One of husband's favourite foods. Bak Kut Teh (BKT) literally translated as Pork Rib Tea, is more a soupy dish than a tea. Pieces of pork ribs are cooked in a broth with crushed black peppers, whole garlic cloves and various herbs and spices. The herbs and spices are sometimes packed in sachets, like big tea bags, maybe that's why this this dish is called Pork Rib Tea.
We ate at Ng Ah Sio Pork Rib Soup Eating House in Rangoon Road. They serve what I call the Singapore-style BKT, where the taste is a clear yet punchy harmony of pork, pepper and garlic. The bak kut teh I grew up eating in KL has a more distinctive herbal taste, especially of that bitter herb called tong-kwai. I am ambivalent about which style I prefer, as this is not one of my favourite foods. Today I was also not happy that the pork ribs were not the tender bone-in-the-middle ribs but the tougher backbone pieces. And prices here are higher than their competitors. But husband likes to torture himself with tough meat, so no complaints from him.
There are also side dishes for BKT, like fried doughsticks Yu Char Kway*, pork liver, and green leafy vegetables. Today we went later than usual, and the shop was out of Yu Char Kway. Husband also likes to brew some strong Chinese tea like the Tit-Kun-Yam or Iron Goddess of Mercy; the astringency balances the rich soup and also emulsifies the fat from the pork to ease digestion, or so they say.
* Yu Char Kway: I always thought it meant oil-fried-devil, as "kway" sounds like devil, but actually, the Kway refers to the name of an evil minister in ancient China who caused the death of a righteous officer. Outraged citizens created a snack of dough sticks fried in oil and named this snack in dis-honour of him and his equally hateful wife. Yu Char Kway is similar to the flakey croissant, great as a dunking vehicle for coffee, congee, soya milk, Milo, bak kut teh broth etc.
