Bak Kut Teh (Pork Ribs Tea) is a Chinese herbal soup with dong gui known for its warming properties. Perfect for the colder months.
Bak Kut Teh in the Hokkien or Fujianese dialect literally translates to Pork Rib Tea. This rich herbal soup contains dong gui (Angelica Sinensis), known for its warming properties. For this reason, it is popularly eaten as a supper or late night meal in Malaysia and Singapore. Over here in Minnesota, I like to cook it in the winter as it helps ward off the cold.
Whole Herbs vs Spice Sachets
In the old days, the herbal mix can only be purchased at the Chinese “medicine shop”. Today most grocery stores in Malaysia and Singapore carry them in sachets where the herbs are ground to a powder. These sachets can also be found here in the US.
I much prefer the “real thing” with the whole herbs. Whenever I visit my mom in Malaysia, she will take me to the “medicine shop” where the Ah Pek (uncle) will combine the herbs into neat packages and properly seal them for me to bring home.
To Each His Own
Each “medicine shop” has their own mix of herbs and no two are the same. The way of preparation also differ from person to person. The lighter colored soups tend to be more peppery while the darker colored ones tend to be sweeter and more herbal. I prefer the darker, more herbal version.
These are the herbs and spices from one of the packages from the “medicine shop”…
Additional Ingredients
I added the following dried ingredients…
**Not shown are rock sugar, garlic, and pork ribs.
The Meat
I used boneless pork ribs as I did have baby back ribs. You can also use a mix of ribs and meat, if preferred. There is also a unique Malaysian version called Chik Kut Teh where the pork is substituted with chicken.
Keeping the Soup Clear
Herbs that are not eaten should be placed in a muslin filter bag so that the soup remains clear.
Similar Products Used in Making This Bak Kut Teh
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Circulon Genesis Stainless Steel Nonstick 5-Quart Covered Dutch Oven
Chef Craft Stainless Steel Ladle
Bak Kut Teh (Pork Ribs Tea)
Ingredients
- 10 cups water (2.5 liters)
- 1 packet Bak Kut Teh herbs (rinsed and drained)
- 3 slices Angelica Sinensis / Dong Gui (rinsed and drained)
- 12 Chinese mushrooms / shitake mushrooms (soaked, rinsed, and stalks removed)
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 bulb garlic (separated but not peeled)
- 2 lbs baby back ribs or pork ribs, cut into bite-size pieces (900g)
- 2 tbsp dark soy sauce
- 1 piece rock sugar (10g)
- Salt to taste
- 12 small tofu puffs (cut into halves)
- 24 pieces tofu skin knots (rinsed, soaked for 20 minutes, drained) (optional)
- ¼ cup goji berries (rinsed and soaked for 10 minutes, drained (30g) (optional)
Instructions
- Bring water in a large pot to a boil.
- Place all bak kut teh herbs, except for spice sachet, Solomon’s seal rhizome (yok chok), and red or black dates in a muslin filter bag. Dong gui should also be placed in the muslin filter bag.
- When water comes to a boil, place muslin bag, spice sachet, yok chok, dates, and mushrooms in the water.
- Heat vegetable oil in a large fry pan. Add garlic and pork ribs. Sear ribs for about 3 minutes. Stir in dark soy sauce. Turn off heat and transfer pork ribs and garlic to huge pot.
- Add rock sugar. When liquid comes back to a boil, season with salt. Reduce heat to low and allow it to simmer for about 1½ hours.
- Add tofu puffs, tofu skin knots, and goji berries. Simmer for another 30 minutes.
- Discard muslin filter bag and spice sachet.
- Serve with steamed rice, yew char kway (aka as you tiao or Chinese crullers), and cut chilies in soy sauce.
Nutrition
Serving Suggestions for Bak Kut Teh
Bak Kut Teh is best served hot with steamed rice or fragrant rice cooked with shallot or garlic, yew char kway (also known as as you tiao or Chinese crullers), and cut chilies in soy sauce. A vegetable dish that goes well with Bak Kut Teh is tender crisp blanched Yu Choy Sum. It is a nice counter point to the meaty soup.
Bak Kut Teh Herbs and Spices
If you are interested to source and put together the herbs, you may want to include the following…
3 slices dong gui (Angelica Sinensis)
30g dang shen/tong sum (Codonopsis root)
30g chuan xiong (Rhizoma ligustici)
1 small piece (10g) shu di huang/lo sok tei (Rehmannia)
2 pieces gan cao (licorice root)
2 star anise, crushed
1 stick cinnamon, crushed
6 cloves
1 tsp fennel seeds, crushed
½ tsp white peppercorn, crushed
50g yu zhu/yok chok (Solomon’s seal rhizome)
10 red or black dates
¼ cup (30g) goji/wolf berries
All ingredients except the last three should be placed in a muslin filter bag. Red or black dates and goji berries should be soaked, rinsed, and drained before use.
Note: Black dates tend to be sweeter than red dates. Measurements are only approximations. Please adjust according to taste.
Enjoy…..and have a wonderful day! 😎
Nasi Lemak Lover says
Biren, Thank you for showing us what herbs are inside a BKT package, great info, i never know what are inside the BKT package as usually i bought the powder form, hehehe..Next time, i will go Chinese herbal soup to make my own package like this.
Biren says
Sonia, I much prefer the real herbs to the powdered sachets. I think I might be able to get all the individual herbs here. Will try to look for them soon. 🙂
Jeannie says
Ya agreed with Sonia, I too have not seen the contents of a bakuteh packet:) just throw into the water and cook:P Your bkt looks delicious!
Biren says
I too never bothered to see what’s inside the package until now. My mom did all the cooking and I was just happy to do the eating. 😀
Ann@Anncoo Journal says
Same here. As a Cantonese I only had BKT at those hawker stall and now is so convenient to get BKT sachet and dump everything together in a pot.
Biren says
I did the same back then. Over here, I have to cook the dishes if I want to eat it. Forces me to learn and to take an interest in the ingredients.
Aban says
Looks live comfort food to me!Yum!
Biren says
Thanks Aban for visiting! 🙂
tigerfish says
Wow, look at all those herbs. Thanks for the details 🙂
I usually prefer the lighter peppery version (I think the Teochew version) of BKT but maybe I have not tried a delicious Hokkien version.
Biren says
Do give this a try. I think you should be able to get most of the herbs in California.
Emily @LivingLongfellow says
Thanks for all the information! I enjoy learning about herbs and medicines in other cultures.
Biren says
Hi Emily! So good of you to visit. Glad you find the post interesting. 🙂
Lyn says
Hi Biren! Hope you’re doing good! I’m now busier with my sending and fetching schedule with the sch term starting for both gals, so I’m left with limited time for going online and blogging. 🙁
It’s been quite a while since I last cooked BKT soup! Had wanted to cook always but like what you’ve mentioned above, this soup is more on the warming(heaty) side, I kept delaying bcoz my gals and Hubby are more prone to getting heaty, I cooked more cooling soups instead. LOL
I’ve tried the Malaysian version twice. I prefer the sweeter and herbal taste as compared to our SG version. So I’ll always buy sachets that are stated herbal. 🙂 I love dipping my yew char kway in the soup! YUMS!
denise @ singapore shiok says
Oh my word Biren! That looks truly wonderful! Eventhough I actually prefer the lighter, more peppery Teochew version, your bowl of Hokkien style bak kut teh is making my mouth water *YUM* We also have chik kut teh in Singapore lol The sound of it always makes me laugh. I love these fortifying soups and have actually been slurping a lot of them lately 😉
Angie's Recipes says
I have never made BKT soup at home…such a perfect warming and nutritious soup.
Melanie @ Melanie Cooks says
Looks like a great comfort food!
vianney says
This looks amazing! I have never tried this, but I know I would love it. the flavors and herbs are wonderful , thanks. I love learning about new dishes!!
mycookinghut says
This is a winter comfort! I haven’t had it for so long!
Cathy at Wives with Knives says
I would love to try this recipe, Biren. It looks like it has so much flavor, perfect for a winter day. I recognize some of the ingredients and bet I could find the rest at my favorite Asian market.
Chaya says
Thanks for being part of my Favorite Finds.
http://sweetsav.blogspot.com/2011/12/finding-joy-in-my-kitche-n-has-friday.html
Please visit.
Nami | Just One Cookbook says
I have some of these herbs in my fridge as my mother in law left it before and had me brought some home from Taiwan. I didn’t have a recipe before but now I have! Looks like it’s very healthy and great detox which I am in need…. teehee!
Joyce says
It is a great soup with white rice! Been making it for decades. My mom asks for it.
Magic of Spice says
Oh wow, there is a lot of love in this soup…I can just imagine how fragrant it must be 🙂
Juliana says
Wow, what an interesting dish with pork ribs…I never had anything like this, so many different ingredients…must taste very good.
Hope you are having a great weekend Biren 🙂
Kitchen Belleicious says
Oh wow! this looks incredible. I can just see from the pictures just how tender that meat is in the broth. So flavorful too with all those ingredients
wok with ray says
I see tons of goodies in there, Biren! Of course my favorite will be the boneless ribs, yumm! I can imagine how cold it is where you at and this dish is really perfect. I hope you’re enjoying the rest of your weekend, Biren!
~ ray ~
Christine says
Great post. Thanks for the info.
PolaM says
I love herbal soups! I just have no idea how to make them.. .Thanks for showing us, now I only have to gather the courage to go looking for them at an asian store…
Devaki @ weavethousandflavors says
I used to love sitting in the hawker centers of Singapore and dig into steaming bowls of bak ku teh but I cannot lie Biren, the ingredient list is scaring me to tears! LOVE IT!
BTW, I am giving away a years worth of Sargento cheese so get on it, girl!
chow 🙂 Devaki @ weavethousandflavors
Elizabeth says
Hi, Can you share the name and street of your medicine shop? I assume it is in Georgetown? My husband is will be visiting family in Penang in May, so he could fetch the herbs. I, too, have only used the sachet packets. I really enjoy your site. Thanks!
Linda says
The Bak Kut Teh you see here is actually made with herbs purchased in Kepong. I did say on Facebook that I was trying out herbs purchased in Penang and that came from Cheng Woh at Campbell Street. Unless you are cooking a small portion, you may want to add a few more slices of dong gui to the soup. I always do.
Ed says
I lived in Singapore and Penang for 30 years before moving back to Connecticut .
I miss Bak Kut Teh , Laksa and durian .
This looks like a great recipe .
I have only made my own with herbal packs I brought back with me but sadly I’ve run out of them .
Will have to try from scratch .