Bak Kut Teh | 肉骨茶

The Chinese have a saying: 药食同源 (yao shi tong yuan) or “food is medicine.”Bak Kut Teh is a perfect example of thage old adage. Literally the name translates as “meat and bones tea” because of it’s ability to strengthen and nourish the body. This herbal soup is actually considered a cha (tea) because of the smaller quantity of herbs that are used. Apart from the spices, this blend contains a number of tonic herbs such as Dang Gui, Codonopsis, Astragalus, Solomon’s Seal, Tangerine Peel, and Cinnamon Bark. Together with the spices and nourish bone broth, the soup invigorates Blood and Qi, improves circulation, nourishes the bones and sinews, tonifies the Spleen and Kidneys, and moistens the Lungs.

If you’re familiar with Bak Kut Teh, you may notice that we’ve made two adjustments to the more common preparation. The first is that the recipe is typically prepared with a combination of both pork spare ribs and pork belly. Though the pork belly offers some delicious flavor, we find it to be too fatty to include and have chosen to omit it this time. Similarly, Chinese fried dough sticks (油条) are often cut up and used to garnish, but we’ve chosen omit it as well to reduce unnecessary fats.

The exact origins of this dish is unknown, but it is believed to have come from the Fujian province of China. Nowadays, it is far more popular among the Chinese diaspora in Malaysia and Singapore. There are countless variations on this dish, so don’t be afraid to experiment with different proportions and ingredients. If you have a Chinatown near you, see if you can’t find a restaurant that serves it to see their take on it. To see the Klang-style variation, Andy Liaw has a wonderful video I highly recommend. Once cooked, serve with steamed rice and sauteed greens. As the name suggests, this dish is best served with a steaming pot of Oolong tea.

Bak Kut Teh | 肉骨茶

Servings

4

servings

Prep time

30

minutes

Cooking time

1

hour 

Total time

1

hour 

30

minutes

Don’t be intimidated by the lengthy list of ingredients!

Ingredients

• 1 pound Pork Spare Ribs

• 1 whole Garlic Bulb (no need to peel)

• 6 slices of fresh Ginger

• 5 dried Shiitake Mushrooms

• 1 tsp Vinegar

• 1 tbsp Soy Sauce

• 1 tsp Sugar

• Salt & Pepper to taste

• Just enough Water to cover all the ingredients in the pot

• Handful of dried Lily Blossoms

• Fresh chopped Cilantro & Scallions to garnish

• Optional: 4-6 Tofu Puffs, cut into quarters; 1 Bunch Enoki mushrooms

• Traditional Chinese Herb Pack

• 20g Yu Zhu 玉竹

• 15g Dang Shen 党参

• 15g Dang Gui 当归

• 12g Chuan Xiong 川芎

• 12g Shu Di Huang 熟地黄

• 8g Rou Gui 肉桂

• 3 slices Gan Cao 甘草

• 2 pieces Chen Pi 陈皮

• 3 pieces Ba Jiao 八角

• 1 teaspoon Bai Hu Jiao 白胡椒

Directions

• Cut the Spare Pork ribs into bite-size pieces with the bone left in. We want to use the bone to make a deliciously nutritious bone broth. Bring water to a boil seasoned with salt, three slices of Ginger, and one Scallion. Once boiling, add the cut meat for no more than five minutes. This is a cooking technique known in Cantonese as Fei Seui or “flying through water” to rid the pork of any toxins and the unpleasant smell. After five minutes, strain and rinse the meat in cold water. Wash the pot before using for the rest of the recipe. 
• Place all the herbs in a spacious spice bag and add to the pot. Add the parboiled meat, garlic, ginger, shiitake mushrooms, vinegar, soy sauce, sugar, salt & pepper. Add enough water to cover all the ingredients. Bring to a boil and simmer for at least 1 hour.  If using the enoki mushrooms, add now.
• While the tea is slow-cooking, place the dried lily blossoms in a bowl and add hot water to reconstitute. This should take no more than 20 minutes, after which you can strain and set aside to add later. If using tofu puffs, cut into quarters and set aside.
• Once done cooking, serve piping hot garnished with lilies, tofu puffs, and chopped scallions and cilantro!

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