Talk:Dapanji

Beer?
I don't think so, considering Xinjiang's huge Muslim population. Dapanji is prepared by and enjoyed by almost every ethnic group in Xinjiang - I've shared dapanji with Han, Uyghur, Hui, Kazakh, Kyrgyz, and Tajik people, all but one of these being majority Muslim ethnic groups that couldn't eat dapanji if there was any alcohol, even cooked alcohol, involved. I've witnessed dapanji prepared many times and never have I seen beer as an added ingredient. I've never even heard of beer as an addition, for that matter. The only Chinese dish I know of that incorporates beer is "pijiuji“ （literally beer chicken), which is not common to Xinjiang, either. Many Han people have heard of beer chicken but most have never tried it. None of ever heard of putting beer in dapanji.

I also take issue with the theory that a Sichuan migrant invented dapanji, considering that dapanji does not resemble Sichuan food in either preparation or in taste, aside from a few dried chili peppers and Sichuan peppercorns thrown in. Dapanji isn't nearly as hot as Sichuan cuisine. Also, a serving of dapanji almost always comes with a topping of "pidaimian" (belt noodles) to be mixed into it at the end, a custom that doesn't fit Sichuan cuisine. Most people in Xinjiang seem to believe the native Hui population of Xinjiang invented it, and considering that many restaurants specializing in the dish are owned and operated by Hui people, it appears to be true. Many even believe the Hui are the best at preparing dapanji.

Furthermore, a Sichuan chef attempting to recreate Sichuan food in Xinjiang wouldn't need to invent a new dish to cure his homesickness, considering the huge population of Sichuan migrants and their descendants living in Xinjiang - There are authentic Sichuan restaurants everywhere in Xinjiang and they can produce traditional dishes with familiar flavors quite easily. 222.80.175.13 (talk) 16:23, 11 December 2014 (UTC)

Beer is indeed sometimes added by the younger generation of Xinjiang chefs who are of Han descent or are not strict practicing muslims. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 218.186.251.202 (talk) 04:15, 16 February 2017 (UTC)