Sharing Penang Food recipe : Bak Kut Teh (Pork Ribs Soup)

1kg pork spareribs

60g fragrant solomonseal (yu zhu)

60g red dates

30g black peppercorns

2 whole star anise (ba jiao)

20g cinnamon bark (gui pi)

5g preserved mandarin orange peel (chen pi)

250g whole garlic

3.5 liter water

Seasoning:

1 tbsp dark soy sauce

2 tbsp salt

Method :

Chop pork spareribs into pieces and rinse clean. Boil for 5 minutes. Drain and set aside. Put fragrant solomenseal, red dates, black peppercorns, whole star anise, cinnamon bark, preserved mandarin orange peel and whole garlic in cloth bag. Seal tight. Boil bag of ingredients in 3.5 liter water over moderate heat for 60 minutes. Add pork spareribs and continue boiling for another 60 minutes, or till pork spareribs are tender but with the meat still attached to the bone. Remove bag of ingredients and stir in seasoning. Serve bak kut teh with fresh chili, dark soy sauce and plain rice or dough fritters.

* Omit dark sauce from the seasoning if you do not like the stock too dark.