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Delicious Dong Xiang Dishes by Precious Diamond
S howing nothing less than meticulous hospitality is always an integral part of the Dongxiang Muslim culture. They consider
their guests as ‘angels’ sent by Allah. Hence, the poorest of the poor will go the extra mile to ensure that their guests receive the best of whatever they can offer.

My friends and I arrived around 1:00 pm at the school in Na Li Si, Lanzhou. We were received by Ms Ma who later informed the principal of our visit. The principal quickly instructed her to take us to the restaurant near-by for lunch.

She helped us order from the menu and suggested that we should have fish. She also included boiled mutton to be eaten with salt, besides other side dishes of meat and vegetables.

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Fermented Rice Soup


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These are some of the other dishes that were served at the meal in Lanzhou, Gansu.

She ordered fermented rice soup, which was sweet and a little sour and apparently contains rice wine – quite an unusual taste, indeed! (It was unusual for me at least; see the top picture.) The second picture shows the other dishes served, including the fish, boiled mutton, potatoes and sweet and sour beef.

After our day’s work at the school, they took us to the principal’s house to stay the night. The guest room had a wooden, raised platform that was carpeted and covered with a blanket. Beneath the platform was a heating system that kept the area we were sitting on, pleasantly warm. They brought a low coffee table in and placed it in the middle of the platform for food to be served. I learned that Dong Xiang hospitality has an order in the way they serve their food to their guests. The first course is a variety of fruits like grapes, bananas, apples and dried persimmons. We ate the fruit and talked for at least an hour before soup was served. The soup tasted a little sour and had little meatballs in it, with some homemade noodles. It was great to have some steamy noodle soup in cold weather!

It was interesting for me that the principal and his wife sat a short distance away from us and had their soup. Then, his wife brought in three dishes of vegetables and a plateful of boiled mutton. At that point, we invited the principal to join us and he did but only for a short while and then he went and sat on the sofa near-by.

In the course of our conversation, they realized that we were intending to leave very early the next morning in order to get back to the city. They tried to change our minds and suggested that we stay for lunch. However, when we explained that our friend had some business in the city the next day, they relented to let us go early. The next thing we knew was that the principal’s wife went to some trouble to kill one of their chickens, fried it and served that to us at 9.30pm! She had wanted to serve the chicken over lunch the next day but since we couldn’t stay, they moved their plans forward earlier. When I later talked to my host in the city, she told me that Dong Xiang hospitality for their honored guests must end with a chicken dish!! So, we were given VIP treatment throughout our brief stay with this Dong Xiang family.

There’s so much we can learn about the sacrifices they make to ensure that their guests receive tip-top hospitality and that they are well taken care of from start to end. I left the principal’s home appreciating the kind and most generous hospitality we had received and with a desire to be just as good, if not, a better hostess the next time I should have a guest staying in my home.