Seasoning Udon Noodles In Japan The Halal Way

TAKAMATSU — Halalisi, an international exchange organization created by Kagawa University students, is working with udon shops in Kagawa Prefecture to help Muslims stick to their dietary rules when enjoying udon.

So far, seven shops in Takamatsu have agreed to allow customers to use their own halal-certified seasonings.

Halal is an Arabic word that means “permissible [by God].” Authorities in various countries certify foods as not containing pork, alcohol and other substances prohibited by Islamic law, and as having been prepared in keeping with religious precepts. Criteria vary by country and region.

The group has created an “udon map” it shares on Facebook and they hope that as many people as possible will become interested in halal food.

“That looks great!”

Members of the group visited an udon shop in Takamatsu together with three Muslim foreign exchange students. They had kamatama udon, noodles with raw egg, seasoning it with alcohol-free soy sauce that they had brought with them.

This udon usually comes with dashi shoyu, a seasoning prepared by the restaurant that contains dashi broth and soy sauce. Ordinary soy sauce is not permissible in Islam because it is made with alcohol, a substance considered impure.

“It’s reassuring information for us, because of our strict dietary rules,” said Suminar Arum Tiyas, 23, a student from Indonesia.

The group was founded in the spring of 2016 by Mai Fujiwara, a fourth-year student in the university’s Faculty of Law, and others after they visited Indonesia for language training.

They were surprised to see halal labels not only on food, but on water, cosmetics, shampoo and other everyday items.

“Muslims at the university must have trouble. We want to break down barriers in dietary culture,” said Fujiwara, 22.

The group has about 10 members who started by convincing the university cafeteria to provide halal items, such as curry, then turned their eyes toward udon shops.

They went around to shops near the university and asked them to allow customers to bring their own seasonings and to serve the udon without seasonings if asked.

Shinichiro Shiina, 42, of an udon shop called Teuchi Judan Udon Baka Ichidai in Takamatsu, is one of the proprietors who agreed.

“We’ve had more foreign customers recently, but haven’t been able to provide service that takes religion into account. I appreciate the gesture,” he said.

The group currently works on making a card that can be presented when ordering.

The size of a business card, it says in Japanese, “Please do not pour dashi on it.”

They hope to place them at airports and other places that are often frequented by foreigners.

Rika Takahashi, 22, also a fourth-year student, said the group wanted to expand its activities throughout the prefecture.

“We want people to know that there are Muslims who don’t know what they can and cannot eat,” she said.

A map showing participating shops and other information on the group’s activities can be seen on its Facebook page (https://ja-jp.facebook.com/halalisiproject/).

“It would be good if more udon shops made accommodations like stocking certified seasonings. I think the students’ activities could promote understanding of people with different cultural and religious backgrounds,” said Kumiko Yagi, an expert of Islamic food culture and the Dean of the School of Language and Culture Studies at Tokyo University of Foreign Studies.Speech This Article is Originally Published by the-japan-news.com