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Sunday, December 03, 2006

Bak Kut Teh

This is a soup but the hokkien has named it 'tea' probably because of the herbs. I will always cook this soup everytime it snows. it perfumes the house with it's fragrance of herbs snd how comforting it is to have a bowl of hot soup after being in the cold. Bak Kut Teh is always requested after a skiing trip without fail. I would not be able to cook this soup if http://mytasteofasia.com had not send me a packet of Claypot brand to sample. Thanks. The herbs and spices are not too overpowering and it will enlighten anyone's palate be it asian or caucasian.
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Ingredients:

2 - 3 lbs pork spareribs
10 chinese dried mushrooms - soaked
10 - 12 pieces Tofu Pok - cut into small pieces
2 whole bulb garlic
2 1/2 liters water
4 tbsp of soya sauce
1 pkt of 'Claypot' Herbs and Spices Mix
salt and pepper to taste

Method:

Put spareribs in the pressure cooker and pour in enough water to cover the meat. Bring to the boil and cook until there is no more red blood oozing out of bones.

Pour away the water and clean the bones thoroughly with cold water.

Put back the cleaned spareribs, mushrooms, tofu pok, garlic, soya sauce, the herbs and spices mix bags and water.

Cover the pressure cooker and cook for 15 minutes (at point of hissing).

Release pressure by running pot under running cold water. Open lid and remove the oil from soup using a gravy separator.

Add salt and pepper to taste and serve hot.

10 comments:

  1. Lily,
    I'm planning to buy a pressure cooker but have no idea what brand or size to buy.Do you have any recommendations? Any difference using it at where you stay (CO) compared to other places(I'm in WA)??? Would really appreciate your advice on this. Thanks!

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  2. That's the packet my mum sends me from KL have a whole box! I love using the rib tips from Walmart and pork neck bones for extra oomph, she also gave me some abalone flavored one, and chikuteh. Hehehe ... my guai lou husband loves it.

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  3. Can you give a critique as to how this particular brand of Bak Kut Teh mix tastes compared to other brands in the marketplace? Your write up does not include anything about the quality of this mix and is a very important facet. I have seen a lot of such mixes at the Asian grocery stores and some are great, some are very mediocre. Please be as honest as you can in your description. Thanks.

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  4. Wow! Your bowl is overflowing with goodies! Looks great!

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  5. anonymous

    When i came here, the first thing i requested my daughter to get me is the pressure cooker. It has to be stainless steel, at least 8 qts and make sure that the rubber ring is easily available. the rubber ring gets worn out fast from frequent usage.

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  6. mantra

    Taste is to each it's own. As a chinese, i am used to all sorts of chinese herbs and can even take the most bitter ones while my daughter will not even drink the ginseng chicken soup.

    As i have mentioned this brand - claypot is mild and will be accepted by anyone who is introduced to this soup for the first time. Sometimes and most often depending on the guests, i will add a piece of Dong Quai.

    I don't know how many brands are there in the marketplace therefore i am unable to compare. sorry about that

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  7. Hi, I'm in Australia and we get that brand of Bak Kut Teh too. I'm a Malaysian Eurasian and find this particular brand of bak kut teh not too overpowering. My 7 and 4 year olds love it too. Lily, I absolutely love your website. Keep those recipes coming.

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  8. I am the lucky one. Lily made this soup for us while we were visiting CO. It was very delicious and the herbs were not overpowering. My friends and I love it.

    Thanks again Lily.

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  9. Hi, I am wondering if it's ok for me to use a normal pot to boil the soup as I don't have a pressure cooker. Also, I have 2 different packet of A1 bak kut teh herbs. One is 60gm and the other is 35gm. So, your recipe is for which packet?

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  10. oai

    the pkt i used was 35 gms.

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