Bak Kut Teh - Chinese Herb Pork Ribs Tea Soup
(Crockpot version-Vegetarian & Halal version included)

Photo of completed Bak Kut Teh - Chinese Herb Pork Ribs Tea Soup

These delicious, flavorful, and aromatic “Chinese Herb Pork Ribs Tea Soup”, or the dish better known as "Bak Kut Teh", are slow cooked in a crockpot, and it's a popular dish among the Chinese community in Southeast Asia. They are great with steamed rice and blanched bok choy or Chinese fried crullers on the side, but optional. This soup is bursting with the flavor and fragrant from the cloves, star anise, cinnamon, angelica root, and many more. All the spices and herbs you need to make this delicious and healthy soup are inside the pre-packaged sachet of the soup. This pre-packaged sachet is available at most Asian supermarkets or online to make cooking preparation more convenient.

Ingredients:

Other optional ingredients to serve or on side:

  • Chinese Fried Crullers/You Tiao
  • Blanched Bok Choy (Or your choice of greens)
  • Chopped Fresh red chili or bird eye chili infused in light soy sauce

For Vegetarian Version/Suggestions for Vegetarian Ingredients (adjust as necessary):

  • Fried Beancurd Puff/Fried Tofu
  • Shiitake Mushrooms
  • Enoki Mushrooms
  • Fried Gluten Balls
  • Vegetables (Your choice)

For Halal Version:

  • Chicken pieces (Your choice of drumstick or breast)

You'll Need :

  • Crockpot/Slow Cooker

Instructions:

  1. Boil a pot of water on the stove to blanch pork ribs.
  2. Soak shiitake mushrooms in hot water for 15-20 minutes. Rinse and discard the stems of the mushrooms. Set aside.
  3. Soak dried goji berries for 5-8 minutes in room temperature water. Strain and set aside.
  4. Clean the pork ribs and cut them into individual pieces.
  5. If you’re making a halal version, cut bone-in chicken breast into several pieces or bite-sized pieces.
  6. When the water is ready, add the pork ribs or chicken pieces (for halal version) .
  7. Blanch the pork ribs or chicken pieces for a minute or two.
  8. Remove the pork ribs or chicken pieces and rinse them in room temperature water to remove any impurities. Set aside.
  9. In a crockpot or slow cooker pot, add blanched pork ribs (or chicken pieces for the halal version), shiitake mushrooms, fried beancurd puff/fried tofu, fresh garlic bulbs, oyster sauce/vegetarian oyster sauce, light soy sauce, thick sweet dark soy sauce, sugar crystals and a whole package of A1 bak kut teh spices.
  10. Gently stir and put the lid back.
  11. Slow cook for 4 - 4.5 hours on HI or on LOW for roughly 5 - 6 hours. Slow cooking gives you flavorful, tender meat and an aromatic soup at the end. We tested both the stovetop and crockpot versions. So far, the crockpot or slow cooker method is one of our favourite methods. It does have a difference in taste at the end.
  12. 5 minutes before the cooking time is up, add in soaked goji berries that we set aside earlier.
  13. Add salt to taste. Add more sugar if necessary at this point. Stir and continue to cook until the time is up.
  14. Transfer to a serving bowl and serve warm with steamed rice or enjoy it on its own with the optional side of blanched bok choy and Chinese fried crullers. We used frozen Chinese fried crullers and warmed them up upon serving.
  15. Optional - You can make some chopped fresh red chili or bird eye chili infused in light soy sauce for dipping if you like, but we didn’t serve this today.
  16. For the vegetarian version - Except for the enoki mushrooms, fried gluten balls and vegetable of your choice, add fried bean curd puff/fried tofu and shiitake mushrooms at step #9 above. You are going to add these at the very end of 10-12 minutes or so of the cooking process time to avoid over-cooking these ingredients.
  17. For the vegetarian version - The slow cooker setting is 3 hours on high or 4 hours on low. This guideline is just a reference. Please use your judgment and adjust the cooking time accordingly when making a vegetarian version.
  18. Stove - If you prefer a quick and easy version over a crockpot version, you can cook them over the stove until everything is cooked through to your desired taste and texture. The process is pretty much the same as cooking pork soup over the stove.
  19. Instant Pot/Pressure Cooker - You can also cook them in an instant pot or pressure cooker for a quick and easy method as well. For this method, put in all the ingredients all at once. Adjust the time accordingly and check your instant pot manual booklet for the correct setting.
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Tips & Notes:

  1. You can use a mix of ribs with some meat or fat if you prefer.
  2. For the vegetarian version - You can make this a vegetarian version by omitting the meat and replacing it with vegetarian ingredients of your choice or the suggested vegetarian ingredients above. Please note that, when making a vegetarian version, some of the ingredients only need a short time to cook, and the crockpot setting may be slightly different. Please adjust the time accordingly and use the above setting for reference only.
  3. For the halal version - You can use this recipe to make a halal version. Replace pork ribs with your choice of chicken pieces, such as drumsticks or bone-in chicken breast.
  4. Instant Pot/Pressure Cooker - You can use this recipe and make this in an instant pot or pressure cooker. Just add all the ingredients into the pot all at once. But please refer to your instant pot or pressure cooker manual booklet for the time and setting recommendations for soup recipes.
  5. All crockpots, slow cookers, instant pots and pressure cookers work differently. Since we made this in a crockpot or slow cooker, we can’t advise or provide more information in detail (such as cooking duration) for instant pot or pressure cooker. Thank you for understanding.
  6. Stove - You can cook this over the stove as well. Cook until everything is cooked through to your desired taste and texture. The process is pretty much the same as cooking pork soup over the stove.
  7. If you want our opinion, we tested both the stovetop and crockpot versions. So far, the crockpot or slow cooker method is one of our favourite methods. It does have a difference in taste at the end. But of course, we all have our own taste buds and do things differently when it comes to cooking. Of course, please select any method of your choice or which one is more convenient for you.
  8. Adjust the water in the soup accordingly (Don't add too much water, otherwise you will dilute the flavour of the soup at the end)
  9. Prepacked Bak Kut Teh spices can be purchased online here or at most major local Asian grocery stores or supermarkets.You can use any brand of your choice.
  10. Adjust sugar and salt accordingly.
  11. You can use rock sugar, crystal sugar or granulated white sugar.
  12. We used frozen Chinese fried crullers and warmed them up upon serving. You can get these frozen crullers at your local Asian grocery store in the frozen food aisle, fresh and ready-made at Asian bakery stores, or make your own if you like. However, this is optional if you dislike it.
  13. Both fried gluten balls and fried beancurd puffs (fried tofu puffs) can be found at most Asian grocery stores. Regular firm tofu can be used as well if you like.
  14. You can make some chopped fresh red chili or bird eye chili infused in light soy sauce for dipping if you like, but we didn’t serve this today.
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