice flour softens into a thick rice cake, and the crispy honey, pine nuts and walnut kernels are evenly supplied.
Bald hemp is like a smooth ball, soaked in cold water into small pancakes, cooked in a pot, fished out the juice, fried sour meat and eaten at will.
Harvey, stir-fry the dry noodles, then stir-fry the honey, stir with less water and cut with a knife.
In addition, the production methods of Burrito, Sour Soup, Shaoer, Gucihong, Conch, It's Your Tooth, Kharisa and Hexi Lung are also recorded in detail. The palace cookbook "Drinking Rice Soon" compiled by Hu Sihui, the minister of Yuan Dynasty, recorded many Muslim folk dishes, such as "Hexi rice soup powder", "Hexi lung" and "suppressed steamed sheep". Most of them are made of mutton, and court ministers have realized the benefits and curative effects of mutton and beef on the body. Compared with the Yuan Dynasty, the diet of the Hui people in the Ming Dynasty had a new development, and there were many innovations in preparing dishes, cooking and making pasta, and the diet was diverse. Especially in this period, when baking cakes, steamed buns and long noodles, the Hui people inherited the tradition of their ancestors and liked to mix spices into the noodles to make the baked or steamed buns taste delicious, which was rare among the Han nationality and other nationalities at that time. Spices are also used to cook porridge and mutton and beef. This spice is used in vegetable rice, which can not only flavor, but also disinfect and detoxify, and has curative effect on human body. For example, in Ma Yu's Notes on Ma Shi Ri in Ming Dynasty, it was said that "the spices used by Hui people are used in Yunnan and used by Hui people in MC Davi, which is different from China. Mix my sister's wine together, and use Masi to answer good luck. The shape of the ground tree is very fragrant-second, there are Zanfu orchids, like safflower, and the cloud is the root of Ferula Ferula ... In Zhong Yan, it is like a meat stick, very fragrant and delicious, and it is ground very finely in the noodles, which is fragrant and poisonous. " These customs have influenced today. Nowadays, the unique cooking techniques and styles of many famous Hui chefs have been passed down from generation to generation. In the Ming Dynasty, Huang Zheng's Tale of Beads and books also recorded many Hui foods, such as "Xie Ke Pi Ci", "Juan Pancake", "Sour Soup Cake", "Eight Pagodas", "Ha Wei", "Gu Duo Ci" and "Conch". The "pea yellow" and "tasmi" of the Hui nationality in Qing Dynasty are very distinctive. After the Qing Dynasty, the Hui nationality was good at learning and introducing cooking techniques from other nationalities, and constantly developed and innovated. For example, Xi 'an mutton paomo, which is now famous all over the country, was invented by Hui people in Chang 'an in the late Ming and early Qing dynasties on the basis of baked wheat cakes and instant-boiled mutton. Xi 'an Laotong's preserved mutton is said to be original in the early Qing Dynasty. There are also beef, Lamian Noodles, steamed stuffed bun and other foods, which were created by the Hui people in their long-term dietary practice. In the late Qing Dynasty and early Ming Dynasty, the Hui people's diet was more refined, refined and exquisite. The "All-sheep Banquet" was popular in Qing Dynasty, which was a high-standard Huizhou banquet. "Instant-boiled mutton" was also very popular with Muslims in the late Qing Dynasty. It operated in "Donglaishun" in Beijing and later expanded to Xi 'an Qingyazhai Hotel. Has been operating until now, won the praise of Chinese and foreign guests. These Muslim dishes and pasta have been handed down from generation to generation by Hui chefs. Today, the Hui diet is diverse, colorful and unique. Many famous chefs have accumulated rich experience, some have compiled and published many years of cooking experience and technology, and some are actively rescuing some Muslim recipes that are about to be lost. According to statistics, there are nearly 2,000 kinds of halal recipes in China, which greatly enrich the lives of Hui people and are welcomed by the majority of Hui people. At the same time, it also gave the Han nationality and other ethnic groups an appetite and was well received.
Hui people's diet has its own customs. Usually three meals a day, including breakfast, lunch and dinner. Breakfast is relatively simple, and young people eat more biscuits and the like; Older people are very particular. Generally, after the ceremony in the morning, they will make a cup of tea or cook pots and pans, and eat some cakes, steamed bread and rolls. Some people even drink camellia oleifera in the morning. As a formal meal, Chinese food and dinner should be full and well eaten. However, we usually pay more attention to eating during festivals or when guests come to our home or on vacation. Hui people have a good habit, that is, after guests come, they pour tea first and order dried fruits and vegetables. Generally, there are five or six dishes, but also a dozen, such as sunflower seeds, peanuts, fruit candy, dates, walnuts, apples and so on. , plus a handful of seeds. Drinking, eating and chatting. Wait until the meal is ready, then eat it formally.
Hui people usually say "please come to the mouth" when welcoming guests. When guests start eating, they should first pick up food or drink with their right hand and say "Taismi" before eating. These are the eating habits of the Hui people, and they are very stable and have not changed for many years.