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Bak kut teh

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Bak kut teh: a popular dish in Singapore

Bak kut teh is one of the many popular dishes found in Singapore, the food capital of Asia. Bak kut teh is a Hokkien expression and it literally means "meat bone tea". Some call it pork rib soup. To quote Wikipedia: (It) consists of meaty pork ribs in a complex broth of herbs and spices (including star anise, cinnamon, cloves, dang gui, fennel seeds and garlic), boiled together with pork bones for hours. However, additional ingredients may include offal, varieties of mushroom, choy sum, and pieces of dried tofu or fried tofu puffs. Additional Chinese herbs may include yu zhu (rhizome of Solomon's Seal) and ju zhi (buckthorn fruit), which give the soup a sweeter, slightly stronger flavor. Light and dark soy sauce are also added to the soup during cooking, with varying amounts depending on the variant. Garnishings include chopped coriander or green onions and a sprinkling of fried shallots."

Note: This Chinese dish is also popularly served in Malaysia, China and Taiwan.

Bak Kut Teh (Wikipedia)

Uniquely Singapore - Bak Kut Teh

Bak kut teh with rice or noodles

Wikipedia: "Bak kut teh is usually eaten with rice or noodles (sometimes as a noodle soup), and often served with youtiao (strips of fried dough) for dipping into the soup. Soy sauce (usually light soy sauce, but dark soy sauce is also offered sometimes) is preferred as a condiment, with which chopped chilli padi and minced garlic is taken together. Chinese tea of various kinds (the Tieguanyin variety is especially popular in the Klang Valley area of Malaysia) is also usually served in the belief that it dilutes or dissolves the copious amount of fat consumed in this pork-laden dish. Bak kut teh is typically a famous morning meal. The Hokkien and Teochew are traditionally tea-drinking cultures and this aspect runs deep in their cuisines."
Bak Kut Teh (Wikipedia)

Ingredients

Spices:
Cinnamon stick
Cloves
White Peppercorns
Kei Chee (dried hawthorn berries)
Star Anises

Meaty Pork Ribs
Garlic (unpeeled)
Black soya sauce
Water
Salt
Iceburg lettuce (washed and separated)

Home-cooked bak kut teh



If you're thinking of making home-cooked bak kut teh but are confused by all the names of herbs and spices, despair not. Ready mixed ingredients that come in satchets (like the one seen in this module) are readily available. Method: Put pork ribs, the spice packet and some garlic in a pot. Then add water and bring to boil. Remember to skim off the meat scum as it rises. Then add soya sauce and salt to taste. After this, lower heat to simmering and continue to cook until the ribs are tender. Add a few lettuce leaves. Usually, the dish is served with white rice and sliced red chilli in dark soya sauce.
This is one site worth visiting to learn the ingredients and method of cooking: Uniquely Singapore/bak kut teh. Another site worth visiting: How to make simple bak kut teh.

Flickr bak kut teh

AlexandraVillageFC-02 by Hyoh
KL Bak Kut Teh - Yum by ashleyt
LeongKee(Klang)BKT01 by Hyoh
Bak Kut Teh herbs by avlxyz
curated content from Flickr

Bak kut teh videos

SongFa Bak Kut Teh Customer Reviews (tSb)
by thestorybehindtv | video info

1 rating | 2,784 views
curated content from YouTube

Some other Singapore bak kut teh links

(1) GoodFood.SF (Beta)
(2) Just where is the best bak kut teh in Singapore?
(3) Violet Oon: Singapore Food Ambassador

Please leave your name and comments on our guestbook

  • BryanLSC Apr 8, 2012 @ 1:56 pm | delete
    I've tasted it in Klang, Ipoh and Penang and each has its own unique taste! Would like to try Singapore's in the near future! Nice lens!
  • goo2eyes Nov 4, 2011 @ 1:05 pm | delete
    i tasted this food already and i cooked it myself too. used the pressure cooker to make the meat tender. one can use meaty bones of beef. good with jasmine rice. smells and tastes good.
  • TheWhistler Oct 15, 2010 @ 9:50 am | delete
    Looks good. Thanks.
  • georgeac Oct 6, 2010 @ 11:22 am | delete
    There is one on Rangoon Road near Balestier Road and Little India, it is pretty damn good. The one at the corner of Mohamed Sultan Road is also good.
  • audioguidemalaysia Jun 14, 2010 @ 12:02 pm | delete
    They say Klang bak kut teh is the best. But I think more and more good ones can be found in KL.
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Streets ahead in Kuala Lumpur
Better known as bak kut teh, this traditional Malay breakfast, introduced by the Hokkien coolies who came to work in Malaysia in the 19th century, is a complex broth, incorporating star anise, cinnamon, cloves, fennel seeds and garlic, ...
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