Another one got in Penang on my Malaysia trip last year I want to get reviewed before expiry. So from looking around, this sounds to be bah kut teh flavor. What’s that? Wikipedia, if you please…
Bak-kut-teh (also spelt bah-kut-teh; Chinese: 肉骨茶; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: bah-kut-tê) is a Chinese soup popularly served in Malaysia and Singapore, where there is a predominant Hoklo and Teochew community, and also in neighbouring areas like the Sumatra, Indonesia and Southern Thailand.
The name literally translates as “meat bone tea”, and at its simplest, consists of meaty pork ribs simmered in a complex broth of herbs and spices (including star anise, cinnamon, cloves, dang gui, fennel seeds and garlic) for hours.[1] Despite its name, there is in fact no tea in the dish itself; the name refers to a strong oolong Chinese tea which is usually served alongside the soup in the belief that it dilutes or dissolves the copious amount of fat consumed in this pork-laden dish.
However, additional ingredients may include offal, varieties of mushroom, choy sum, and pieces of dried tofu or fried tofu puffs. Additional Chinese herbs may include yu zhu (玉竹, rhizome of Solomon’s Seal) and ju zhi(buckthorn fruit), which give the soup a sweeter, slightly stronger flavor. Light and dark soy sauce are also added to the soup during cooking, with varying amounts depending on the variant – the Teochews version is lighter than the Hokkiens‘. The dish can be garnished with chopped coriander or green onions and a sprinkling of fried shallots.
Bak kut teh is usually eaten with rice or noodles (sometimes as a noodle soup), and often served with youtiao / cha kueh [yau char kwai] (strips of fried dough) for dipping into the soup. Soy sauce (usually light soy sauce, but dark soy sauce is also offered sometimes) is preferred as a condiment, with which chopped chilli padi and minced garlic is taken together. Bak kut teh is typically eaten for breakfast, but may also be served as lunch. The Hokkien and Teochew are traditionally tea-drinking cultures and this aspect runs deep in their cuisines.
Get it? Got it? Good. Let’s dig into this one!
Here’s the back of the package (click image to enlarge). Looks to be meat free but check for yourself. To prepare, add seasoning to 450ml water and heat to boiling. Add noodle block and cook for 3 minutes. Stir and enjoy!
This one really felt the brunt of the baggage handlers. Unkind!
A soup base sachet.
Has a lot of herb scent – star anise is coming out in particular.
Finished (click image to enlarge). Added Salad Cosmo mung bean sprouts, barbecue pork, star anise, tau pok and spring onion. The noodles were good enough – kind of garden variety instant. The broth was on the lighter side but did indeed have a tea scent to the broth. It was pretty good although I think it could be better with 100ml less liquid. 3.5 out of 5.0 stars. EAN bar code 9556593112091.
Singapore & Penang Street Food: Cooking and Travelling in Singapore and Malaysia (from Amazon) Singapore and Penang have a lot in common both in culinary and cultural terms. For centuries they have been at a crossroads of ancient trade, and immigration, giving them a strong multicultural personality. Singapore & Penang Street Food shows the authentic taste of delicious street food in Malaysia and how the street-food scene in Singapore has become more food court nowadays. Regulated out of existence years ago, street food vendors moved into hawker centers where even the most delicate stomachs have the opportunity to partake. Strict safety and hygiene regulations make Singapore’s hawker food some of the safest street food around, keeping high standards of tastiness and authenticity. Beside five different Chinese cuisines, Singapore also offers Indian, Malaysian, Indonesian and Thai street-food dishes. In Penang you will find similar dishes but with a different touch, a different interpretation. The range of regional varieties is endless.
An A1 advertisement for this variety.
