I had this Dry Bak Kut Teh at a restaurant near my workplace not long ago and I thought it tasted very delicious except that it was a bit salty for my liking. Hence, I decided to make one for myself at home and indeed it was pretty good and I get to control the saltiness of it to my liking as well.
The only pity is that I should have used short spare ribs that has a good amount of fats rather than using the long ribs which has more lean meat. I realize the ribs which has more fats somehow has a more tender texture than the long ribs after the braising.
- 500g short spare ribs
- 10-12 pcs dried chillies (soaked till soft and de-seed)
- 3-4 stalks of spring onion (the white parts only, diced the green parts for garnishing.)
- 1 pkt herbal bak kut teh spices
- 10 pcs of whole garlics, with skin on
- 1 tbsp cooking oil
- 1 tbsp minced garlic
- 1 tbsp light soya sauce
- 1 tbsp dark soya sauce
- 1 tbsp shaoxing wine
- ¼ tsp pepper
- ½ tsp sugar
- 1.3L water
- ½ tbsp oyster sauce
- 1 tsp sweet soya sauce (kecap manis)
- ¼ tsp pepper
- 1 tbsp shaoxing wine
- 3 tbsp water
- Seasonings during Stir Frying:
Blanch the pork ribs in some boiling water until they turn white in colour.
Drain the pork ribs and rinse them briefly with tap water.
Add the pork ribs to a deep pot with the water, whole garlics, pack of herbal bak kut teh spice and add 1 tbsp each of light soya sauce, dark soya sauce and shaoxing wine, ½ tsp sugar and ¼ tsp pepper. Cook the soup till it boils before lowering the heat to low and allow it to further simmer without covering the pot, till the water is dried up. (When the water is minimal already, keep a watch on the pork ribs by stirring it to prevent burning out.)
Heat up another wok with 1 tbsp of cooking oil. Stir fried the minced garlic, white parts of the spring onion and dried chillies till aromatic.
Add in the pork ribs from Step 3 and stir to mix well. Add in all the seasonings except the water and shaoxing wine.
Add in the water and allow the pork ribs to simmer briefly before adding the shaoxing wine. Test whether the pork ribs is to your desired tenderness. If not, you can add somemore water and simmer longer. Once done, off the flame.
Garnish with diced spring onion as desired and served hot immediately.