Bah Ku Teh (Pork Ribs Soup)

I got this pack of Bah Ku Teh (BKT) from Pei-lin a few weeks ago. She brought this as gift for the bloggers’ gathering. Though I did not attend, she kindly ‘reserved’ this to me. So sweet of her, thank you very much!!

I heard from her that this was supposed to be one of the more traditional mix of BKT spices, I didn’t try many before, just a few, I think this has a unique taste. When you look at the packaging, you know it is indeed traditional. So traditional that the red colour is all over the package, with Chinese calligraphy in black ink, said 老手秘方肉骨茶料 means very old and grand meat bone tea. So I think the spice mix must have withstood the test of time.

A little background about Bah Ku Teh, which literally means “meat bone tea”, is pork ribs simmered in a broth of herbs and spices consist of star anise, cinnamon, cloves, dang gui, wolfberries, fennel seeds and garlic. For this sachet, it also consists of additional herbs such as glycyrrhiza (甘草), cumin seeds, P. odoratum （玉竹). Taste wise, I think it is definitely sweeter and more flavourful due to the additional spices and herbs. You don’t need to season with lots of soya sauce as a result.

So next time, when I go back to KL, I must go and get my sister to try this. She might think that she have found a gold mine. J