Bak Kut Teh

I bought a claypot about a month ago, planned to do wonders with it but the 'wonders' never materialised. Sigh...Fact is, I got discouraged after reading the usage and care tips from a recipe book that I bought. There are a few steps recommended to ensure that the claypot will survive another dish, eg. coating the exterior with a layer of oil before the 1st use, avoid using detergent while washing and so on. Haiya so ma fan! Anyways, my craving for bak kut teh couldn't wait, so I decided to forgo the claypot.

I found out that making a basic bak kut teh dish is rather easy. Just put in the sachet of seasoning mix in a pot and add in whatever that's called for on the packaging, and you're halfway there!

While waiting for the soup to boil (i added pork ribs, meat balls, enoki mushrooms, tau pok and iceberg lettuce), I prepared the yam rice. Back home in Melaka, EVERYBODY has BKT with yam rice. It's just that here in KL, it's quite rare. (I wonder how much those shops would charge in addition of yam rice, as it is BKT with white rice costs a bomb).

So here's how to make your own basic yam rice for 2:

1 1/2 cups rice (rinsed and drained)
1 cup diced yam
1 tbsp oil
1 tbsp minced garlic
1 tbsp dried shrimp (washed and minced)
1 tsp dark soy sauce
1 cube chicken stock

1. Heat oil in a wok, then add in the dried shrimp. Fry for a few minutes then add
in garlic.
2. Fry for another minute or two and add yam cubes,dark soy sauce and chicken stock.
4. Add in the rice and give it a good stir.
5. Transfer mixture into a rice cooker and add in 2 cups of water.

But be warned though, when I say basic, i mean BASIC. This recipe is good when you're having it with BKT. If you plan to have just the rice as a one dish meal, I would recommend adding in mushroom and meat.

yummy yammy!

basic BKT

a simple meal for 2

Enjoy!