Claypot Bak Kut Teh is excellent for the current rainy season and best enjoyed with your loved ones! Perfect for breakfast, lunch or dinner this hotdish is a favourite of many locals. Malaysia is a unique country with multiracial citizens that contribute to our colour culture and cuisine. One thing that unites us all is our love for food!
One of the famous Chinese food that everyone knows about and love is Claypot Bak Kut Teh. For first-timers, they may be surprised by the strong herbal taste of the broth. However, once they’ve had it, they’re sure to crave for more.
This dish takes skill and experience to make as the mix of herbs has to be just right to create that authentic bak kut teh flavour.
All-Time Favourite Meal In Malaysia
Claypot Bak Kut Teh has become a popular go-to choice for breakfast among the Chinese community in Malaysia. Just like Roti Canai, Roti Bakar or Western breakfast items, Claypot Bak Kut Teh restaurants in Malaysia open as early as 6 am.
However, some places serve Claypot Bak Kut Teh only during lunch and dinner as well. Due to its versatility, Claypot Bak Kut Teh can be enjoyed any time of the day, from morning until night.
What is Claypot Bak Kut Teh?
Claypot Bak Kut Teh has similarities with a dish originating from Quanzhou, Fujian in China. The Fujian dish, niu pai is an iconic dish, much like bak kut teh is to us. Bak kut teh means pork rib stew indicating that the dish’s main ingredient is the pork rib or pork bone. This dish is made of pork bone broth braised in soy sauce, ginger, star anise, and more than 30 types of Chinese traditional herbs.
Usually, this dish is eaten with a bowl of rice and other side dishes such as youtiao (Chinese doughnut). Since its origin from China, Claypot Bak Kut Teh has come a long way in terms of the ingredients used to make this wonderful dish. Nowadays, it is often to see Enoki mushrooms and meatballs in the broth.
Claypot Bak Kut Teh’s Ingredients
As mentioned above, Claypot Bak Kut Teh is known for its herbal flavour, that makes it so fragrant and healthy. The herbs typically used in this dish are Solomon Seal’s Rhizome (Yu Zhu), star anise, cloves, fennel seeds, peppercorn, Codonopsis root (Dang Shen), black dates, Foxglove root, Chinese angelica root, Szechuan lovage, liquorice root, cinnamon sticks, wolfberries, Rehmannia, Rhizoma ligustici (Chuan Xiong), Dong Gui and many more.
These are basically the essential herbs used in creating this lovely pot of Bak Kut Teh. Those that are not sure which combination is the best can even buy prepacked sachets of the herbs to make the broth. Equally important is the pork ribs or pork bone which add depth and sweetness to the soup. Other ingredients in Claypot Bak Kut Teh are garlic, tofu skin knots, tofu puffs, Enoki mushrooms, pork belly, meatballs, iceberg lettuce, pork intestine and pork liver.
Generally, Claypot Bak Kut Teh is paired with a sauce mixture of dark soy sauce with fresh minced garlic. This mixture enhances the flavour of Claypot Bak Kut Teh further and it has been this way since centuries ago.
Where To Find Claypot Bak Kut Teh?
If you would like to know which restaurants to get this fantastic dish, check out these restaurants below:
For more of local Chinese food, check out foodpanda and get your delivery order now!