bak kut teh

Bak Kut Teh (Prime Ribs)

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Bak Kut Teh (Prime Ribs)

Up till now I have been making Bak Kut Teh using pork ribs which is fine but somehow the shiok feeling of being able to tear the meat off the bones seem to be missing. So in an attempt to recreate that old familiar Sin Ming Ave Bak Kut Teh feeling, I bought prime ribs from my local butcher. I know it will be sure nice one.

You can check out my other recipe which is basically an adaptation of Makansutra’s version if you prefer something more serious and structured (that one got YouTube video of Seetoh). But if this works for you, then do it this way.

I have basically removed all the frills and in a sense demystified the entire Bak Kut Teh experience. To me, pepper is the key ingredient. You don’t even need best quality white peppercorns. Just get the cheap cheap ones at the wet market but put more than the usual quantity. Sure peppery one. Trust me.

The picture above is exactly what it is, three simple ingredients, absolutely no other magical ingredient. Just load it up with water and the magic itself is really in the slow boiling of the prime ribs. That’s one reason why I love the thermal cooker so much, it is a slow extraction of flavour. By the end of the day, the prime ribs are soft, tender, and si beh shiok. Dip it in dark soy sauce and fresh cut red chillies and make yourself a cup of hot Chinese tea. The end result is really same same.

Recipe

Ingredients

2 large Prime Ribs
4 packets of White Peppercorns (I got the cheap cheap ones from the wet market, 50 cents per packet)
10-12 cloves of Garlic
Salt to taste

Method

1. Place the ribs, garlic (unshelled) and the peppercorns in a pot. Add water to cover the ribs. Boil at high heat for at least 15 minutes. After that dump the pot into the thermal cooker and come back home in the evening to eat. Don’t forget to add some salt.

Bon Appetit!

Bak Kut Teh

Ho Sim Lang

Ho Sim Lang

Bak Kut Teh

This is my all time favourite local dish. I guess you would know by now that I have a lot of all time favourites. It is okay I supposed since we are Singaporeans. Every local delicacy it seems is an all time favourite with most of us. Anyway, I love Bak Kut Teh and I am always on a lookout for a good Bak Kut Teh stall. To me the one at Prome Road at Balestier rocks. Second in line is the one at Sin Ming Ave. The rest of the Bak Kut Teh stalls that people rave about is just so-so IMHO.

Anyway, so I decided that I would replicate the humble Bak Kut Teh for dinner. A quick search and guess what? Mr Seetoh from Makansutra has already beat me to it and has developed a simple and easy to cook Singapore  styled Bak Kut Teh. Enjoy people. If you noticed, I have already wrote a Bak Kut Teh recipe, but I really love this dish, so this time, I decided to try it again, but without the spice packet that I would usually get from NTUC. I want to see if I can make an awesome Bak Kut Teh without “cheating”.

Recipe

Ingredients

400 grams Garlic

50 grams White Peppercorns

1 kg Pork Ribs

1 kg Pork Bones

5 litres of Water

3 tsp of Sea Salt

 

Method:

1. Par boil the pork ribs, then discard water to get rid of scum. Then boil a fresh pot of water – 5 litres. Add the garlic, (slightly bruised), white peppercorns (slightly cracked and roasted over a pan). Add sea salt.

2. Boil on high heat for 15 minutes, then place the pot into the thermal cooker.

3. When you’re back from work, boil the broth again, and then have a taste test. Adjust with sea salt accordingly. Serve with steam rice.

 

Bon Appetit!

Bak Kut Teh Recipe

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Bak Kut Teh Recipe

My all time favourite (I realized I have a lot of favourites!) Bak Kut Teh – home cooked, and very easy to do actually. These days with the easy herbs spice sachets available at NTUC supermarkets, you have no reason not to try it out.

My only issue with these herbs spices is the taste at the end of the day. Sometimes some brands the taste cannot make it. By far red man brand from phoon huat is the best. The blend and taste is really tok kong. So I couldn’t get to phoon huat that day and so I settled for this other brand Seah’s something-something from ntuc.

The taste is not too bad just that I may have added too much garlic perhaps. But it’s so so easy to make. Try it.

Recipe

Ingredients

1. 500 grams of pork ribs *ask the butcher to give you the type for making bak kut teh.*
2. 1 packet of spices *Seah’s*
3. A bunch of white peppercorns.
4. A bunch of garlic 6-7 pieces.

Method
1. Boil a pot of water. Par boil the ribs for about 5 minutes and discard water to remove the scum. Add a fresh container of water. Then continue boiling the pork ribs in the new water.

2. Add the sachet of bak kut teh spices. Add white peppercorns and garlic pieces. You may leave the skins on.

3. Boil for 15 minutes at high heat. Off the fire and place pot of soup into thermal cooker to allow it to continue cooking in the vacuum pot.

4. By evening it would be perfect. Succulent, meat falling off the bone. I still prefer red man bak kut teh spices though. Much nicer.

Bon Appetit!