Chew on a bowl of tea
By Pauline D Loh (China Daily)
Updated: 2009-12-25 08:58
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Pork ribs tea (Bak kut teh)
INGREDIENTS (serves 4):
600g pork spare ribs
4 whole bulbs of garlic
1 tbsp whole white peppercorns, trimmed
4-6 fresh shiitake mushrooms
1 bunch enoki mushrooms
1 cup (4 tbsp) light soya sauce
2 slices dried liquorice root (gan cao)
1 liter water
Coriander leaves for garnish
1 red chili, sliced
Dark soya sauce for dipping
Method:
1. Place white peppercorns in a muslin bag and fasten the opening.
2. Peel off the dried skin from each garlic bulb, but keep the bulbs whole. Trim off the dried tips. Trim the hard stems of the mushrooms.
3. Clean the pork ribs and blanche in boiling water to remove surface fat. Drain and reserve.
3. Bring water to a boil. Lower bag of peppercorns, garlic bulbs, liquorice root and pork ribs into water and bring to a boil. Turn down heat to a simmer and cook for an hour or so.
4. When the pork is tender and the garlic is very soft, add the light soya sauce and mushrooms. Simmer another 10 minutes and add salt to taste.
5. Ladle into bowls and garnish with coriander leaves. Serve with hot rice and a dip of dark soya sauce and cut red chili.
FOOD NOTES:
This soup should be very clear, and a light golden brown. To keep the soup from turning murky, you need to blanch the pork ribs to seal the juices.
This way, the marrow from the ribs will not leak while cooking and turn the soup cloudy.
It is also very important to add the light soya sauce last. If it is added too soon, the soya sauce will sour.