In the past, due to the relatively backward economic development, most Uighurs used wooden and ceramic bowls, spoons and plates. But a lot of food is eaten by hand. Three meals a day, with brain tea or "Umash" (corn porridge) for breakfast, flour as the staple food at noon and noodle soup or brain tea for dinner. When eating, the family will sit around the table. After eating, before taking away the tableware, the elders will make a "duwa" (prayer) and then leave the table.
There are many kinds of staple foods in Uighurs, no less than dozens, and they are good at making all kinds of foods with ethnic flavor with meat.
The traditional non-staple foods of Uygur mainly include mutton, beef, chicken, eggs and fish, especially mutton. In addition, in the past, some wild animals, such as antelope, deer, argali, antelope, pheasant, quail, grouse, etc., were often hunted to supplement the shortage of meat and improve the taste. Dairy products mainly include milk, goat milk, yogurt, milk skin and so on. Vegetables mainly include yellow radish, kamagu, onion, garlic, pumpkin, radish, tomato, eggplant, pepper, coriander, agastaches, green beans, potatoes and so on.
Uighurs have always attached importance to horticultural production. Most Uighurs have their own orchards, so they have the habit of eating fruits all the year round. Orchard has become a natural vitamin treasure house for Uighurs living in oases around Tarim Basin. From mulberries ripened in May to apricots ripened in June, all kinds of fruits ripen one after another, and fresh fruits can be eaten in nearly seven months of the year.
In winter, I often eat nuts such as walnuts, dried apricots, almonds, raisins, Elaeagnus angustifolia, red dates and dried peaches. So many families have a good habit of storing fruits such as melons, grapes, apples and pears. It is estimated that Uighurs can eat one or two hundred kilograms of dried fruits and vegetables every year. Uighurs often eat melons and fruits instead of tea and rice in summer, and walnuts, almonds and raisins in winter. I also like to make pilaf with raisins and dried apricots, and jam with grapes, mulberries, apples, begonia, apricots, pears, strawberries, figs and cherries.
Traditional Uygur drinks mainly include tea, milk, yogurt, fruit juice soaked in various dried fruits, sherbet, Dojiafu (iced yogurt and yogurt mixed with ice cubes are the favorite drinks of Uighurs), grape water (water with broken vines, which tastes sour and can cure diseases), moushalais (wine made from grapes) and so on. Uighurs especially like drinking tea in their daily life, and tea is indispensable for three meals a day. Tea is also the main drink used by Uighurs to entertain guests. Whenever visiting the home of Uighurs, the host always brings a bowl of steaming tea and a plate of crispy and delicious naan to the guests first, even in the season when fruits and vegetables are fragrant. Most Uighurs like to drink Fuzhuan tea, which is still their favorite traditional drink. Older Uighurs like to put rock sugar in their tea.
Uighurs in northern Xinjiang like to drink milk tea. Uighurs in dairy products especially like to eat yogurt, and they often eat yogurt in summer. In the busy farming season in rural areas, farmers often have yogurt and naan as their lunch. When guests come home, the hospitable host will also hold out a bowl of yogurt to entertain them.
Traditional Uygur condiments mainly include cumin, pepper, spicy noodles, Pogostemon rugosa (Pinnai), coriander (Coriander), black sesame (Siyadan) and vinegar (Slikai).
After the founding of New China, some changes have taken place in the eating habits of Uighurs. Although meat is still the main non-staple food of Uighurs, vegetables also play an important role in the diet of Uighurs. Uighurs have learned a lot of cooking skills from the Han people, and now they can often see all kinds of cooking on the table of Uighurs, which makes the diet of Uighurs more abundant.