Teochew Bak Kut Teh (Pork Rib Tea): This clear peppery soup with fall-off-the-bone-tender pork ribs goes best with a bowl of steaming white jasmine rice, fried dough fritters (you tiao) and chilli soy sauce dipping sauce. So yummy!
Bak Kut Teh (Pork Rib Tea Soup) is one of the very popular and famous dishes that people must try when they come to Singapore (and of course Malaysia also has its own version).
Bak Kut Teh is literally translated as ‘Meat Bone Tea’ in Hokkien/Teochew or 肉骨茶 in Mandarin, but the name is rather misleading because Bak Kut Teh does not actually contain any tea at all, it is actually a soup! Perhaps it is the color of the soup that resembles tea or because of the ‘tie guan yin’ or ‘Ooloong’ tea that is often served with Bak Kut Teh, which gave rise to that name.
There are a few different versions of Bak Kut Teh. The Teochew style is a clear and peppery soup whereas the Hokkien style soup, which is similiar to the Klang style, is darker in color, thicker and more herbal, with Chinese herbs like Dang Gui, Dang Shen, Chuan Xiong and Gan Cao added to it. Personally I prefer the Teochew Bak Kut Teh which is plain and simple, so that’s the recipe I will be sharing today.
Usually when we eat Bak Kut Teh, it is a one-pot meal on its own, accompanied with rice and perhaps a small vegetable side. But the focus is very much on the pork ribs and the flavour of the pork rib soup. So it is best to use fresh pork ribs with a bit of fats around it, so the ribs will be nice and tender after cooking.
If the pork ribs have been frozen, they tend to become dry and hard after cooking. For frozen pork rib, its better to use it to cook other Chinese soups like sweet corn pork rib soup or lotus root soup instead. I mentioned before that prefer to buy Indonesian Pork. I find that it is more tender and sweeter compared to Australian pork which I find is tougher and has a more ‘porky’ taste.
For our halal friends, you can still enjoy this dish by replacing the pork ribs with chicken thighs (Chick Kut Teh) but the cooking time should be shortened to about 40 minutes, as chicken requires less time to cook.
Get more One-Pot Recipes here
As for the spice mix, you can easily find pre-mixed bak kut teh spices in most supermarkets, but most if not all of them contain MSG. If you have been following my blog, you will know that I’m allergic to MSG. So I will always DIY my own homemade spice mix – its really not too complicated and I like knowing exactly what is going into my soup base. One little tip here: get some of those filter bags from Daiso to bag up the spice mix. These filter bags also come in real handy when you want to make Ikan Bilis stock without having to sieve out the ikan bilis after cooking!
The garlic you use for the soup base is also very important – always buy the old garlic that is sold as loose individual cloves, not the young garlic that is sold as a whole bulb. The young garlic may look more presentable but its much less flavourful!
Bak Kut Teh goes very well with fried dough fritters also known as ‘you tiao’ or ‘you chia kueh’ (sorry it’s not gluten-free!). So don’t forget to buy some if you are cooking this soup, and not forgetting your pot of hot tea to wash down the Bak Kut Teh. I personally love Tie Guan Yin to go with my Bak Kut Teh.
Hope you enjoy this recipe, and please leave me a comment below if you have any questions, suggestions or feedback for me!
Suggested Modifications for Special Diets
- Egg-Free: No modifications needed.
- Fish-Free: No modifications needed.
- Gluten-Free: Skip the fried dough fritters (you tiao), and use gluten free soy sauce.
- Nut-Free: No modifications needed.
- Shellfish-Free: No modifications needed.
Bak Kut Teh (肉骨茶)
Teochew Bak Kut Teh (Pork Rib Tea): This clear peppery soup with fall-off-the-bone-tender pork ribs goes best with a bowl of steaming white jasmine rice, fried dough fritters (you tiao) and chilli soy sauce dipping sauce. So yummy!
- 1 kg Pork Rib
- 1.8 litres Water
- 1 1/2 tsp Salt
- 1/2 tsp Dark Soya Sauce
- 2 TBsp Light Soya Sauce
- 12 cloves Garlic (old)
Homemade Spice Mix
- 2 Star Anise
- 10 Cloves
- 1/2 stick (3-4gm) Cinnamon
- 2-4 tsp White Pepper (whole)
- 1 tsp Black Pepper (whole)
Sauces, Garnishes and Toppings
- 4 Big Red Chilli
- 5 TBsp Dark Soya Sauce
- 3 TBsp Light Soya Sauce
- 2 Chilli Padi (For Garnishing)
- 4 sticks You Tiao (Pre-cooked)
PREPARATION METHOD FOR TEOCHEW BAK KUT TEH (肉骨茶)
-
Blanch the pork ribs in a pot of boiling water over high heat for about 10 mins. Once the scum is visible, turn off the heat.
-
Discard the water and use a small knife to scrape off any blood clot or scum that is stuck to the pork ribs. Wash and set aside for later use.
-
Toast the white and black pepper in a toaster oven or fry in a pan for a few minutes until aromatic.
-
Pound the star anise, white pepper, black pepper, cloves and cinnamon lightly. Place these spices into a small filter bag.
-
Lightly bruise the garlic with skin on.
-
Wash the chilli and slice it, then and put in a small bowl. Add 5 TBsp dark soya sauce and 3TBsp light soya sauce to the bowl as the dipping sauce.
PREPARATION METHOD FOR TEOCHEW BAK KUT TEH (肉骨茶)
-
In a big pot, add 1.8 litres of water and bring to a boil over high heat.
-
Once boiling, add in the blanched pork ribs, salt, black soya sauce, light soya sauce and the packet of spices and continue to boil for 1hr 15 mins over medium low heat with the lid half covered.
-
Add in the bruised garlic and continue to simmer for another 15 mins or until the pork ribs are soft. More light and black soya sauce can be added to your preference.
-
When the bak kut teh is almost done, lightly toast the pre-cooked you tiao at low heat for a few minutes to re-heat it. Then use a pair of scissors to cut the you tiao to bite size.
-
Remove the pot from heat and discard the bag of spices. Scoop the bak kut teh into individual bowls and serve with the dipping sauce, you tiao and piping hot Jasmine rice.
- Best to use fresh pork ribs for this purpose. Frozen pork ribs tend to be dry and hard after cooking for a long time.
- Best cut is pork ribs with a little fats in it for tenderness.
- I prefer to buy Indonesian pork as it is more tender and sweeter in taste compared to Australian pork which is tougher and often has a porky smell which I am not used to. Indonesian pork is available in the wet markets. Certain NTUC branches do sell fresh Bulan (Indonesian) pork as well though it is sold at a premium to the Pasar brand pork from Australia.
- You can buy the small filter bags from Daiso to DIY your own spice mix. They come in real handy for bak kut teh and also for cooking ikan bilis stock without having to sieve the stock after cooking!
- If you want to save time, you can also buy the packaged spice mix instead, in which case you can skip Preparation Steps 3 and 4.
- Always buy old garlic because it is more flavourful. Old garlic is larger and is usually sold in individual cloves, whereas the young garlic is sold as a whole bulb which looks more presentable, but is less flavourful! For that matter, if you were to chop the garlic to keep in the bottle and put in the fridge, the young garlic will turn green after a few days and it looks awful. You wouldn’t have that problem for the old garlic.
- The soup will be more peppery if the pepper is crushed. The finer it is crushed, the more peppery.
- You can also add in some pork bones to enhance the sweetness of the soup.
- Bak Kut Teh goes very well with ‘you tiao’ or ‘you chia kueh’. Don’t forget to buy some if you are cooking this soup and not forgetting your pot of hot tea to wash down the Bak Kut Teh. I personally love Tie Guan Yin to go with my Bak Kut Teh.
- You can also replace pork ribs with chicken thighs (Chick Kut Teh) but the cooking time should be shortened to about 40 minutes as chicken requires less time to cook.
Did you like this Bak Kut Teh Recipe (Pork Rib Tea)? If so, leave us a comment below to tell us what you liked!
The post Bak Kut Teh Recipe with Homemade Spice Mix appeared first on THE BURNING KITCHEN.
