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The owner of a Malaysian eatery accused of using unheated and uncooked rice wine in its claypot chicken rice has now claimed that it was actually using sesame oil.

Aman's Food Stall in Restoran Ahmad Muzakin defended itself and said that they were using sesame oil all along, and no alcoholic rice wine was used in their dish.

'I swear on Allah that I do not use non-halal ingredients'

Aman's Food Stall, in Sri Petaling, Kuala Lumpur, has recently been investigated by the authorities after it was alleged that an ingredient with alcohol was added to the food and the stall has been operating without halal certification.

The investigation was conducted in response to a viral TikTok video, where the stall owner Ahmad Muzakin Mohd Amir could be seen pouring a liquid from two bottles into the dish before serving.

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One of the bottles was labelled as "Shaoxing rice wine", which contains 16 per cent alcohol. Muslims are prohibited from consuming alcohol.

The stall's popular pork-free rice dish was served to both Muslims and non-Muslims. The stall owner is now vehemently denying allegations of using the non-halal ingredient in the dish.

The owner also expressed his unhappiness that the parties did not check with him if he was using rice wine or not before circulating the video.

"I swear on Allah that I do not use non-halal ingredients as claimed by people online," the 48-year-old owner said.

"This is my dignity, and as a Muslim, I am responsible and sincere in doing business for the sustenance of my family."

He claimed that the stall has always been using sesame oil for the dish. However, he admitted that the factory producing the sesame oil bore no halal certification.

Ahmad Muzakin explained that he used two bottles to get "double drops of oil with having to pour it multiple times". He also expressed his belief that the sesame oil did not contain any non-halal ingredients.

But there was no mention as to why the bottle seen in the viral video shares the same label the rice wine bottle.

No halal certificate not a problem

After the video went viral, the Department of Islamic Development Malaysia (Jakim) visited his stall, and confirmed in a Facebook post on Sep. 9 that Ahmad Muzakin's stall did not have any halal certification.

However, the father of three argued that many other Muslim-owned shops also operate without any halal certificate, and that it was "not a big problem" to run a F&B business without it.

"I think it is not a big problem because I am a Muslim and I know my responsibility, and I will not even hide used materials," said Ahmad Muzakin.

The other owner is Ahmad Muzakin's wife, Rotiya Ropai, 49.

Addressing suspicions that the bottles might have been tampered with, Ahmad Muzakin alleged that the bottles remained sealed, making it impossible for him to add non-halal ingredients.

The owner also stated that the chicken in his dishes are from halal-certified suppliers. When questioned about their heritage, Ahmad Muzakin said he is a Malaysian citizen with Indonesian heritage, while his wife was originally from Surabaya, Indonesia.

Despite their background, they were once lauded for their proficiency in Cantonese.

"I am not sad or afraid of losing customers because of God's providence," Ahmad said. The stall is currently closed until further notice. Ahmad Muzakin has also expressed his intention to apply for a halal certificate from Jakim and attend a relevant course on Sep. 14.