Bak Kut Teh

the Hokkien meat bone tea of Klang and Singapore: pork ribs simmered with whole garlic heads and a herbal bundle led by star anise, eaten at breakfast with rice, dough sticks, and strong tea

Origin: Klang, Malaysia

From the journey of Star Anise.

Bak kut teh is Hokkien for meat bone tea, and there is no tea in it. The name is generally explained by the strong oolong served alongside, which is drunk between mouthfuls to cut the fat, and the dish and the tea are understood as a single ritual rather than a soup with a drink beside it. It belongs to the Chinese labouring communities of the Malay Peninsula, and Klang, the port town on the Selangor coast, claims it. The usual account has it developed in the nineteenth or early twentieth century as a fortifying breakfast for dock and tin-mine workers, using cheap pork bones and Chinese medicinal herbs. Whatever the precise history, it remains a breakfast, eaten from early morning, and it is emphatically a Chinese-Malaysian and Chinese-Singaporean dish rather than a Malay one. Two schools exist and they look nothing alike. The Klang or Hokkien style, given here, is dark: heavy with dark soy and a herbal bundle of dang gui, yu zhu, wolfberries, and a great deal of star anise, cassia, and clove. The Teochew style of Singapore is pale and clear, seasoned largely with white pepper and garlic, with almost no herbs at all. Neither is a variation of the other and each has partisans. Star anise is the leading aromatic in the dark version and the note that carries above the herbs. It is doing exactly what it does in every Chinese pork braise, cutting the fat of the ribs, but here it is also holding together a bundle of medicinal roots that would otherwise taste more like a tonic than a meal.

Ingredients

Pork

1.2 kg meaty pork ribs, cut into individual bones

Broth

3 whole heads of garlic, left whole and unpeeled, tops trimmed
10 g dried shiitake mushrooms, soaked
3 tbsp light soy sauce
2 tbsp dark soy sauce
1 tbsp oyster sauce
2 litre water
1 tsp rock sugar

Spice bundle

5 whole star anise
1 stick cassia bark, about 8 cm
6 whole cloves
1 tbsp white peppercorns, lightly crushed
1 tsp fennel seeds

Herbal bundle

2 slices dang gui (Chinese angelica root)
6 pieces yu zhu (solomon's seal), dried
2 tbsp goji berries (wolfberries)

To serve

200 g fried tofu puffs
200 g enoki or oyster mushrooms
1 head lettuce or choy sum, separated
4 whole youtiao (Chinese dough sticks), cut into lengths, to serve
4 tbsp dark soy sauce with sliced red chilli and garlic, for dipping

Method

Blanch the ribs in boiling water for five minutes, drain, and rinse under cold water until clean.
Tie the star anise, cassia, cloves, white peppercorns, and fennel into one muslin bag, and the dang gui, yu zhu, and goji berries into a second.
Put the ribs, whole garlic heads, shiitake, both soy sauces, oyster sauce, rock sugar, water, and the spice bag into a large pot. Bring to a simmer and skim.
Cover and simmer gently for 1 hour 15 minutes.
Add the herbal bag and cook for a further 30 minutes, then remove both bags.
Add the tofu puffs and mushrooms and simmer 10 minutes more. Taste and adjust the soy and pepper.
Add the lettuce or choy sum for the last two minutes and serve at once, with rice, youtiao for dipping, the chilli and dark soy dipping sauce, and a pot of strong oolong.

Notes

This is the dark Klang or Hokkien style. The Teochew style of Singapore is a different dish: pale broth, a great deal of white pepper and garlic, and no herbs, and it is not made by omitting the herbs from this recipe. Dang gui, yu zhu, and goji are sold in any Chinese medicinal or grocery shop, and packaged bak kut teh spice bundles are widely available and perfectly respectable. Star anise leads and five stars is right; the herbs need something to hold them together. The broth is better the next day. Serve for breakfast or lunch with plain rice, and do not skip the strong tea, which is the whole point of the name.

The Gastrographer

Name: Bak Kut Teh
Prep time: 25 min
Cook time: 2 h
Total time: 2 h 30 min
Yield: 6
Cuisine: Malaysia
Ingredients: 1.2 kg meaty pork ribs, cut into individual bones; 3 whole heads of garlic, left whole and unpeeled, tops trimmed; 5 whole star anise; 1 stick cassia bark, about 8 cm; 6 whole cloves; 1 tbsp white peppercorns, lightly crushed; 1 tsp fennel seeds; 2 slices dang gui (Chinese angelica root); 6 pieces yu zhu (solomon's seal), dried; 2 tbsp goji berries (wolfberries); 10 g dried shiitake mushrooms, soaked; 3 tbsp light soy sauce; 2 tbsp dark soy sauce; 1 tbsp oyster sauce; 2 litre water; 1 tsp rock sugar; 200 g fried tofu puffs; 200 g enoki or oyster mushrooms; 1 head lettuce or choy sum, separated; 4 whole youtiao (Chinese dough sticks), cut into lengths, to serve; 4 tbsp dark soy sauce with sliced red chilli and garlic, for dipping

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Ingredient originTrade or transit route

Became a culinary stapleColonial / trade control