Bak Kut Teh – a famous traditional Singaporean and Malaysia pork ribs soup served with rice, you tiao dough sticks, chilli dipping sauce and a good strong pot of Wuyi Shuixian oolong tea. This dish is sometimes made with chicken or duck.

It was Singapore’s 45th National Day (Happy Birthday Singapore!) on Monday. As I watched the national day parade live webcast, a lot of childhood memories came flooding back. Being the glutton that I am, I cannot help but think of all the delicious hawker fares that I grew up with. So I decided to take a break from translating the Lu Yu’s Classic of Tea to talk about this delicious and very well known Singaporean (some say Malaysian) hawker fare.

“Bak kut teh” is a rich and nourishing brew that boasts of tonic herbs. Traditionally enjoyed as a rather masculine breakfast, it is now more likely to be consumed over lunch or dinner as a satisfyingly comforting meal. Darker and more oxidised teas (typically Iron Goddess of Mercy or “Tie Guan Yin”) are frequently served with the soup. There is something very gratifying (or in Singlish “Shoik”) eating this hot meal and drinking hot tea in hot and humid Singapore (See “hot teas for hot days” blog post).

“Bak kut” is pork bones in the Chinese dialect of Hockkien. “Teh” is the Hockkien word for tea. The soup is typically cooked with pork ribs seasoned with Chinese herbs and soy sauces. It is served with rice, “xian cai” (咸菜. Salted mustard leaves), “you tiao” (油条. Deep fried dough sticks) and sliced red chilli in dark soy dipping sauce. The meat is cooked till it is practically fallen off the bone. The broth is bursting with meaty umami flavours and has a hint of dark caramelised sweetness from the soy sauces. The hits of pepper and garlic provide a very good background for these flavours. I am aware that most people might be a little put off by the dark colour of the soup (as with spaghetti made with squid ink!) but I can assure you that you will be amazed at flavours and the comfort it will bring to you.

You Tiao – sliced fried dough sticks. Adding a slight crunchy and chewy texture and provides a nutty backdrop to the Bak Kut Teh soup.

To go off the tangent for a bit regarding the character teh – tea is also known throughout the world now as variations of the words “chai” or “teh”. What a country calls this humble beverage made from leaves really depends on how tea was first introduced to its people. European and South East Asian countries who received tea via the sea route from the ports of Xiamen in Fujian Province adopted variations of Hockkien word teh (so “thé” in France, “tee” in Germany, “té” in Spain and “tè” in Itay and “teh” in Malaysia and Singapore). While counties receiving tea by land instead adopted the Mandarin pronunciation of “cha”. Hence we have “chai” in Russian and Arabia, “chay” in Turkey and “cha” in Portugal and Iran.

There are many origins for Bak kut keh. Some of them are romanticised versions, concocted by families in China, of the life lead by men who have gone to “Nanyang” (南洋. South Seas – referring to Malaysia or Singapore by the Chinese) to earn their fortunes. The most credible story for this soup has to be the one associated with the coolies who came to Nanyang to earn a living as manual labourers at the docks. Some says the dish was created in Singapore but other says it originates from Port Klang in Malaysia.

Some of these coolies would typically come from Xiamen (Hockkien speaking) and Swatow (Teochew speaking). The Hockkiens and Teochews are traditionally tea-drinking cultures and this aspect runs deep in their cuisines. These dock labourers led a very hard life (many of them have been sold as slaves or tricked to work as labourers) carrying heavy sacks of cargo from vessels to the warehouses for very little money. To supplement their diet, they would pick up bits of herbs or grains dropped on the ground from the sacks they carry. These men would gather their meagre resources to buy some pork bones and add their collected herbs to make a nice nourishing soup which they will eat with rice for breakfast. This hearty soup provides them with energy for another hard day’s work.

Now, there are regional variations to this soup. Bak kut teh made by the Hockkiens were usually heavier and darker as they used more dark soy sauce while the Teochews prefer a lighter in colour, more peppery soup base. This dish continues to evolve. I have seen pork being replaced by chicken (“Ji Ku Cha” 鸡骨茶) or duck (“Ya Ku Cha” 鸭骨茶) so that our Muslim friends can also enjoy it. I have also seen a “dry” version of this soup in Port Klang where the broth is reduced to a thicker gravy and the addition of dried cuttlefish, goji berries and Chinese red dates making it even full-bodied than the ones I know.

A famous Singaporean hawker fare “Bak Kut Teh” – Pieces of succulent pork ribs in a dark soy sauce broth favoured with garlic, goji berries, cinnamon bark and licorice root.

Even though the name of this soup suggests that it is cooked with tea or enjoyed with tea, there is not much historical evidence of these coolies having their daily breakfast of bak kut teh with tea. In fact, this dish was simply called “Jia Bak Kut” (吃肉骨. Meaning eating pork bones in Hockkien) at that time.

Soon after the Second World War, a Hockkien man called “Li Man Teh” (李文地) decided to set up a stall selling his version of this soup with Chinese medicinal herbs (sometimes contributed by these coolies). Mr Li’s soup was very popular and his customers gave him the nick name of “Bak Kut Teh” by adding the last character of his name teh (地) to Bak Kut (pork bones). This last character of Mr Li’s name happens to have the same intonation as the Hockkien word for tea (“teh”. 茶). Over time, this soup became what we now know as bak kut teh (pork ribs tea).

As far as my memories go, tea is more of a beverage to accompany this meal. The dark roast tea not only compliments the meaty umami flavours of this soup but also helps to reduce the cholesterol intake and aids digestion. Typically, customers are served with the soup, a bowl of rice and condiments together with a simplified Gong-Fu Cha tea set for brewing a dark roast oolong tea like traditional Tie Guan Yin (Iron Goodness of Mercy). I discovered later that this style of enjoying the meal is more a custom of Teochew people. The Hockkiens also consume this meal with tea but they would simply drink the tea from a bowl. Sometimes, they even pouring tea into the emptied rice bowl to pick up any remaining flavours of the soup!

One of the herbs used in this delectable soup is the Chinese Angelica root (“dang gui” 当归). This is a highly sought after herb for easing many women’s ills and aliments as it is said to help in rebuilding blood and general weakness and lethargy. It is hard and knobbly and emits an earthy and warm woody aroma that will develop very strong flavour in the soup and should therefore be used sparingly. Herbalists typically advise that one should avoid consuming other strong herbs such as ginseng or the more Yin fruits soon after or before consuming angelica roots so as not to counteract the benefits of this wonderful herb.

For this blog post, I have made my mom’s version of the soup that is slightly less herbal but still packed full of flavours. The you tiao dough sticks that you see in the pictures are from my favourite bakery in Chinatown. I have bought lots for my breakfast of rice congee and century eggs or over a thick bowl of soy bean milk. To revive them, I have put them under the grill for 3-5 minutes. Nothing beats a freshly fried crunchy you tiao! If there are any left over bak ku teh, my mom would add cooked vermicelli noodles to soup garnished lots of red chillis and corriander. A delectable night snack for me!

Bak Kut Teh (Hockkien style) Soup 1.5 liters Water 250g Pork tenderloin 250g Pork ribs 1.5 tbsp Light soy sauce (choose a better quality Chinese brands) 0.5 tbsp Dark soy sauce (~~ ditto ~~) 1 Star anise 1 Cinnamon stick, 2cm long 10 Garlic cloves 3 tbsp Goji berries 10g “dang gui” (当归. Chinese Angelica ) A few Black pepper corns, crushed Dipping Sauce: Red chillies Dark soy sauce Garnish: Coriander leaves You Tiao (油条. Deep fried dough sticks)		My Mom’s Bak Kut Teh (simplified) Soup 1.5 liters Water 500g Pork ribs 1.5 tbsp Light soy sauce 0.5 tbsp Dark soy sauce 10 Garlic cloves 1 sliver “Gan Cao” (甘草. Licorice root) A few Black pepper corns, crushed
- Bring water to boil in a large saucepan and add all other ingredients to the pot. - Bring to a boil. Then simmer over low heat for 1 hour or till meat is tender. - Serve with garnish and steaming hot rice, you tiao, some steamed pak choi and a good strong pot of oolong tea like Wuyi Shuixian or traditional Tie Guan Yin. ** To make a vegetarian version of this soup, replace the pork with dried bean curd skins (similar to Abura-age), “mu-er” Wood ears (black fungus) and dried and fresh shiitake mushrooms. Add the bean curd skins and fresh shiitake mushrooms about 5 minutes before serving.

Enough of nostalgia, now back to my translation of chapter 4 of Lu Yu’s Classic of Tea but only after I have devoured this delicious bak kut teh!

Warmly, Pei ~~ Serene and fragrant TEA entices with promise of rapture in STORE ~~ tea open house . medTEAtation . @teanamu . FB page

Tea saint Lu Yu’s Classic of Tea Chapter 1 in its original text.

I have been toying with doing a series on the famous Classic of Tea (Cha Jing 茶经) because I want to make the riches of this ancient treatise accessible to my non-Chinese-speaking tea friends, a sort of easy-reference. (To view the Chinese characters in this blog, you may need to enable character encoding of your web browser to either Unicode or Simplied Chinese.)

The format of the monograph, written by tea saint Lu Yu between 760 and 780 AD, is “Three Scrolls Ten Chapters”. “Chapter 1: Origin” describes the mythological origins of tea in China, varietals of the tea plant and its proper planting, as well as some etymological speculation.

In the first chapter of Cha Jing, Lu Yu introduced us to the Chinese character for tea which has the radicals of “plant” (Chinese radical “卄”) or “wood” (Chinese radical “木”) depending on which compendia one looks into. Tea has four other names or characters in Chinese, apart from the well-known Cha (Chinese character “茶”): Jia (Chinese character “槚” meaning bitter tea), She (Chinese character “蔎” meaning tea in Chinese classics), Chuan (Chinese character “”荈” now taken to mean older tea leaves) and Ming (Chinese character “茗” now taken to mean tender tea leaves). Indeed, many tea connisseurs now use the words Ping Ming (Chinese characters “品茗”) to mean appreciation of the best teas.

The tea plant is a prime flora of Southern China. It can grow from a meter in height to a few tens of meters. In the areas of Bashan (in the east of modern day Sichuan province) and Xiazhou (west of Hubei province) some tea trunks are thick enough for two grown men to hug and the only way to harvest the tea is to cut the branches. Indeed, when the 2800 years old tea tree I visited this year on Big Snow Mountain in Yunan requires more than 3 men to hug! You can try some of this ancient tea here.

The tea plant has leaves like that of gardenia, little white flowers that are rosaceous, fruits like palm, stems like that of the clove plant and a root system similar to the walnut tree. It grows best on eroded rocky ground, second best on loose, sandy soil. Yellow earth is the worst. If the tea plant is not prospering, the cultivation technique for growing plants from the Gua (Chinese character “瓜” or in Latin “Cucumisativus”) family can be employed.

According to Lu Yu the leaves can be harvested after three years. Tea plants grown in the wild produce the best leaves. Tea growing on a sun-facing slope or in a forested area may produce purple leaves, which are considered superior to the green variety. Curly tea buds are better than flattened, straight ones. Tea plants grown in shaded areas or valleys are not suitable for making into tea as they cause bloatedness.

Lu Yu teaches that tea is Yin (cold/chilly) in nature. It cures heatiness, congested chest, thirst, migraine, dry eyes, weak limbs and aching of the joints. Referring to two of ancient China’s top ten beverages, he says good quality tea matches the sweetest layer of fat on top of a refined milk drink or the most wonderful morning dew. However, if the tea is not picked at the right time or been processed unskilfully or contains bit of weeds or rotten leaves, then consuming tea, he says, will lead to illness.

Lu Yu compares tea’s effect on the body to that of ginseng. He lists the qualities of ginseng from various regions to demonstrate that, as long as you can understand the principles behind the use of good ginseng, you will be able to apply them to the use of tea.

Now, ginseng is a highly prized root in the Orient typically taken orally as an adaptogen, aphrodisiac and/or nourishing stimulant and in the treatment of type II diabetes. As with all things precious, there are many fake ginseng floating around the market. Korean ginseng is generally considered the best. The American ginseng are also quite popular. My mom would typically make a fresh brew of ginseng tea with a bit of salt just before any major examinations. So now I always associate the flavour of ginseng tea to high level of examination stress!

Warmly, Pei ~~ Serene and fragrant TEA entices with promise of rapture in STORE ~~ tea open house . medTEAtation . @teanamu . FB page

Tea and Camphor Smoked Duck – an umptious duck dish involving curing, blanching, smoking with tea, steaming and then deep-frying.

It has been quite long since I have blogged about tea recipes purely because I have not been cooking much lately. Yes I did bake some tea pâtisserie for the tea open house events but nothing complicated or experimental. As I prepared for my latest tea cookery theatre last week, I began to realise how much I have missed cooking with tea.

I think many of us already know about the use of green tea in ice creams and in pâtisserie, not to mention various forms of cosmetics and toiletries. It is even used in the cat food I feed my 2 little boys (see picture)! And yes, my cats are also trained to do the tea ceremony!

Now, the eating of tea was recorded as early as the Western Han dynasty (206BC) in Shennong Bencao Jing (The Divine Farmer’s Herb-Root Classic). Later classics talk about cooking tea, pickling tea, using tea as a salad, roasting tea and making tea congee usually with fresh tea leaves.

In a high mountain organic tea farm I visited in China, I naughtily plucked and tasted a few fresh tender tea buds. They tasted very astringent when I first bit into them. However, I was not surprised to find that the astringency disappeared very quickly leaving only lots of umami sweetness and filling my palate full of beautiful floral aromas. My tea master Hooi says that chewing on fresh tea leaves is like eating posh sunflower seeds; it helps to stimulate the saliva producing glands and acts as an expectorant.

Health benefits of eating tea aside, Chinese tea cuisine has 3 traditional characteristics: (1) It is delicate yet exquisite, (2) It mainly uses wild mountain vegetables together with spring harvest teas and (3) It embodies local cultures and tea culture. Tea has been used together with various Chinese cooking techniques. There are a few famous tea cuisine dishes such as Hang Zhou city’s Dragon Well Tea Shrimps (Long Jin Xia Ren) and Empress Dowager’s favourite Tea and Camphor Smoked Duck (Zhang Cha Ya) from Sze Chuan province and the ever popular street snack Tea Spiced Eggs (Cha Ye Dan).

Tea and Camphor Smoked Duck is a rather complicated dish. It uses only autumn drake and undergoes curing, blanching, smoking, steaming and then deep-frying so it is strictly speaking not just a smoked dish. It is commonly served with Mantou (Chinese steamed fluffy buns). The meat is extremely moist and tender through the curing and steaming process. The skin, if done properly, is thin and crispy and full of the smoky flavours of the tea and camphor. The glutinous rice ferment is sweet and helps to create the caramelised glossiness when the duck is deep fried. I do not have a smoker so I use a large old wok and lid all covered with foil.

Tea and Camphor Smoked Duck

1.5kg Whole duck (or 4-5 duck pieces) For Blanching: 20g Sze Chuan peppercorns Salt and white pepper For Smoking: 50g Teanamu Wuyi Shuixian Oolong Tea leaves 50g Camphor chips 50g smoking wood chips 30g Sze Chuan peppercorns

For Marinating: 50g glutinous rice ferment 50ml Shaoxing rice wine Salt and white pepper For Deep Frying: Cooking oil 15ml Sesame oil Dipping Sauce: 20g Hoisin sauce 5g Sesame oil

1) Blanching: Clean the duck and add to a pot with about 2liters of water, 10g Sze Chuan peppercorns, salt and pepper. Allow to soak for 4 hours. Remove the duck from the soaking liquid. Bring the liquid to a boil and quickly dip the duck into the boiling water for 5 minutes and strain.

2) Smoking: Prepare the smoker (or a large old wok covered in foil) by adding the pre-soaked wood chips, camphor chips, Wuyi Shuixian tea leaves, Sze Chuan peppercorns. As soon as the smoke has started, add the duck and smoke for 10minutes on each side.

3) Marinating: Make the marinade from the Shaoxing wine, glutinous rice ferment, salt and pepper. Rub this marinade on the duck inside out.

4) Steaming: Steam the duck for about 2 hours. Checking to make sure that there is sufficient steaming liquid. The duck can then be kept for up to 3-4 days in the fridge at this stage.

5) Deep Frying: To serve, deep dry the duck till the skin is brown and crispy. Brush some sesame oil on the skin and serve hot with a Hoisin dipping sauce.

 

I would prepare the duck up till the deep frying stage. At this stage, you can store the duck in the fridge or 3-4 days. The important thing is to deep fry the duck just before serving. That way, you will get the crispy skin that makes this dish so wonderful!

Warmly, Pei ~~ Serene and fragrant TEA entices with promise of rapture in STORE ~~ tea open house . medTEAtation . @teanamu . FB page