Catering to Muslim taste buds
O Producing halal ‘bak chang’ and ‘bakwa’ has earned this couple recognition among the Chinese Muslim community
PETALING JAYA: Syahrain Teh Abdullah and her husband Hariz Leong are every bit Chinese, down to their gastronomic preference.
Both love the “bak chang” and “bakwa”, an integral part of Chinese cuisine.
The bak chang comprises mainly pork, legumes and salted eggs covered in glutinous rice and wrapped in bamboo leaves in the shape of a diamond, and served during the Dragon Boat Festival or Duan Wu Jie, usually in the middle of the year. The bakwa, a barbecued minced pork, is an all-season delicacy.
However, when Syahrain, 52, and Hariz, 65, converted to Islam several years ago, they thought they had tasted the last of their favourite food.
But Syahrain is not one to give up easily, particularly when it comes to her taste buds. Both husband and wife began working on a halal version of the bak chang and bakwa, and in no time they managed to get the recipe right, with all the flavours minus the non-halal meat.
Knowing that there would be a demand for halal bak chang and bakwa, the couple began to sell their delicacies from home four years ago, in addition to the halal Hokkien noodles they had been selling for some time.
Eventually, they set up a stall at the Jaya Shopping Centre. Soon their delicacies became a hit, especially among Chinese Muslims.
Some bought it out of curiosity, unable to fathom what such food would taste like without pork. Soon, they began to build up a regular clientele.
“We’re just selling the traditional food that we love,” Syahrain told theSun.
“The most popular are the bakwa, especially during the festive season. Ours come in two versions, chicken or beef.”
For the bak chang, the couple have replaced the pork with beef, chicken or lamb. Traditional condiments such as mushrooms, black-eye beans, salted egg yolk and chestnuts are added too.
Syahrain recalled that a customer once told her she had not had her favourite childhood food, the bak chang, for 40 years.
“She’s happy now that we have the halal ones for her,” she added.
The couple have since added more items to their list, including the lup cheong (dried Chinese sausage) and nine varieties of chang, mostly with chicken.
Apart from their stall, they also sell their products online through Shopee and Lazada.