Bak Kut Teh 肉骨茶

Bak Kut Teh 肉骨茶 is a popular Chinese herbal soup concoction in Malaysia and Singapore. Cooking this soup has hubby's reminiscence of his dad's only-one-time cooking bat kut teh from scratch where the herbs are boiled with sugar cane juice for hours to bring out the unique flavor.


Nowadays it is much more convenient because we can find instant packets of bak kut teh from the shops or supermarkets. They come in tea bags and usually consist of the following herbs:-

Angelica Sinensis (dong quai or female ginseng)当归 ,
Polyonatum Odoratum (Solomon's Seal or yoke chok)玉竹
Cinnamonum Aromaticum (Cassia or yoke kuai)玉桂
Lycii Fructus (wolfberry or kei chi)枸杞
Piper Nigrum L (white pepper)白胡椒
Codonopsis Pilosulae (dong sum)党参
Glycyrrhizae Preparata (Liquorice Root)甘 草
Ligustici Wallichii (Chuan Xiong)川芎
Star Anise八角


The hubby recently bought two different packets of Bak Kut Teh. While reviewing the instructions which say only 1.5 liter of water for each packet mix and since I have six mouths to feed with each person having two bowls of the soup, I combined the two packets together for this meal.

Bak Kut Teh 肉骨茶


2 pkts Bak Kut Teh herbs mix
1 kg pork ribs
3 whole garlic
12 pcs dried shitake mushroom, soaked 2 hours and squeezed
1 pkt enoki mushroom
16 pcs tofu pok
1 tsp dark soy sauce
4 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp oyster sauce
3 liter water
salt to taste

1. Put all ingredients into the pressure cooker.
2. Boil over high flame till the second red indicator ring appears.
3. Switch to very low heat and simmer for 30 minutes.
4. Remove from fire.
5. Serve hot with rice.

Stir-fried Tau kan

Tau kan (Wet Bean curd Blocks) is a very versatile bean curd base. It's used mainly as a vegetarian dish and can be found at any stalls that sell tofu.

My husband loves this and never fail to purchase a packet whenever he goes to the market. This happens so often that sometimes I end up with two to three packets in the freezer!


Stir-fried Tau kan


1 piece Japanese cucumber, sliced angular
1 packet tau kan
1 tsp carrot, shredded
1 tsp ginger, shredded
2 shallots, sliced
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 tbsp oyster sauce
2 tbsp oil
salt, pepper, sugar, water

1. Heat oil in the wok and toss fry the tau kan lightly.
2. Drain and dish out.
3. Saute the ginger, shallots and garlic till fragrant.
4. Add the carrot and cucumber and stir fry with some salt, sesame oil and oyster sauce for a while with some water.
5. Cover for a half a minute.
6. Mix back the tau kan.
7. Sprinkle in some pepper and sugar for taste.
8. Serve hot with rice.

Stir Fried Mixed Vegetables with Tofu

The broccoli and cauliflower are two of my favorite vegetables from the same cruciferous family called Brassicaceae. They both consist of a compact head of florets and are nutritious,low in fat but high in dietary fiber, water and vitamin C.

I normally add some egg tofu to complete this stir fried mixed vegetables dish. The delicate egg tofu comes in a tube where I can easily cut into rounds for shallow frying until crispy.


Stir Fried Mixed Vegetables with Tofu



1 cluster of broccoli, cut into small florets
1 small cluster of cauliflower, cut into small florets
100 gm prawns
50 gm carrot, sliced
1 stick egg tofu, cut to 8 pc
1 teaspoon ginger, shredded
2 shallots, sliced
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 tsp oyster sauce
3 tbsp oil
1 tbsp cornflour
salt, pepper, sugar, water

1. Heat oil in the wok.
2. Fried the egg tofu till golden brown, drain and dish out.
3. Saute the ginger, shallots and garlic till fragrant.
4. Fry the prawns for a minute and dish out.
5. Blanch the broccoli, caulifower and carrot in small pot of boiling water for a minute.
6. Drain well and add to the wok with a sprinkle of salt.
7. Mix back the prawn with the oyster sauce, salt and sesame oil and stir fry for a minute.
8. Add back the tofu.
9. Blend the cornstarch, sugar and pepper with some water from the pot and pour in.
10. Stir fry and cook until gravy thickens and bubbly.
11. Serve hot with rice.