Bah Kut Teh Recipe #1: Chicken bak kut teh with oily chicken rice
Bak kut teh or pork bone soup is a hearty herbal delight that’s very versatile and delicious. We’ve come across a routine that can make the same BKT soup last for 3 meals with three very different recipes. However, I hear you asking – Why chick kut teh?
Well, for one thing, pork is damn expensive in KL. It’s really cheap in Sarawak. However, the main reason is coz this is fast and easy to cook without compromising on taste!
I remember when I was a kid, there was this huge Nipah scare and everyone stopped consuming pork. Chik-kut-teh outlets practically sprouted like mushrooms overnight! There were even dedicated chick-kut-teh restaurants when people started saying that it tasted just as good as pork. However, they were all gone within a year and people went back to eating real pork bak kut teh when the outbreak was over. Heh!
Note that this recipe is still not halal since we found the BKT package in the non-halal section of the hypermarket.
You will need:
- Yew Chian Haw Bah Kut Teh herbal mix
- OXO cubes chicken stock
- Quintessence Garlic & Parsley infused oil
- Chicken drumsticks
- Garlic
- Salt
This was actually inspired by the photo on the BKT package. You can use any brand you like but we found that this is the best tasting one we’ve come across so far. Yew Chian Haw BKT mix can be located hanging beside the open meat refrigerated shelves in the non-halal section. The ingredients are fresh and the bak kut teh package has to be put in the fridge (crisper section) so it won’t go bad, unlike regular ones which can be stored at room temperature. It serves 4-6 people and that’s how we managed to extend this into three meals.
It’s the second time we’ve cooked this. Drumsticks are the best cut of chicken that you can use – BKT soup requires a bone based meat for flavor. The trick is in the marrow that leaches out after boiling. 🙂
First off, bring about 3 liters of water to boil and dump in the contents of the bak kut teh package. Put in two whole bulbs of garlic and add 2 heaped tablespoons of salt to the pot. The garlic tastes great when eaten like that. Unfortunately, we only had about 3/4 of a bulb left so we put in the cloves of garlic instead.
It’s important to note that you should not peel the garlic or it’ll disintegrate during the boiling process.
Let the soup boil for about an hour on high heat and turn off the stove. Add in the chicken drumsticks and continue to let it simmer for another half hour on low heat. You can put in as many chicken drumsticks as you want – we put in 5. I usually eat 3 drumsticks and my girlfriend eats two.
While all that is happening, prepare the oily chicken rice by dissolving an OXO chicken cube into some water and adding it to the rice. We use 1 chicken stock cube for every two cups of rice.
Pour about a teaspoon of oil into the rice and chicken stock mixture and turn on the rice cooker.
The garlic infused oil makes the rice taste richer and the bits of parsley lends a bit of much needed color into the entire shebang.
Scoop out the chicken drumsticks after the 1 1/2 hours of boiling is up and serve it with the oily chicken rice. You can chuck the BKT stock in the fridge for future use – it’s only going to get better each time as it absorbs the essence of each meal. 🙂
The garlic and parsley infused chicken rice goes very well with the piping hot chik kut teh. The drumsticks have absorbed the herbal notes of the BKT soup and it’s delicious! The meaty herbal soup complements the oily chicken rice and it’s great for those rare cold nights.
It’s a simple but rich treat that easy to make and delicious to boot!
damn buddy that looks good.but pork would be even better.
Thanks bro! 🙂
Heh! Yeah, pork WOULD be better but it seems so expensive over here. I think I’ll need to head to the wet markets to get cheaper pork.
Oh, and this is the first part of a three part post. The last recipe is pork bak kut teh. 🙂
The drumsticks looked very tender! I wonder how it tastes?
Hey there bro! Yeah, it is very tender, the meat drops off the bone easily. 🙂
I love the taste, it gets better every time you use the soup coz it absorbs all the flavor of the meat. I like this brand of BKT, it’s rich and hearty.
The distictive herbal taste of BKT gets absorbed into the chicken drumsticks easily (faster than pork) so it’s delicious!
i want that parsley and garlic infused oil!!!! damn the chicken looks so succulent
Hello Kim! 🙂
I can’t remember where I got it, one of the hypermarkets. It’s quite useful when you want something other than plain oil. I seem to have a lot of oil in my pantry, all sorts of olive oil…and barbecue sauce. Heh!
Yeah, the chicken is pretty good but it worked better with pork during my third cooking session with this same BKT stock. 🙂
Sorry but nothing beats pork in bak kut teh. This is based on my experience. 🙂
Yup, I agree Michelle! Real pork bak kut teh is the best but this one is pretty good too! 🙂
I remember when I was a kid, there was this huge scare about JE or Nipah and even the people of Sibu stopped eating pork. It takes a lot to do that coz Sibu is a predominantly Foochow town (in the urban area anyway). Heh!
That was when all the chick kut teh oulets cropped up as a substitute to bak kut teh. 🙂
…which reminds me, meant to add that in the post. Heh!
Would be nice with fatty porky… LOL!!! I usually use the A1 bkt herbal mix.
Indeed! It would go well with ALL cuts of pork! 😀
I’ve had some pretty good BKT in KK where they serve it in little bowls – can be anything from pork liver to pork intestines. 🙂
It’s good when you have a while pig to work with – probably would be easy to find in a wet market but over here it’s a bit harder (remember there used to be a pork butcher in Central Market, Sibu which slaughters the whole pig) and for some reason pork is a lot more expensive here too. 😡
However, I managed to use pork in my 3rd recipe. 🙂
Hmm…to be honest I haven’t cooked with A1 BKT mix myself, I’ve tasted it when others cooked it though. I went for Yew Chian Haw BKT mix coz the ingredients are FRESH.
You actually have to put the unopened package in the fridge (crisper section) when you get home and it’s sold in the hypermarkets hanging beside the tempereture controlled open meat shelves of the non-halal section instead of the condiments section. That’s why it tastes so good – there’s a short shelf life and you have to chill the contents of the BKT package. 😀
Looks really, really good! I could use a good meal right now. Studies here are tough and I really need a good food like that. Time to learn some good recipes so I can cook for myself when I move out. =P
Thanks! Yeah, it’s just made using a pre-packaged BKT sachet. Heh! It’s a good one though, it’s fresh and wet instead of the dry ones usually on the shelves.
Cooking is easy, I’m sure you can manage easily Lynthia! 🙂
is this part of the casino repercussions? haha
yea where did u get that parsley infused oil thing???? seems very useful.
Hmm…I can’t remember exactly where I got the parsley oil, I know it’s one of the hypermarkets. It’s either Carrefour or Cold Storage, those two are the main places I shop coz of the variety and free parking. 😉
I am inclined to think it’s the latter, Cold Storage is more expensive but they stock more imported goods and they have great quality stuff inside. I go to the one in Jaya One coz you can grab a bite and there’s free parking but I sometimes head to the one in bsc (Bangsar Shopping Center) too.
Else it could be from either Tesco (less likely) or one of the smaller boutique and expensive grocery stores I go to once in a while to get exotic stuff.
Sorry bro, I can’t be of much help I seriously forgot where I got it. 😡
Haha! Nope bro, it’s just how we cook our BKT since there’s only two of us so it can last a long time. 🙂
The package serves 4-6 people. 🙂
way too much water.
Yeah, it is too much water with only 5 drumsticks.
Yup, true that, bro, but we use it three times. 🙂
We can’t possibly finish the soup – it’s served 4-6 people and there’s only two of us.
Thus, we make three meals out of it…and trust me mate, when it’s gets into the second and third phase the soup gets good coz:
1. The water boils off
2. It absorbs the flavors of the meat you’ve put in beforehand.
🙂
It’s just a tad bit more than what’s stated on the package. Heh!
I like a more concentrated BKT soup too, but when it’s at the second and third stage (when most of the water if boiled off) you’ll get that, plus all the meat you’ve put into the soup previously. 🙂
simple and good, i used to make plenty of this when I was in US. Would use a bit less soup to make it thicker tho. 😀
Yeah, really easy to cook, this dish. 🙂
A bit less soup would work very well too but since we cook this for three meals in a row, a lot of the water gets evaporated (steamed off?) in the process so we use more water in the beginning. The soup is still really good. 😀
wheres can u get chick-kut teh in kuala lumpur