Name: Bak Kut Teh
Yield: Serves 3–4
Cuisine: China
Ingredients: Cooking oil or liquid lard 1 Tbsp; Black peppercorns ¾ tsp; White peppercorns ¾ tsp; Cloves 2; Castor sugar 1½ Tbsp; Sliced red chillies in dark soy sauce as desired; Water 3 litres (96 fl oz / 12 cups); Sichuan peppercorns ¼ tsp; Broken cinnamon stick fragments 1 Tbsp; Coriander leaves (cilantro) as desired; Garlic 14 cloves, whole and unpeeled; Thick dark soy sauce 2 tsp; Meaty pork ribs 800 g (1¾ lb); Light soy sauce 1½ Tbsp; Salt to taste; Star anise 4 petals

Preparation info

Serves
3–4

Difficulty
Easy

Appears in

Chinese Heritage Cooking

By Christopher Tan and Amy Van

Published 2018

About

Although there are now different dialectal versions of it—and in fact, the clear Teochew rendition is the most widely available in Singapore—bak kut teh is originally a Hokkien dish. Rather than using commercially-prepared bak kut teh spice sachets, which often overdo the pepper, assemble your own spice mix for a fresher and more satisfying result.