环球之旅:一同享用东南亚美味肉骨茶

肉骨茶是东南亚的美食之一。当初下南洋创业的华人面对繁重的劳动，以中药炖猪骨来维持健康，一不小心造就了如今肉骨茶的美誉。各地肉骨茶的做法虽不尽相同，却都极尽美味。很多当地人已然习惯了每天早上吃一碗肉骨茶，来此旅游的人也都慕名而来。

  Most overseas Chinese, especially those living in South East Asia, have tried bak kut teh.

Pork rib tea is also called bak kut teh locally, which literally means “meat bone tea”, pronounced in the dialect of Fujian province in China. Pork rib contains both meat and bones, thus offering both nutrition and calcium for human body, especially after it is simmered for a long time with Chinese herbs and spices. It is usually served with rice or with noodles.

There are different versions of bak kut teh. In Singapore, there are three types of bak kut teh. The most common variant is the Teochew style, which is light in color but uses more pepper in the soup. The Hoklo (Hokkien), who prefer saltier food, use more soy sauce, which results in a darker soup. The Cantonese, with soup-drinking culture, add medicinal herbs to create a stronger flavoured soup.

Bak Kut Teh has its origin in port Klang area of the present day Malaysia, during British colonial administration. In those early pioneering days, much of port activities relied on Chinese migrant coolies to do the heavy manual work. They needed something nourishing to maintain their good health while toiling in the hot and humid climate. Someone with knowledge of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) came out with a secret recipe of using herbs and spices to cook with pork. After cooking, the soup always takes on the color of tea.

The other explanation is that tea is always served after eating it. Among Chinese people, there is this concept of drinking warm tea after a meal, particularly if the meal is oily. The purpose of doing this is to flush out the oil in the digestive tract.

The ingredients of the pork rib tea are pork spare ribs, white peppercorns, garlic, mushrooms, coriander leaves, dried liquorice root, red chili, dark soya and light soya.