Kota Kinabalu - Food - Bah Kut Teh

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A neon sign enticing you to try Bah Kut Teh

So you think you have tried Chinese food do you?

OK, so you've eaten Sweet and Sour Pork Balls, Egg Fried Rice and Crispy Duck from your local take away, but your tastebuds will probably react quite differently when they are treated to Chinese food, made by Chinese people, for Chinese people - or Asian people anyway. Unless you have eaten Asian food IN ASIA the chances are you haven't eaten the real thing (yes, I know there are exceptions to this - but generally speaking...).

I thought I had eaten most of the "usual" foods during my 10 odd years in and around various countries in South East Asia, until that is, that I came to KK and sampled my first Bah Kut Teh! "What the heck is that?", you may ask. I did!

So please read on, and allow me to induce salivation as I introduce your palate (or is that pallet?) to the herbal, meaty wonder that is, Bah Kut Teh...

Things get bit hot and steamy at this Bak Kut Teh stall in Foh Sang, near Damai...

Strictly NON-Halal food!

Bah Kut Teh - meat only. If you are into innards, you can have liver, lung, intestine and all manner of other goodies in your bowl.

Tracy, will you just tell us what it is please?

Sorry, yes **wipes dribble off chin**.

Bah Kut Teh literally translates to Meat Bone Tea (others say its Pork Bone Tea, pork rib tea and probably many more). Doesn't really sound too appetising does it. A cup of tea with some meat bones - isn't that just stock!? Well, no! The contents of your bowl if you ask for Bah Kut Teh without experience could consist of pretty much any part of a pig, lungs, livers, intestines and all the other bits that Westerners are saved from seeing after the butcher has filleted and packaged it nicely. If you have asked for Bak Kuh Teh before, then you will probably ask for the meat only version, as in the photo above (unless you have a penchant for chewy tubes and gristle.) In this bowl you just have Pork meat. Yum, yum yum.

The "Teh" is actually more of a soup and I can find no 2 recipes the same as to what exactly goes into it. I think it's actually a bit of a trade secret and probably each chef has their own secret ingredient, but generally, the soup is made up of an infusion of various herbs and spices including, but not limited to:

Dong Quai (also know as Angelica sinensis or Female Ginseng)
Cinnamon
Star Anise
Cloves
Garlic

You can imagine the smell is just devine!
Most Chinese people I know here, eat it as a sort of a tonic or medicine. They say it is "heaty". They also say you shouldn't eat too much of it, but I think that might have more to do with the cholesterol levels than anything else!
For those of you familiar with the vegetable spread Marmite, then Bah Kut Teh is another one of those foods that you will either love or hate.

Chopped chilli padi and minced garlic in Soy Sauce are the perfect accompaniments..

A side order of Bean Sprouts, so you can tell your Mum you ate your veggies!

Usually, you'll eat plain white rice with your Bah Kut Teh, but its not unheard of to have noodles too, and perhaps a can or 3 of beer (3 cans of beer (know as ee set) will cost RM10! That's about £1.50!).

I love bean sprouts and usually have a side dish to go with my Bah Kut Teh, then I get Brownie points for eating my veg.

You can have your own individual bowl of Bah Kut Teh, or a claypot full which I reckon is meant for 3 but me and my husband can usually empty it. Its a nice, cheap, filling meal and a great one to tick of your list of local foods here in Kota Kinabalu.

This Hub is part of my Kota Kinabalu series, of which Food, has now become a sub-series! Do check out my other hubs about Kota Kinabalu, here and here.