Bak? What Bak?

One of my colleagues went to Kuching during the weekend, and he commented that Kuching folks mostly spoke Hokkien or Hakka, and even Mandarin, but he wasn't familiar with these three Chinese dialects.

Upon hearing about Hokkien, the first thing which popped into my mind was "BAK!". And I mentioned the few Hokkien words I know:

a) Tu Bak
b) Gu Bak
c) Chee Bak

My Hokkien speaking friends heard me and laughed, and said there was no "Chee Bak"! If so, then if Bak Kut Teh is made with oink oink meat, then how about Chik Kut Teh? Chicken right? Hence, CHEE BAK!!!

Also ah, the last time I asked another Hokkien friend about "Bak", I thought it literally means meat, but my friend said Bak means "pork" meat. Then why is there a need to say "Tu Bak"? Is like saying "Yuk" in cantonese which means meat, but doesn't tell what type of "Yuk" it is, unless it is "Chee Yuk", "Kai Yuk", or even "Ngao Yuk".

Aiyoo, the Hokkien dialect is complicated...

Incidentally, for those not in the know (taken from wikipedia), Bak Kut Teh is a Chinese soup popularly served in Malaysia, Singapore and also states of neighbouring countries like Batam of Indonesia and Hat Yai of Thailand. The name literally translates as "pork bone tea", and at its simplest consists of meaty pork ribs in a complex broth of herbs and spices (including star anise, cinnamon, cloves, dang gui and garlic), boiled together with pork bones for hours. However, additional ingredients may include offal, varieties of mushroom, lettuce, and pieces of dried tofu. Light and dark soy sauce are also added to the soup during cooking, with varying amounts depending on the variant.

Bak kut teh is usually eaten with rice, and often served with youtiao (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. Tea of various kinds (the Tieguanyin variety is especially popular in the Klang Valley area of Malaysia) is also usually served in the belief that it dilutes or dissolves the copious amount of fat consumed in this pork-laden dish. Bak kut teh is typically a famous morning meal.

pst... to me, BKT is over rated, but my Hokkien friends say it is simply the best (especially those who come from Klang, who have tried to convert me to REALLY liking the dish)! Personally, I reckon it is the added MSGs... :P