Chinese Version

Bak kut teh

Bak Kut Teh is a type of chinese soup which is popular in Taiwan, China, Singapore and Malaysia. Bak kut teh is also served in the predominant Hoklo and Teochew community found on the Indonesian island of Riau. Bak kut teh is prepared by a mixture of meaty pork ribs simmered in a complex mixture of herbs and spices. However, there are different ways to cook bak kut teh which has different taste by adding extra ingredients. Extra ingredients for bak kut teh may consists of offal, different types of mushroom, choy sum, and pieces of dried tofu or fried tofu puffs. To spice up the bak kut teh more, additional cinese herbs may include yu zhu (rhizome of Solomon's Seal) and ju zhi (buckthorn fruit), which enhance the sweetness of the soup. Light and dark soy sauce can be added to the bak kut teh before it is cooked, different amount of soy sauce can be added depending on the variant. Green onions and a sprinkling of fried shallots can be used as garnishings.

Bak kut teh is usually served together with either rice or noodles. It can also be served with strips of fried dough for dipping in the soup. It is believed that bak kut teh dilutes or dissolves the copious amount of fat consumed in this pork-laden dish. Bak kut teh is mostly served as breakfast as it is a light meal. The hokkien and teochew have Bak Kut Teh running deep in their cuisines as they are traditionally tea-drinking cultures.

There are different types of bak kut teh based on the way it is prepared. The different ways of preparing bak kut teh is influenced by the prevailing chinese enclave of a certain geographical location. In Singapore, there are three types of bak kut teh. The most prefered type of bak kut teh is the teochew style. It is a light colored soup which uses more pepper in the soup. The next type is Hokkien style which is a saltier in general and uses more soy sauce. This usually results in a darker colored soup. The cantonese style adds medicinal herbs in their bak kut teh in order to create a stronger flavoured soup. However when comparing the Bak Kut Teh in Singapore and Malaysia, the singapore version has a less strong taste compared to Malaysian style.

Bak Kut Teh tastes like a combination of garlic flavoured soy sauce and tea laves. It has a strong tea flavour with so many dried herbs brewed into it. The dried spices add a licorice flavour and the dried dates and goji berries give it sweetness. However, it also depends on what style of bak kut teh is being prepared to understand how it tastes like.

The dominant flavours are salty sweetness from the soy sauce, licorice, followed by a slight bitterness from the herbs. It’s not sour or spicy at all. It’s very aromatic with a rich and bold flavour. It’s delicious with the rice and you can drink the soup by itself.

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