The taste of Singapore Bak Kut Teh - 肉骨茶 - the Pork Bone Soup of Singapore

When I say I was gonna take you guys around the world with food. I mean it literally and literally. By that, I mean physically and by instruction. Idk what I’m saying. lol

I have been to Singapore twice, but that was before my streamer life. Next time when I visit Singapore, I will make sure I bring y’all with me.

There are many MUST-TRY things in Singapore but the top 3 dishes that I wouldn’t be whole without are Bak Kut Teh (肉骨茶), Spicy Curry Crab, and Hainanese Chicken.

Let me take you through the steps of making traditional Bak Kut Teh with my own adaptations, it’s the perfect dish for North American winters. It warms you from head to toe, inside and out~

Ingredients:

• 350g pork ribs

• 400g pork back bone

• 1/4 leek

• 15g ginger

• half garlic (keep the garlic with peel)

• 1/2 tsp sugar

• 1 tbsp white peppercorns

• 1 tsp Tieguanyin greentea

• 2g angelica sinensis

• 3g codonopsis pilosula

• 3g glycyrrhiza uralensis

• 2g milkvetch root

• 2g polygonatum odoratum

• 1 star anise

• 1 Chinese cinnamon stick

• 8 dried longan pulp

• 6 dates

• 1 tsp goji berries

(above spice and medicine is what makes Bak Kut Teh so nutritious and healing, most of which you can find at local Chinese Medicine shop, if not Chinese supermarket). If it's difficult or expensive to find these ingredients, just try your best to the two highlighted above.

1. Blanch all the meats using cold water.

2. Put all the dry ingredients into a tea bag.

3. After washing all the blood foam off, put the meats, spice bag, sliced ginger, leek and garlic into ceramic soup pot and add enough water to cover all the ingredients.

4. Bring it to a boil with high heat and let it braise with low heat for 2 hours.

5. Add dried dates and dried longan and braise for another 15 minutes.

At this point, you can already add salt to taste and start drinking the soup. But I like adding more things so the soup has a wider range of flavor profile, besides, who doesn’t like to turn all soups into hotpots.

Additional hotpot ingredients:

• shiitake mushroom

• brown leech mushroom

• oyster mushroom

• cabbage

• shirataki noodles

• leek

Into hotpot:

1. Layer all the fresh ingredients and cooked ribs into a smaller soup serving pot, add enough soup to cover to ¾ of the pot.

2. Boil for 5 minute until all the vegetables and mushrooms are cooked through

3. Salt to taste and garnish with red goji berries.

Voila~

Oh you think I’m done?

One last thing, the soup and ribs are yummy but it’s not a meal unless there’s some heat.

Dipping Sauce:

• 1 minced thai chilli

• 2 tbsp light soy sauce

• 1 tsp minced garlic

Now it’s the real viola~

Pork bone soup is honestly something that no Asian person can say no to. Each and every culture has their own twist on how to make it to suit their taste and season.

I hope you enjoy the little warmth I'm bringing to you in this cold-ass winter. Until next time. <3