Bak kut teh
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| Bak kut teh | |||||||||||||||
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| Chinese | 肉骨茶 | ||||||||||||||
| Literal meaning | pork rib tea | ||||||||||||||
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Bak kut teh (Hokkien: 肉骨茶) is a Chinese soup popularly served in Malaysia, Singapore, China, Taiwan (where there is a predominant Hoklo and Teochew community) and also, cities of neighbouring countries like Batam of Indonesia and Hat Yai of Thailand. The name literally translates as "meat bone tea", and, at its simplest, consists of meaty pork ribs simmered in a complex broth of herbs and spices (including star anise, cinnamon, cloves, dang gui, fennel seeds and garlic) for hours.[1] However, additional ingredients may include offal, varieties of mushroom, choy sum, and pieces of dried tofu or fried tofu puffs. Additional Chinese herbs may include yu zhu (rhizome of Solomon's Seal) and ju zhi (buckthorn fruit), which give the soup a sweeter, slightly stronger flavor. Light and dark soy sauce are also added to the soup during cooking, with varying amounts depending on the variant. Garnishings include chopped coriander or green onions and a sprinkling of fried shallots.
Bak kut teh was believed to have been introduced to Malaya in the 19th century by Chinese workers from either Canton, Chaoshan or Fujian[1][2].
Bak kut teh is usually eaten with rice or noodles (sometimes as a noodle soup), and often served with youtiao (strips of fried dough) for dipping into the soup. Soy sauce (usually light soy sauce, but dark soy sauce is also offered sometimes) is preferred as a condiment, with which chopped chilli padi and minced garlic is taken together. Chinese tea of various kinds (the Tieguanyin variety is especially popular in the Klang Valley area of Malaysia) is also usually served in the belief that it dilutes or dissolves the copious amount of fat consumed in this pork-laden dish. Bak kut teh is typically a famous morning meal. The Hokkien and Teochew are traditionally tea-drinking cultures and this aspect runs deep in their cuisines.
Indeed, the dish is reported to supplement the meagre diet of port coolies and as a tonic to boost their health. However, bak kut teh is said to originate from Quanzhou in Fujian, China or Chaoshan, where it is still made today.The nourishing meat soup was brought over to South East Asia with the Chinese diaspora. According to the most plausible version of the story, bak kut teh was invented by a gentleman from Quanzhou of the Fujian province in China.The secret recipe was passed to a friend who later went to Klang and became the first person to commercialise and sell Bak Kut Teh. The dish went on to become a famous dish and was copied and improved many times over. So according to this version the Hokkiens were the inventors of the dish. The Teochews came later and the main visual difference between the Hokkien and Teochew version of Bak Kut Teh is that the Hokkiens use dark soy sauce and thus the soup base is characteristically darker in colour. It is up to the individual's taste buds which one tastes better.
[edit] Varieties
There are numerous variants of bak kut teh with its cooking style closely influenced by the prevailing Chinese enclave of a certain geographical location. In Singapore, there are three types of bak kut teh. The most common variant is the Teochew style, which is light in color but uses more pepper in the soup. The Hoklo (Hokkien), who prefer saltier food, use more soy sauce, which results in a darker soup. The Cantonese, with a soup-drinking culture, add medicinal herbs to create a stronger flavoured soup.
A less fatty variation of bak kut teh made with chicken instead of pork is called chik kut teh.[2] It also serves as a halal version of the dish catered to Muslims, whose religion forbids them to consume pork. During the Nipah virus outbreak in Malaysia in 1999, due to the fear of virus infected pork meat, a lot of owners were forced to substitute pork for other meat - mainly seafood, chicken or even without any (vegetarian) - some of which still remains on the menu in some restaurants until the present day.
[edit] References
- ^ Grêlé D, Raimbault L, Chng N. Discover Singapore on Foot. Select Publishing, 2007. page 158.
- ^ Chinese Food in Kuala Lumpur, http://www.kuala-lumpur.ws/food-dining/chinese.html
