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Bak Kut Teh

Winter is here, and now there is never a better time to enjoy Bak Kut Teh.

What is so special about Bak Kut Teh? The name translates into “pork bone tea”, and there are many variations of what goes into this dish. In fact, the exact recipe varies from region to region. Popular meat variations includes pork ribs, pig trotters, chicken feet to name a few. The soup contains dang gui ( Chinese Angelica ), which is known for its warming properties and that is why the cooler months are PERFECT for this hearty, herbaceous soup.

While most people make theirs using pre packaged spice packs, I much prefer to make it myself. I go to a Chinese herbalist shop to get my mix. First of all the ingredients are far superior to any sachet or packaged ingredient mix. Secondly, you feel so much cooler walking into a Chinese herbalist and asking for what you need. Now this can be daunting the first time but TRUST me, you are going to feel like Jack Burton from Big Trouble in Little China when you’re done. If you don’t have a Chinese herbal shop near you don’t fret, the ready made packages are still good.

Once you’ve mastered making it yourself you’ll never use a spice sachet again. There are many different variations, some being lighter in style and flavour profile and some that are more complex and herbaceous. 

Here is Adam Liaw’s list of spice ingredients to give you a start with what you need which has the Chinese characters and Western names. I always speak to the Chinese herbalist and they usually have a recipe spice mix that they recommend. 

Herb pack

20g Codonopsis pilosula (wen tang shen) 纹黨參

20g Chinese angelica (dang gui) 当归

15g lovage root (Ligusticum wallichii) (chuan xiong) 川芎

15g Rehmannia glutinosa (shu di) 熟地

5 slices licorice root (gan cao) 甘草

20g Solomon’s seal (yu zhu) 玉竹

2 pieces dried tangerine peel (cheng pi) 陈皮

15g cassia bark (gui bi) 桂皮

3 star anise (ba jiao) 八角

1 teaspoon white peppercorns (bai hu jiao) 白胡椒

Source: adamliaw.com

Once you have your spice mix you will want to wrap it up in muslin cloth and tie it with string. You can generally get muslin cloth from department store or even fabric shops.

Now about the meat. I generally use pork soft bone, pork belly cut into bite size pieces and some pork spare ribs. I generally get 1kg of each.

You will also need 2 whole garlic bulbs and 6 – 10 dried shiitake mushrooms depending on how rich you want your broth.

First you will want to boil some water in a kettle. Pour the boiling water in a bowl and place the dried shiitake in there for around 20 mins to soften. Cut the stalks off once softened and discard the stalks.

Heat up 4 litres of water in a pot and add the shiitake as it’s heating up. Next add the Chinese herb pack to the pot and let it simmer for 30 mins. Make sure you breathe in all the amazing aromas of medicinal herbs.

In a separate pot add your cuts of pork and cover with cold water. Bring the water to boil and after 5 minutes, drain the pork and rinse thoroughly to remove all the scum.

Next you’re going to put the pork into the simmering herbal soup with your whole garlic bulbs, a few teaspoons of salt, a couple of teaspoons sugar, a splash of soy sauce and importantly some vinegar. The vinegar doesn’t just help balance everything out, it helps draw flavour from the bones. *I add vinegar to all my stocks. You could also add a slurp of dark soy sauce or good oyster sauce for some extra richness.

I allow this to simmer at a very low heat for an hour and a half. It’s very important not to cook it too long or the meat will become too soft and mushy. You want that texture to be Q. Q is a term used in Chinese cooking for bounciness, quite often associated with noodles or fish balls. You don’t want that “melt in your mouth” texture, you want to be able to chew it.

Add some fried tofu puffs and enoki mushrooms for the last 10 mins of cooking. The tofu puffs soak up all that flavour.

Serve this with some steamed rice and if you have some Youtiao, freshly fried dough sticks, throw them into the soup. Game changer with this intense flavour.

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