Urumqi Hui Muslim Home Cooking: 15 Halal Dishes (Part 2)
Reposted from the web
Summary: Urumqi Hui Muslim Home Cooking: 15 Halal Dishes is presented here as a firsthand travel account in clear English, beginning with this scene: My mother-in-law came to Beijing in March and made us 15 Urumqi Hui Muslim dishes. The account keeps its focus on Urumqi Halal Food, Hui Muslim Food, Xinjiang Travel while preserving the names, places, food, and historical details from the Chinese source.
My mother-in-law came to Beijing in March and made us 15 Urumqi Hui Muslim dishes. They are big plate chicken with belt noodles (dapanji pidaimian), lamb hand-torn noodles (yangrou jiupianzi), Xinjiang meatball soup (Xinjiang wanzi tang), dry-mixed noodles with lamb bean sauce (yangrou zhajiang ganbanmian), lamb sour soup wontons (yangrou suantang huntun), Jingzhe oil tea eggs (Jingzhe youcha dan), thin-skinned buns (baopi baozi), lamb vermicelli soup (yangrou fentang), cold shredded chicken (liangban ji), diced stir-fried noodles (dingding chaomian), sour soup minced meat noodles (suantang saozi mian), fragrant bean flour rolls (xiangdou huajuan), plate noodles (panzi mian), flavored fried starch jelly (fengwei zha menzi), and lamb and celery dumplings (yangrou qincai jiaozi). Yesterday I shared the first 8 dishes in '15 Urumqi Hui Muslim Dishes Made by My Mother-in-law (Part 1)', and today I will continue with the remaining 7.
9. Cold shredded chicken (liangban ji)
The cold shredded chicken made in Xinjiang Hui Muslim homes is actually the same as the pepper-numbing chicken (jiaoma ji) in restaurants, but it is not as salty or heavy. First, you must choose free-range chicken, not yellow-feathered broiler chicken (sanhuang ji). You should buy a whole chicken, stew it, and tear it by hand, but I went to the market and had the butcher chop it for me, haha. When stewing the chicken, you must add chili peppers and Sichuan peppercorns, and when making the dressing, you must also fry Sichuan peppercorn oil first.
I bought the chicken at the Dazhang Halal Free-range Chicken specialty store in Changying Market.
10. Diced stir-fried noodles (dingding chaomian)
For these classic diced stir-fried noodles, we usually don't use tomato paste at home, just fresh tomatoes.
11. Sour soup minced meat noodles (suantang saozi mian)
The Urumqi Hui Muslim version of sour soup minced meat noodles also uses hand-rolled cut noodles.
12. Fragrant bean flour rolls (xiangdou huajuan)
These are steamed rolls made with fragrant bean flour (xiangdou fen) and rapeseed oil. It is hard to buy fragrant bean flour in Beijing, so I bought it online specifically.
Steamed rolls served with shredded potatoes and corn grits are a classic Urumqi Hui Muslim breakfast.
13. Plate noodles (panzi mian)
Xinjiang pulled noodles (latiaozi) come in two types: plate noodles and stretched noodles (zhangzi mian); plate noodles are chewier than stretched noodles.
They are served with bamboo shoots and meat, or bok choy and meat; it seems rare to find these two types of Xinjiang mixed noodles in local Xinjiang restaurants.
14. Flavored fried starch jelly (fengwei zha menzi)
Flavored fried starch jelly is a banquet dish for Xinjiang Hui Muslims; the last time I ate it was at my engagement banquet with Zainab.
The starch jelly (menzi) is made with minced beef. When mixing the filling, you must beat it repeatedly, then shape it into a cylinder, pinch the top to look like a fence, pour egg into the center, and steam it. Once steamed, slice the jelly, coat it in egg wash, and fry it. Take it out, sprinkle with cumin, chili powder, and salt, and a delicious plate of flavored fried starch jelly is ready.
15. Lamb and celery dumplings (jiaozi).
There is a saying that you eat dumplings before a trip and noodles when you return home. My mother-in-law is leaving, so she made us lamb and celery dumplings for her final meal. She added eggs to the dough, which gave it a slightly yellow color.
You have to eat them with chili oil (youpo lazi).
Summary: Urumqi Hui Muslim Home Cooking: 15 Halal Dishes is presented here as a firsthand travel account in clear English, beginning with this scene: My mother-in-law came to Beijing in March and made us 15 Urumqi Hui Muslim dishes. The account keeps its focus on Urumqi Halal Food, Hui Muslim Food, Xinjiang Travel while preserving the names, places, food, and historical details from the Chinese source.
My mother-in-law came to Beijing in March and made us 15 Urumqi Hui Muslim dishes. They are big plate chicken with belt noodles (dapanji pidaimian), lamb hand-torn noodles (yangrou jiupianzi), Xinjiang meatball soup (Xinjiang wanzi tang), dry-mixed noodles with lamb bean sauce (yangrou zhajiang ganbanmian), lamb sour soup wontons (yangrou suantang huntun), Jingzhe oil tea eggs (Jingzhe youcha dan), thin-skinned buns (baopi baozi), lamb vermicelli soup (yangrou fentang), cold shredded chicken (liangban ji), diced stir-fried noodles (dingding chaomian), sour soup minced meat noodles (suantang saozi mian), fragrant bean flour rolls (xiangdou huajuan), plate noodles (panzi mian), flavored fried starch jelly (fengwei zha menzi), and lamb and celery dumplings (yangrou qincai jiaozi). Yesterday I shared the first 8 dishes in '15 Urumqi Hui Muslim Dishes Made by My Mother-in-law (Part 1)', and today I will continue with the remaining 7.
9. Cold shredded chicken (liangban ji)
The cold shredded chicken made in Xinjiang Hui Muslim homes is actually the same as the pepper-numbing chicken (jiaoma ji) in restaurants, but it is not as salty or heavy. First, you must choose free-range chicken, not yellow-feathered broiler chicken (sanhuang ji). You should buy a whole chicken, stew it, and tear it by hand, but I went to the market and had the butcher chop it for me, haha. When stewing the chicken, you must add chili peppers and Sichuan peppercorns, and when making the dressing, you must also fry Sichuan peppercorn oil first.
I bought the chicken at the Dazhang Halal Free-range Chicken specialty store in Changying Market.
10. Diced stir-fried noodles (dingding chaomian)
For these classic diced stir-fried noodles, we usually don't use tomato paste at home, just fresh tomatoes.
11. Sour soup minced meat noodles (suantang saozi mian)
The Urumqi Hui Muslim version of sour soup minced meat noodles also uses hand-rolled cut noodles.
12. Fragrant bean flour rolls (xiangdou huajuan)
These are steamed rolls made with fragrant bean flour (xiangdou fen) and rapeseed oil. It is hard to buy fragrant bean flour in Beijing, so I bought it online specifically.
Steamed rolls served with shredded potatoes and corn grits are a classic Urumqi Hui Muslim breakfast.
13. Plate noodles (panzi mian)
Xinjiang pulled noodles (latiaozi) come in two types: plate noodles and stretched noodles (zhangzi mian); plate noodles are chewier than stretched noodles.
They are served with bamboo shoots and meat, or bok choy and meat; it seems rare to find these two types of Xinjiang mixed noodles in local Xinjiang restaurants.
14. Flavored fried starch jelly (fengwei zha menzi)
Flavored fried starch jelly is a banquet dish for Xinjiang Hui Muslims; the last time I ate it was at my engagement banquet with Zainab.
The starch jelly (menzi) is made with minced beef. When mixing the filling, you must beat it repeatedly, then shape it into a cylinder, pinch the top to look like a fence, pour egg into the center, and steam it. Once steamed, slice the jelly, coat it in egg wash, and fry it. Take it out, sprinkle with cumin, chili powder, and salt, and a delicious plate of flavored fried starch jelly is ready.
15. Lamb and celery dumplings (jiaozi).
There is a saying that you eat dumplings before a trip and noodles when you return home. My mother-in-law is leaving, so she made us lamb and celery dumplings for her final meal. She added eggs to the dough, which gave it a slightly yellow color.
You have to eat them with chili oil (youpo lazi).
