Bak Kut Teh (Q♥)

Bak-kut-teh (肉骨茶) is a meat dish cooked in broth popularly served in Malaysia and Singapore, where there is a predominant Hoklo and Teochew community, and also in neighbouring areas like the Sumatra, Indonesia and Southern Thailand.

The name literally translates as "meat bone tea", and at its simplest, consists of meaty pork ribs simmered in a complex broth of herbs and spices (including star anise, cinnamon, cloves, dang gui, fennel seeds and garlic) for hours. Despite its name, there is in fact no tea in the dish itself; the name refers to a strong oolong Chinese tea which is usually served alongside the soup in the belief that it dilutes or dissolves the copious amount of fat consumed in this pork-laden dish.

However, additional ingredients may include offal, varieties of mushroom, choy sum, and pieces of dried tofu or fried tofu puffs. Additional Chinese herbs may include yu zhu (玉竹, rhizome of Solomon's Seal) and ju zhi (buckthorn fruit), which give the soup a sweeter, slightly stronger flavor. Light and dark soy sauce are also added to the soup during cooking, with varying amounts depending on the variant - the Teochews version is lighter than the Hokkiens'. The dish can be garnished with chopped coriander or green onions and a sprinkling of fried shallots.

Bak kut teh is usually eaten with rice or noodles (sometimes as a noodle soup), and often served with youtiao / cha kueh [yau char kwai] (strips of fried dough) for dipping into the soup. Soy sauce (usually light soy sauce, but dark soy sauce is also offered sometimes) is preferred as a condiment, with which chopped chilli padi and minced garlic is taken together. Bak kut teh is typically eaten for breakfast, but may also be served as lunch. The Hokkien and Teochew are traditionally tea-drinking cultures and this aspect runs deep in their cuisines.

肉骨茶

肉骨茶，福建语：Bak-Kut-Teh ，是一种骨肉兼饮茶的饮食方式，风味享誉海内外。肉骨茶分为新加坡的海南派及马来西亚的福建派，海南肉骨茶较重胡椒味，福建肉骨茶较重药材味。

吃肉骨茶，不是上高档酒楼，而是在当街的大排挡。在吉隆坡的一些街衢里巷，这种肉骨茶的排档总是很火爆，磨得光光的石桌石凳很少有空出的时候。肉骨茶排档晚上是不开的，所以吃“茶”的时候，阳光便会在篷靠的两侧编织着束束光网。就在这暖洋洋的氛围中，品味马来西亚的名吃，怎是一个“惬意”了得！吃得虽然简单，却程序整饬。在马来西亚，无论是高档酒店、时髦熟菜店，还是设计特别的路边小吃，用餐形式都非常考究。比如，吃串烧，摆桌时会附加上一碟花生辣椒酱、方块饭团、青瓜和洋葱……吃肉骨茶亦然。先上一壶茶，你可以用茶水把杯子和餐具里里外外冲一遍，将套装的调料、蒜米、树椒油和辣椒丝倒入餐碟中，以备蘸排骨或佐汤调味之用。然后，在品茶间，一砂锅热气腾腾冒着芬芳药香的肉骨茶便端上来了。其汤极其香浓，有种独特的味道，肉骨也很细嫩，再加些蘑菇或冬菇，就是地道的吉隆坡式肉骨茶了。当然，还可以配上一碗切成寸段的油条，泡在汤里，这种方式吃油条，别有一番滋味。偶尔，摊主会向食客透露汤的秘诀，在于香料的精选和材料的新鲜。而他们每天凌晨5点，便会到摊口来用慢火熬汤，往往要用上三个小时。

提起马来西亚菜，首先就会想到肉骨茶（Bak Kut Teh）。说“肉骨茶”，可能很多人会误认为是一种茶品名称，其实，此“茶”非彼“茶”，虽然肉骨茶名为「茶」，不过，却是一道猪肉药材汤，汤料却完全没有茶叶的成份，反而是以猪肉和猪骨，混合中药及香料，如当归、枸杞、玉竹、党参、桂皮、牛七、熟地、西洋参、甘草、川芎、八角、茴香、桂香、丁香、大蒜及胡椒，熬煮多个小时的浓汤。“肉骨”是采用猪的肋排(俗称排骨)；而“茶”则是一道排骨药材汤。 20世纪初，由马来西亚福建籍华侨首创。其后，盛行于东南亚一带。

肉骨茶Bak-Kut-Teh (闽南语) 是一种流行於东南亚的马来西亚和新加坡一带的食品，是以肉与骨配合中药煲成的汤，并没有茶叶或茶的成份，但是由於食用时多会泡茶解汤肉的肥腻，所以一般都习称肉骨茶。其中，以马来西亚的雪兰莪巴生肉骨茶最为著名。

肉骨茶通常伴白饭或以油条蘸汤来吃。以酱油、碎红椒和蒜蓉一起调味。 各类中国清茶（马来西亚的巴生河流域地区以鐡观音最为流行）通常会随汤奉上，相信可以清走猪肉的油腻。在马来西亚，肉骨茶是一道典型的早点菜式。