Actually, it has taken me many years of trial and error in finding the right herbs and getting the meat just right. It is ideal for confinement because of all the herbs and especially if you add some extra dong kwai.
So what is bak kut teh and what is so special about it? Literally translated the name means 'meat bone tea'. It is actually a soup cooked with pork bones and a variety of herbs which is supposed to provide nutrients for a healthy constitution. This Hokkien dish originated in Klang and it was breakfast for the coolies who loaded and unloaded boats along the river.
In the old days it was called bak kut soup but a guy called Lee Boon Teh made it popular by serving tea with the dish. The tea is supposed to neutralize the fat so that it reduces the feeling of bloatiness. His regular customers started calling it bak kut Teh or Teh's bak kut and eventually became known more generally as bak kut teh ('teh' being the Hokkien pronunciation of the Chinese character for 'tea'). He started selling bak kut teh during World War II from a push cart under the bridge. After the bridge was bombed by the Japanese he moved his bak kut stall a few streets over and, eventually, into a shop house. In the sixties his son moved his father's business back 'home' under the bridge, to the corner shop where it still occupies.
It is difficult to cook bak kut teh for one or two people because you need to have different cuts of pork to make it taste good. So invite a few friends or relative over and have a party. Make sure to get some yeow char kueh and chilli padi.
Pork bones which you use for making soup. Make sure you tell your butcher that you want the tender cut.
Pork ribs because the bones will add taste to the soup.
Pork belly, often called three tiered pork. Cook it whole and cut just before serving. Remember to scrape off any hair on the skin.
The meaty part of a pork leg. The fat gives the soup the oomph.
This is what the pork leg looks like when turned over.
One pig stomach – see recipe on Pig stomach soup for instructions on how to clean the pig stomach. You can add some intestines if you like.
Two packets of the bak kut teh spice mixture. Each packet contains 2 sachets so altogether you need 4 sachets.
Put the sachets into a pot of boiling water. Add about 5 pieces of dong kwai, 2 pieces of cloves and 1 piece of star anise. Bring to the boil and then reduce fire and simmer until the soup is fragrant.
Preparing the pork:
Wash all the pork pieces with salt and rinse thoroughly. This is to reduce the scum which comes out during cooking and also the strong smell of the pork.
In a separate pot, put in the meat and cover with a lid. You will see a lot of liquid coming out. This process is called ‘sweating’ the meat. Turn the meat over frequently so that it does not get burnt. You may have to do the meat in batches if you have a lot of meat. There is no need to do this with the pig stomach.
Once the liquid is dried up, add 1 dessert spoonful of dark soya sauce and cooking oil and 1 teaspoonful of white sugar. Stir thoroughly so that all the meat is coated. This will seal in the tastiness of the meat and prevent the meat from disintegrating during the long cooking process. Pour the herbal soup onto the meat and simmer for 3-4 hours until the meat is tender. Add salt and pepper and your bak kut teh is ready for your guests. Some people add other ingredients like mushrooms, fish balls etc. but I prefer it as it is.
1 comments:
Wah...really alot of pork parts to make the broth sweet! And thanks for the history. I always thought it was maybe becuase people drink up the soup like they drink tea!
Post a Comment