Recipe: Bak Kut Teh / Pork Bone Tea

A good food photograph, beautifully composed and captured, is like fine art; igniting both appreciation and salivation. And the internet is my own personal art gallery. When I crave street food, I stare at my posts here, here, and here about Penang hawker food and salivate over the pictures (in all modesty, it's more the memory of taking them). When in need of a sugar rush, I hop over to Nordljus or Kuidaore. And sometimes I simply want to eyeball pretty and delectable food, that's when I end up at Chubby Hubby. Just last week I found this yummy Bah Kut Teh post on his website, and I completely fell prey to my strong artistic appreciation--and hunger--for this delicacy. I immediately rushed out to the pantry, dug out my pre-packed Bak Kut Teh herbs and started to cook up a clay pot of this hot, boiling, and aromatic soup (zoom in the picture and you can see the steam!). Bah Kut Teh or Pork Bone Tea is a Chinese soup dish. Infused with herbs such as Dong Quai, Cinnamon, Star Anise, and loaded with pork ribs, dried Shitake mushrooms, tofu puffs, and heaps of garlic, this soup fills the kitchen with evocative scents. Bah Kut Teh needs a couple hours of slow boiling and the end result is concoction perfumed with a sweet herbal and earthy flavor. It's best cooked and served in a clay pot and eaten with plain white rice, yau char kway (Chinese crullers), a dish of stir-fried vegetables such as Choy Sum (Chinese Green) in oyster sauce, and a small plate of chili plus soy sauce condiment. If you make Bak Kut Teh at home, do save a bowl or two as your breakfast the following day. The interplay of these herbs, spices, and ingredients usually reaches its height the next morning and you will find that overnight Bak Kut Teh tastes even better than freshly made. Slurp the soup and savor each drip of the essence until there is no single drop left (I think that's what Ansel Adams would have done, if Yosemite was edible!). Intensely flavorful and hearty, Bah Kut Teh is certainly my cup of tea. Recipe: Bak Kut Teh Ingredients: 1 pack of pre-packed Bak Kut Teh herbs 1 lb of pork ribs 2 garlic bulbs (photographed above) 6 dried Shitake mushrooms (soaked and cut into halves) A handful of tofu puffs Seasoning: 2 tablespoons of soy sauce 1 teaspoon of dark soy sauce 1 tablespoon of oyster sauce A few dashes of white pepper powder Salt to taste Condiment: 4-5 bird's eyes chilies 1 tablespoon soy sauce 1 tablespoon Indonesian ABC sweet soy sauce Heat up a claypot of water until it boils. Add in the garlic bulbs, pre-packed Bak Kut Teh herbs, pork ribs, mushrooms, tofu puffs and boils in low heat for about 1 - 2 hours. Add in the seasoning and boil for another 5 minutes. Serve hot. Rasa Malaysia recommends pre-packed Bak Kut Teh herbs and spices from Veng Tatt Soon (荣德信) in Penang. If you would like to purchase Bak Kut Teh spice packs from me, please email me.