For the love of pork

I seriously love pork. And there are two types of pork dishes I cherish above all others and that is roasted pork and suckling pig. When I was younger, I used to like eating the sweet barbeque pork. But as I grow older, I prefer the salty roasted pork which comes with its own natural sweetness and chewy roasted skin. I believe it is due to age.

A picture of a better suckling pig I had in recent times

So anyway, pork has its own distinct taste and natural sweetness that other meat can't replace. In fact, this other white meat is so popular that in Wikipedia, there is a citation about pork being the most widely eaten meat in the world.

So when I read about Jakim's comments that Bak Kut Teh cannot be deemed as halal even if it the ingredients (minus the pork) is halal because of the connotation of Bak Kut Teh represents, I don't feel offended at all. Many of course argued that since the ingredients are halal, why should the name be of concern?

Rather than ranting who is right or wrong, I would instead share on some encounters I had when it comes to sharing food. By sharing food, it is a method which I often time employ to break down the ice that may exist between strangers. With the same food, at times I inadvertibly invite consternation or stare, simply because they don't or can't enjoy it. For instance, I once brought a box filled with cake and accidentally left it on a common cabinet where everyone places food to share. A muslim colleague saw it as she was passing by and took a piece from it. When I told her it was mine, you can see the guilt ridden look on her face. Is she feeling guilty because she ate the cake without my permission or because I am just a non-muslim who may have earlier stored non-halal food in there? Either way, I take it that my food will not be welcomed, even if I bought it from the store and kept in a perfectly fine plastic container which was not at anytime used to store pork.

Anyway, one of my first acts which I establish as a norm in my workplace involves food sharing. I would buy tit bits and such (and ever mindful of the halal logo) to bridge my connection to others. You may know a bit about a person by the way the present themselves but in sharing of food, you get to know more. You talk about it. The taste and perhaps encounters and experience relating to food. It is a very good thing to open up topics at times, if there is nothing much to talk about to begin with other than work.

On annual basis, I have a certain backbreaking ritual which I will perform. This is nothing religious but rather a way for me to preserve a sense of culture and at the same time, sharing joy with others. Joy is something you can't buy but if you invest in simple ingredients with prepare and cook it with love, joy comes when you see people smiling at savouring the food you personally prepared. With feedback, criticisms and comments, I would take it as necessities to make the food better, only to again see the joy in faces of others when they savour what I made the following year.

Another picture taken in El Cerdo (A really good place to enjoy pork in Changkat Raja Chulan)

And what is this dish? It is the humble bak chang which with time, I am making less and less as the work is kind of back breaking. I am limiting it to about 150 pieces per year now, unlike the good old days of making about 200-220 plus. But the main ingredient is pork and it is difficult to share this dish when you work with Muslim colleagues around you. I often come in early mornings, carefully ensure that each of these changs are packed in proper little plastic bags and handed to the intended recipients (a.k.a. non-Muslim colleagues).

It is hard to describe the joy in the faces of others when they savour the simple food I made. I however, don't think such joy can be shared with Muslim colleagues. I may be able to eat in the same table but I can't ask them if they like their bak chang with that big fat layer of pork fats or lean ones. I can try making cakes and cookies but like one of my other colleagues I spoke to, the Muslim colleagues would just politely decline; ever suspicious if my pots, pans, oven and other stuff are halal.

But for that will I abandon my pork? No, I still love my pork. I will cook, eat and share it. It is unavoidable. You can't pass out good food more so in this country where eating is a national pastime. Whenever I take a bite of those yummy white meat, I would always tell my friends at the table, "I pity my Muslim brothers and sisters who are missing out on this dish." By that I meant no offense, it is just their conscious choice to pay the price of religious piety. Which also means less competition for me for my yummy white meats or worries about looking for a place to eat right after Maghreb prayers on Ramadan months...:o)

Oh well...