Bah Kut Teh (Pork Rib Tea)
No matter if you eat a little or a lot of garlic, the smell is just as strong.
~ Tibetan Proverb
Bah Kut Teh (Hokkien for “pork rib tea”) is a soup served in Malaysia and Singapore. Story has it that it originated from a town in Malaysia called Port Klang. Generally it is cooked in a clay pot with various parts of the pig, varieties of mushroom, lettuce, and dried tofu sheets or tofu puff. The soup itself is a broth which consists of several herbs and spices (including star anise, cinnamon, cloves and garlic) which have been boiled together with meat for many hours. Light and dark soy sauce are also added to the soup during cooking, with varying amounts depending on the variant.
Bah Kut Teh is commonly eaten with rice, and particularly in Malaysia, often served with strips of fried dough called Yau Char Kwai (or Youtiao in Mandarin). Dark soy sauce is used as a condiment, sometimes accompanied with chopped chilli padi, which is ultra hot that it can kill your taste buds! Tea is also usually served in the belief that it dilutes or dissolves the copious amounts of fat which are consumed in the eating of this dish.
This dish is normally served as breakfast or brunch but over time has gained acceptance as a dinner dish.
Ingredients
- 1 kg of pork meat
- 1 package of fried tofu puff
- 1 package of dried bean curd stick
- 8 pieces of dried shiitake mushroom
- 1 bulb of garlic
- 1 package of Bah Kut Teh seasoning mix
The ingredients above is sufficient to make 8 servings. Be warned, this is a lot of food. We normally make it once and eat them over two days. You can use chicken to substitute the pork but not beef. For this time, I use pork shoulder meat but if you prefer something leaner, you can use pork ribs instead.
Condiments
- 1 pair of fried dough (you may find this in Chinese Bakery)
- Garlic
- Thai chilli
