Klang Bak Kut Teh 巴生肉骨茶

My dad loves Bak Kut Teh and my mom got sick of eating that.  So you can never see this dish when we dine with our parents.

There was a good stall near to our first matrionial house and we ate there pretty often during our first five years of our marriage. Theirs were loaded with lots and lots of pepper that gives that kick.

Then last year, during one of our KL trip, friend of CH bought us to this really famous Bak Kut Teh stall.  Trust me, it is really very crowded and we have to wait around an hour under hot sun to get a seat.  It was no regrets as all the dishes were delicious.

The Bak Kut Teh soup was very herbal and we really like it.  Wish we will get a chance to visit the same stall again next time and hope they will air condition the place. :)

In the meantime, I attempted Travelling Foodies' recipe with slight modification, just to satisfy this craving.

This is my first time preparing this dish from scratch and loving it as I try as much as possible not to touch premixes.

My family totally love it!  This recipe is definitely a keeper.  I shall invite my parents over with my next attempt.

Thought it is not the same as the one I tasted but it is definitely a keeper because my girl had twice serving of rice and my hubby had three serving of soup.  My son kept saying "Mom this is nice".  

I shall not convince you any further. Try it.  

Thanks Alan for sharing this wonderful recipe!

What you need:

1.2kg prime ribs 肋排
700g pork big bones 猪大骨 (optional) (I forgotten to buy this)
6 bulbs of garlic

1 portion of Herbs and Spices

1 cup of chicken stock

Herbs and spices

8g 当归, dang gui Angelica sinensis aka female ginseng
20g 玉竹 yuzhu Polygonatum odoratum aka Solomon’s Seal
8g 甘草 gan cao Glycyrrhiza uralensis aka Chinese licorice
5g 黄芪 huang qi Astragalus propinquus aka milk-vetch root
8g 党参 dang shen Codonopsis pilosula aka poor man’s ginseng
8g 川芎 chuan xiong Ligusticum wallichii
1 stick (3g) 肉桂皮 gui pi Cinnamomum cassia aka cassia bark or Chinese’s cinnamon
1g 八角 ba jiao Illicium verum aka star anise
16g 白胡椒粒 bai hujiao Piper nigrum aka white peppercorn
8g 枸杞子 gou qi Lycium barbarum aka wolfberries or goji berries

Condiments and Seasoning

1 tsp salt
2 tbsp black soya sauce (adjust to taste)
1 tbso light soya sauce (adjust to taste)

Additional ingredients

1 can of button mushrooms 蘑菇, rinsed. Halve if the whole mushrooms are too big.

Other sides
Cooked rice for 4-6 people
chopped red chilli with dark soya sauce as a dip
2-3 deep fried 油条 youtiao aka chinese dough fritters

Method

Blanch pork rib with hot water.  Remove.

Rinse all the herbs and crush peppercorn. Place the herb and spice mixture into a muslin bag if using.

To a large pot, add 6-8 bowls of water. Bring to a fast boil and add the herbs and spices except for wolfberries. As it come to a boil again and then lower to medium low flame and let it simmer for 10 mins with lid on. This is to allow the flavours of the herbs to infuse into the water.

Add pork ribs and garlic. Bring to a boil again before lower to medium low flame and continue to simmer with lid on for 30 min. Add more boiling water if necessary. Periodically use a ladle or small wired sieve/tea strainer to remove any scum or blood clots on the surface of the soup. This helps to keep the soup clear.

After 30 min, add button mushrooms. Season with salt, soya sauce. Adjust taste and colour with amount of dark soya sauce used. 

Let the pot simmer with lid on for another 20-30 min.

During the last 10 min of cooking, add wolfberries at this point.

Check for the texture of the pork ribs. They are ready when the meat comes off the bone easily but does not disintegrate.

Adjust taste with salt and/or soya sauce.

Serve bak kut teh with chunks of you tiao, chopped chilli and dark soya sauce dip, and cooked rice tossed with scallion oil.

For a comprehensive detail of this recipe, head over to Travelling Foodie.

I am submitting this post to Malaysian Food Fest Kuala Lumpur Selangor Month hosted by Shannon of Just As Delish.

Have a Happy Monday.