“Bak Kut Teh” is a herbal pork rib soup eaten with rice and hot Chinese tea. In the olden days, this dish was supposedly a healthy and “balanced” food for the poor Chinese coolies working at the ports and fishermen who were out in the windy open seas.
The herbal pork rib soup helps to increase the metabolism rate and also keep the body warm. The tea (teh) balances and helps to neutralize the heatiness and fats in the pork when consumed. The tea must be sipped in between bites of pork ribs to get the maximum effect. That is why Chinese tea is usually served in dainty teacups.
Tea is a solvent for fats/oil. For the “Bak Kut Teh” connoisseur, good Chinese tea is a must to go with the dish. If one drinks sufficient amount of tea, there is no health issue eating “Bak Kut Teh” frequently.
I prefer drinking the “Bak Kut Teh” herbal soup to eating the stewed ribs. There are many instant ‘Bak Kut Teh” soup packs in the market. Some are grounded herbs combination in paper bags for cooking. Others come in spray-dry powder form that just dissolves in boiling water.
I love “Bak Kut Teh” noodles cooked with vegetables, “tofu pok” (deep fried beancurd) or fried pork skin, chicken fillet and mushrooms.
It is a wholesome meal that keeps me alert and I don’t even need coffee the whole afternoon after eating the “Bak Kut Teh” soup noodles for lunch!
Ingredients (for two servings):-
2 packets of “Bak Kut Teh” instant noodle.
250 gram of chicken fillet
200 gram of baby Pak choy( 小白菜)or Chinese romancee (Yeaw mak油麦) vegetable
4 pieces of Shitake mushroom( 香菇)pre-soaked
80 gram of fried pork skin(炸猪皮) pre-soaked & cut into 2” X 2” square
1 teaspoon of sesame oil(麻油).
¼ teaspoon of Ikan bilis( 江鱼)powder.
¼ teaspoon of pepper( 胡椒)powder.
Preparation:
Boil 500ml of water. Once boiled, turn the temperature to low. Blanch the noodles alone until it is springy and loose. Remove with a sieve and place into serving bowls. Then blanch the vegetable. Drain the water completely after blanching.
Rinse the cooker thoroughly. Boil 600ml of water. Once boiled, turn the temperatue to low. Add in the sesame oil, pepper powder, ikan bilis powder, chicken fillet, shitake mushroom, pork skin and bring it to boiling point. Finally, add the seasoning pack that came with the instant noodle. Stir thoroughly.
Pour the soup into the bowls and serve.
See the wholesome and appetizing noodle for lunch in office.
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