Monday, July 20, 2009
6:36:00 PM
My first attempt at
bak kut teh(bkt) literally translated to meat bone tea. BKT is a local delicacy found in this part of Asia, namely Malaysia and Singapore and there are many versions of it, depending on which dialect group you belong to.
A quick search online directed me to many different recipes, none is of the version that I enjoy and I was left with no choice but to head to the supermarket and try to creatively recreate my favourite version.
Now, this is a difficult task to begin with because I am not a great cook and I only know how to prepare that many dishes (count my five fingers). I knew that I was going to get a pre-mix, what I didn't know was, there are so many kinds of BKT pre-mix, I picked the one that had the least number of packets remaining. Why? It makes sense that the better it is, the more it sells right? I then proceeded to the meat section and I wasn't prepared for what greeted me. Different cuts of meat. Now, I didn't know which to pick, so, I asked the ladies next to me and they were very kind and helped me picked out a pack of meat that was suitable. Eyeing the pack of pre-mix in my basket, one of the ladies asked if it was good, I told her, I'm not sure, and being the kind lady that she was, she recommended the brand she normally uses. She explained that that particular brand does not have the herbal taste that puts some people off. Indeed, there are BKTs that taste of herbs and I dislike those, so, I heeded her advice and picked out a packet of pre-mix. She went on to teach me various things like what mixes to buy if I decide to make chicken soup or curry. i learned a lot from her and thanked her profusely. Armed with my purchase, I went back and started preparing my BKT.
My BKT is now cooking in the pot with about 20 minutes to go. It smells great, I took a taste, it was not as flavourful as I would have liked it, but it still tastes alright. I wonder what is the missing ingredient.
Labels: cooking
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