Bak Kut Teh is a comforting hawker dish consisting of pork rib soup served with white rice and Chinese tea. As a food from childhood, I grew up eating and loving it. For a more detailed account on the origins of this dish, you can read\u00a0this post<\/a>\u00a0about my favourite bak kut teh stall in Singapore.<\/p>\n Cooking this dish at home isn\u2019t rocket science. In fact, there are many premade spice packets that you can buy from your local Asian grocer that will make a pretty decent bak kut teh. Just add water & simmer the pork ribs.<\/p>\n All the same, for the purpose of authenticity, I was still keen on recreating this dish using self-selected herbs from my cupboard full of Traditional Chinese herbs (I\u2019d like to thank\u00a0Fakegf\u2019s<\/a>\u00a0dad for passing the recipe to me verbally). For cooking nerds, getting to know the individual herbs that make up bak kut teh may interest you!<\/p>\n But first, I\u2019d like to make the distinction that this recipe is for the Teochew-style (peppery \/ garlicky) bak kut teh that\u2019s commonly served in Singapore. The darker, herbal bak kut teh (more often seen in Malaysia) is a completely different recipe which I won\u2019t be touching on here.<\/p>\n These are the core ingredients for Singapore-style bak kut teh. As you can see, making the stock features heaps of white peppercorns, garlic, and not that much herbs. When cooked correctly, the herbs push in as a very mild hint only.<\/p>\n On that note, when following this recipe, please stick with the suggested 2-3 slices of\u00a0dang gui.\u00a0<\/em>Adding too much will make the soup unbalanced and bitter.<\/p>\n These are optional ingredients for the stock, once again used sparingly. I like to add the goji berries during the last 30 mins of cooking, too much goji berries can sour the soup. Both the ligusticum and licorice bark helps sweeten the soup while the star anise can make it a touch more mellow.<\/p>\n To learn more about the herbs used here, how to prepare them and their medicinal properties, please check out my compendium post \u2018Traditional Chinese Herbs, A Beginner\u2019s Guide<\/a>\u2018.<\/p>\n And of course, you\u2019ll need pork ribs. If I were you, I\u2019d source free range pork.<\/p>\n One problem I have making this is there just isn\u2019t enough soup to go with the proportion of pork ribs used. Using too much water makes the soup thin, but I really love drinking the soup! I guess you could make more stock by using pork bones.<\/p>\n Like many hawker dishes, bak kut teh isn\u2019t a dish with veggies in it. So I normally have bak kut teh with a bowl\u00a0tang-oh<\/em>(garland chrysanthemum). It\u2019s a delightful Asian vegetable with an uplifting coriander-like fragrance that goes very well in Chinese soups.\u00a0Just blanch it in the bak kut teh stock till cooked (about 30-60 secs) and serve in a separate bowl.<\/p>\n You can probably do this with other Asian veggies like\u00a0choy sum<\/em>\u00a0or\u00a0buk choy<\/em>\u00a0(but not\u00a0kai lan<\/em>).<\/p>\n (Adapted from Fake Father-In-Law\u2019s recipe, Serves 3)<\/p>\n 600g free range pork ribs Red chillies Optional: Blanch the\u00a0pork ribs<\/strong>\u00a0in a pot of boiling water to remove the scum Add\u00a0garlic<\/strong>,\u00a0onion<\/strong>,\u00a0crushed white peppercorns<\/strong>,\u00a0dang gui<\/strong>,\u00a0codonopsis<\/strong>\u00a0(and the 3 optional ingredients if you\u2019re using it) into a stock pot with 1.2L of\u00a0water<\/strong>, bring to a boil. 30 minutes before serving, add the\u00a0goji berries<\/strong><\/p>\n Before serving, season to taste with\u00a0salt<\/strong>,\u00a0light soya sauce<\/strong>\u00a0and\u00a0sugar<\/strong><\/p>\n Serve with Chinese tea, blanched veggies, steamed\u00a0jasmine rice<\/strong>\u00a0and cut\u00a0red chillies<\/strong>\u00a0in\u00a0dark soya sauce<\/strong><\/p>\n Tips:<\/em>\u00a0For a more flavoursome stock, turn off the heat and let the soup cool down for a few hours to half a day. Bring it back to a boil when you want to serve. To serve piping hot soup to your guests, pre-warm the serving bowls by ladling the hot stock into them, giving it a brief swirl, and pour that stock back into the pot.<\/em><\/p>\n For more comforting home recipes, check out my\u00a0recipe section<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" On the back of\u00a0our recent Singaporean adventures, this recipe from Jen… http:\/\/fatboo.com\/2013\/05\/singapore-bak-kut-teh-teochew-recipe.html SINGAPORE BAK KUT TEH RECIPE (\u8089\u9aa8\u8336) May 25, 2013\u00a0\u00b7 by\u00a0Fatboo\u00a0\u00b7 in\u00a0~ Cooking At Home,\u00a0Chinese,\u00a0Malaysian\/Singaporean Bak Kut Teh is a comforting hawker dish consisting of pork rib soup served with white rice and Chinese tea. As a food from childhood, I grew up eating … Continue reading SINGAPORE BAK KUT TEH<\/span> ![\"Singapore](\"http:\/\/fatboo.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/Singapore-Teochew-Bak-Kut-Teh-Soup-2556.jpg\" "\\"Singapore")
<\/p>\n![\"Singapore](\"http:\/\/fatboo.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/Singapore-Teochew-Bak-Kut-Teh-Soup-2458.jpg\" "\\"Singapore")
From left: dang gui (angelica sinesis), codonopsis, garlic, white pepeprcorns, onion<\/em><\/p>\n![\"Singapore](\"http:\/\/fatboo.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/Singapore-Teochew-Bak-Kut-Teh-Soup-3485.jpg\" "\\"Singapore")
Goji berries, liquorice bark, star anise, ligusticum<\/em><\/p>\n![\"Singapore](\"http:\/\/fatboo.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/Singapore-Teochew-Bak-Kut-Teh-Soup-2469.jpg\" "\\"Singapore")
<\/p>\n![\"Singapore](\"http:\/\/fatboo.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/Singapore-Teochew-Bak-Kut-Teh-Soup-2568.jpg\" "\\"Singapore")
![\"Singapore](\"http:\/\/fatboo.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/Singapore-Teochew-Bak-Kut-Teh-Soup-2467.jpg\" "\\"Singapore")
Tang oh<\/em><\/p>\n![\"Singapore](\"http:\/\/fatboo.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/Singapore-Teochew-Bak-Kut-Teh-Soup-2548.jpg\" "\\"Singapore")
<\/p>\nSingapore Bak Kut Teh<\/h2>\n
\n1.2 litres water
\n1 bulb garlic, cloves separated but not peeled
\nHalf a big red onion
\n3-5g crushed white peppercorns (depending on how peppery you want it to be<\/em>)
\n2-3 slices of\u00a0dang gui<\/em>
\n2 sticks of\u00a0codonopsis<\/em>
\n4g goji berries<\/p>\n
\nDark soya sauce
\nLong grain jasmine rice<\/p>\n
\n2-3 pieces liquorice root
\nFew slices of\u00a0ligusticum<\/em>
\n1 small star anise<\/p>\nMethod:<\/h3>\n
\nDrain, cut into rib pieces
\nLeave aside in a bowl of cool water<\/p>\n
\nLower the rib pieces into the stock
\nCover and simmer for 1 hour<\/p>\n![\"Singapore](\"http:\/\/fatboo.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/Singapore-Teochew-Bak-Kut-Teh-Soup-2554.jpg\" "\\"Singapore")
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