Bak Kut Teh: A Singaporean Or Malaysian Creation? | On The Red Dot: Food Fight - Part 2/4 

Much ado about nothing. If the hokkien version is unpopular in Singapore, then don't need to claim anything. Malaysia has their own version, Singapore has their own.

The Singaporean bak kut teh tastes more like the pig stomach soup in Malaysia. As a Malaysian, I'm not a fan of claiming dishes because the two countries have a shared culinary history. I'm tired of these arguments, but it's fun to understand the history behind the dishes. I was today year old when I found out that the SG bak kut teh is Teochew style.

back then, both Singapore and Malysia are all MALAYA. The Chinese go freely between Pennisular Malaysia and Singapore. My grand father traveled for 7 days by boat from China to Singapore and redistributed to ther places and this was a common way Chinese came to Malaya. So u can imagine, there were no boundaries.The Chinese coolies were moving constantly and likely they shared the dish together. However, from what what was presented here is that it seems BKT origine should be the dark herbal soup with dark soy source where evidences traced back to 20s or Singapore and 30s in Klang while the Singapore teow chew pepper version of BKT started in the 50s. As such, it seems that teow chew BKT is already "muted" to be another type of food away from BKT even though it stil carry the name of BKT wghile the hokkien version is dead in singapore even though BKY may have started earlier in Sinapore........ Personallly, i would prefer the hokkien BKT which is so tastefully favored by herbs and soy souce while the pepper version is too strongly favored by pepper that it become pepper soup, remnding me pork stomach soup my mom used to cook at home.

I am muslim so I dont eat BKT.. I am here to read the comments 😂😂

19:02 ur so called evidence of early receipt clearly states kuala lumpur on it 🤣🤣🤣🤣

tried both, love both. they have their own tastes

Great content, can you do bonus part to confirm if Hainan Chicken Rice is actually from China (Hainan), or is it original creation from Singapore?

To know who created it is only a sentiment. Eating it is the experience. Food is food. It can come from anywhere and any person. We eat to enjoy.

Food is a shared culture. If people want to argue where it comes from, can we said it comes from China since Chinese ppl emigrate from China? Is there a need to dispute to this extent? Just be thankful that we can have so many variety of food available here.

Finding the origin takes more than interviewing few people. Creating documentary like this is just like writing essay, you have the freedom to strengthen the side of the argument you want to present. This video clip does nothing to clear the air so why bother making it at all. Moral of story: if you don't understand, don't claim so. There are overlaps of identical or similar food between Singapore and Malaysia (more broadly in Southeast Asia) and have either side claiming on the origin without proper primary evidence and research is unwise.

There's a similar dish in Mainland China and Taiwan called "Herbs stew Pork Ribs" (藥燉排骨). So, very likely Bak Kut Teh was actually evolved from that dish once the Chinese immigrants arrive in Malaysia and Singapore.

I don’t know why it’s even important to claim which food belongs to which nation . I mean each country surely has their own improvise version . Let’s just enjoy the culinary art rather than creating sentiment . Food should bring people together not the other way around .

Do you have Nasi Goreng Pattaya in Singapore? It seems like this popular dish in Malaysia doesn't exist in Pattaya, Thailand.

We have our Indonesian Chinese version of Bak Kut Teh as well. My mom’s version is different from both Hokkien and Teochew versions though. Hers is without adding peppers and herbs. She usually adds pickled cabbages when cooking the soup. While in Singapore, they’re one of the BKT side dishes.

The question of whether Malaysia or Singapore invented laksa, nasi lemak, bak kut teh etc is fairly simple. There would be no such question if Singapore didn’t get kicked out by Malaysia due to political reasons back then. Historically Malaysia and Singapore both shared a same bond together.

Singaporean and Malaysian Bak Kut Teh are not the same. Singaporean bak kut teh and a pork intestine soup in Thailand taste exactly the same, both came from Teochew. But Malaysian Bak kut teh, taste completely different.

Klang BKT is the superior one in my books. Plain pepper soup as in SG BKT is just too simple when compared to the complex rich taste of Klang BKT.

As an older Malaysian, many dishes we have here in Malaysia were unheard of in Singapore many years ago……so in my opinion, Singapore is better in marketing, these dishes, that’s all!

This is so enlightening! Looks super tasty!

Half bake stories ..... from what I gather this dish origin was called a poor man's dish. Cause its basically dumping what's left all into a pot and stew the thing for consumption. This cooking method date as far back as tree kingdom's time. Kuli all learn from the same source. The only difference is when they settle down in Malaysia and Singapore their recipe is base off what they can get from the dock. Malaysia had much more of a herbal taste and more fat because the kuli gather all the scrap from the bottom of those herbal box as well as what's usually left from scraps of lard for cheap, while singapore scrape from british spice mainly consist of paper corn and left over ribs. As for the name bak kut teh , well ..... sorry to bust bubbles the bak kut is referring to a common calling of a description , while teh was the shipping company logo that had them marked on all kuli back then as property of ...... it simply represent kuli's food. If you really wanna go down the rabbit hole should go to british archive, they should have their old trading record and most likely you'll be able to find out the actual name of the shipping company responsible for unloading the kulis.

I also prefer the herbal version most. It reminds me of my dad cos he love to cook that on weekends.

It's important to note that Singapore and Malaysia share mutual culture, and Singapore was once part of Malaysia before gaining independence. Despite this, some may still wonder why Singaporeans sometimes adopt and claim Malaysian culture as their own heritage. It's unclear what message the CNA TV show is trying to convey, and I'm having trouble understanding it.

my dad's recipe is similar with Singaporean, just flat soup using garlic & he was never went to Singapore all his life. Also he was born & grew up in East Nusa Tenggara, that is the west side of Timor island. In Surabaya, East Java, the recipe also similar with Singaporean & they called it, bak kut. So, I think it's the Chinese recipe. But, I must say I prefer the Hokkien one, the Malaysian. I like the herbs.

The question is: Who name pepper pork rib soup as Bakuteh? Thais can't differentiate Teo chew kueh chap and singapore "bakuteh" other than extra garlic.

Well, now I really feel like I should go get a bowl of Bak Kut Teh in both styles to truly settle the debate of whether I like one over the other. And I guess I'm heading down to Maxwell for the true taste of Hokkien Bak Kut Teh...

Just want to ask ,nasi kelabu from kelantan first for from Thailand? How come I also found it at hatyai ? Is it very important?

The Singapore bkt is actually what Malaysia call pepper pig stomach soup. Who lah the first person that so 'clever' to name it as bkt in Singapore 🤦🏻

No need to argue, important is which restaurant is delicious

I love Bak Kut Teh, when I eat Bak Kut Teh I remember the similar food we have in the Philippines which is Nilaga...

I am not interested in the fight of where bak kut teh originated. But why are some receipts to some hawkers in the 20's are the proofs of where bak kut teh started? That just proofs that they sell tea in the early 20's, nothing more.

Anyone here recall the dark herbal and yet potently peppery BKT at the Bukit Timah FC in Singapore? The stall was located in the centre of the building, and operated from 1978 until about 1997. Today, Ng Ah Sio's version is the closest but imagine that with more umami! Nope it does not taste like Klang BKT, does not have the herb sweetness.

My feeling is that if we were once part of a same country - Malaya- why wont have the same/ similar foods across each side of the causeway. It is not that confusing to be honest

The history here all Sala lah! The very very ancient origins of this dish comes from the Cantonese way back 18, 1900 century. That is called brewing Chinese herb pork rib soup 藥村排骨湯 by the Cantonese. As u know Cantonese is good at & traditionally since 2200 years ago which is 200BC history relics that this tribe 粵already consuming soup already. The King was called kingdom of Nam Yue 南粵國. My time in the 1960s, the majority Hokkien & Teochew don’t drink soup & don’t know what is work-hey in culinary. But frankly speaking, the originator root is from the Cantonese from Malaysia Klang brewing herbs with pork rib whereby the Hokkien learned it & add 1 more ingredient i.e. pepper seeds. So it becomes the the Master Cantonese plus the Hokkien peppery spice version with herbs. In Spore the Hokkien also come out 1 version that is lesser herb or no herb with dark soy sauce(dark soy sauce is Hokkien specialty they cook every dish with this). The Teochew style Bak Kut teh then in the 1950 or 60s comes out their own version peppery Bak but teh. So the originator is a Cantonese Chinese doctor that prescribe the formula from ancient herb book. That is why KL version of Bak Kut teh have very heavy herbs Bak Kut teh which is the Cantonese 藥材排骨湯 plus the pepper seed added on by the Hokkien. That is why the Cantonese plays a very big role in inventing this soup. And you will notice that there is a lot of Hokkien people in KL & Klang ( Hokkien population is more than Cantonese) speak very good Cantonese. So that is the history not many people know. However, the boss Ah Hua Bak Kut Teh in Shelton way did mentioned the history of originator of this recipe soup.

The dish is believed to have originated from the Hokkien-speaking communities in Malaysia and Singapore, who were predominantly Chinese immigrants. The name "bak kut teh" literally translates to "meat bone tea" in Hokkien dialect. According to legend, the dish was first created by Chinese laborers who worked in the ports of Malaysia and Singapore in the 19th century. These laborers would collect leftover pork bones and cook them with various herbs and spices to create a hearty soup that would sustain them through long working hours. Over time, the recipe for bak kut teh evolved, with different regions and cultures adding their own unique twists and ingredients. Today, there are many variations of bak kut teh, each with their own distinct flavors and styles.

It started simple, then it spread, then it was added with new ingredients, then it went complicated.

Problem is the name of this Bak Kut Teh dish is a very broad term. What are the exact types of herbs and ingredients that were added and brewed over time.

Hi Ming Tan, looking forward to episode on the most fought over dish between Malaysia and Singapore(including Thai,HK, versions as well); chicken rice. Comparing our version to the original one in Hainan. Also the Hokkien Mee episode (KL vs Penang vs Singapore)

Good to know relatable food history no matter the true origin. Before it became bak kut teh, it was probably a beef/pork rib soup that originated from China (probably Fujian with some influence from Cantonese/Guangdong for the herbal parts?). The people in Malaya/Singapore made it their own version and split it into two kinds which is the Hokkien (herbal based) and Teo Chew (pepper based) versions, and served it with tea. The dish evolved into what it is today and we should be proud to share this dish as it is uncommon to find it anywhere else in the world. True purpose of food is to nurish and bring us together, not fight over who is superior or who started what. Let's just agree to disagree and enjoy BKT like anybody else.

I like how this documentary looks like a criminal investigation 😂

As an Indonesian we feel you, bro :))) Same country try to steal our "Rendang" dishes. Actually these not gonna be a problem if they called the food with the origin of it. Like Rendang Padang, Cendol Java, etc. But their strategy is cover it and blurr it, so next time they can claim it as theirs. Like Bak Kut Teh right now, it officialy become one of their heritage foods. sungguh terwelu:))))

Di Indonesia juga ada bakut, sop babi pakai sayur asin. Kalau pakai ayam namanya yamkut (versi halalnya). Sop ini dikenal dg label Chinese food, ya artinya makanan dari China 😁

bullocks la. The hokkiens were already in Malaya during the 1500s. You just need to look at the origins of the base materials which is garlic bulbs in the soup. It's from another less well known stew, the "Hong Bak". With some spices not readily available more local ingredients were introduced to the stew which eventually evolved into the BKT. What's even more preposterous is that geezer who just because he has some receipts implied that they supplied tea to the BKT stalls. Dude, bkt doesn't even have tea leaves in it. This chef Ming is as faux as I am. Just because I can cook, I don't call myself a chef

He must give all documents to the museum for safe keeping. To claim our heritage

Good show. Suggest to do one for Hainese chicken rice whether origin from Mainland or SEA? 老婆餅 origin from whose wife? 煲仔飯 whether they cook little boy inside the pot?

Tried this one when i visited SG, and also their chicken rice. These two food always remind me how tasty SG is❤

Bak Kut Teh itself is a Hokkien word, Since Singapore claimed their version was a Teochew. Now they only has 1 stall selling Hokkien Bak Kut Teh, as compared to Klang and all over Malaysia. So they basically admitted they lost the originality of Bak Kut Teh. Just wonder the so call first inventor of Singapore Bak Kut Teh was Hokkien or other Chinese dialects? If he was the first, why other changed the recipe but he remained? This also let me think of possibly Cili Crap also a modification of Malaysia Cili Crap from Negeri Sembilan.

i like how in 2:35 they blur the license plate but then proceed to show them in the next frame

i used to prefer black bkt. but thats until i realised that its because its difficult to find black bkt in sg, not because I really preferred it a lot over white bkt.

The white pepper could be sourced from Sarawak 😝

Thank you Ming. Now I learnt today Singapore had bak kut teh from 1920s while Malaysia had Bak Kut Teh from 1930s.

In Tanjungpinang, you can find the herbal type of bak kut teh and that is the common one. I only know the peppery type when I came to Singapore.

Just had SG BKT for lunch just now. My family’s favorite.

Think about it, why would you call a soup "teh"? As my father and uncle tells it, Hokkien people in the old days have nicknames and Lee Boon Teh was called "Ah Teh" and his friends and customers called him "Bak Kut Teh" after he started the business and became well known as the destination. As my elders tell it, Singapore pork soup sellers figured out the name was good marketing, and hence started selling their version calling it Bak Kut Teh..

I'm sorry man... When it comes to sg Bak Kut Teh, I was willing to give it a go and try it once at a food court. It's truly pork pepper soup.... I appreciate Singapore have a good drinking culture of eating it as a hangover food. But when it comes to taste and just enjoyment, I'm sorry I did not enjoy the Singaporean one, it lacks the meaty brothiness that I'm used to with the Malaysian one. The pepper just over powered the broth, this is something you can pull off with pork offals.. but I imagine if the Japanese tonkotsu ramen boys would make stock to let pepper overpower their base pork broth- this is how I feel about SG BKT. Malaysia you do have a spectrum of the teochew and the hokkien style. The teochew style we had do not have so much pepper and have a nicer pork broth flavour. Pepper is seasoning, not a base for soup.your base flavour should come from the protein.

Bak kut teh is historically a staple of Hakka tin miners who carried it with them to sustain them during their day-long work. I don't know, did S'pore have tin mines before?

i have the first moment of bak kut teh with the dark version from my aunt who worked in Malaysia. Then I know the clear one when i visited Song Fa in SG. it looks like kway chup with pepper soup.

Oh .. just get over it. Singapore and West Malaysian Chinese culture are practically the same with the same legacy and shared history. Nobody can lay claim to something that is a shared heritage. Only politics and uneventful boring pundits require us to lay claim and create some pathetic Kardashian fake drama. The grandfather of the Klang guy was probably just making an ironically good joke and everyone believed him. Many other Klang bakuteh shops also claim they are the first too. Meanwhile, as for Singapore, the so called tea delivery note could probably meant tea deliveries to gambling and mahjong joints, opium dens and brothels. Those joints consumed a lot of tea historically. It's sad when a food pundit becomes an investigative journalist.

My 2 cents, Singapore only left Malaysia in 1950. So everything that happened before then should technically be Malaysian.

The best Nasi Lemak is the one you remember when u ate as a kid growing up. Despite its fancy creation or refined or more and more ingredients offered today, my Nasi lemak will always be a banana leaves wrapped coconut rice, 1 hard oil egg, 1 small fish, anchovies with peanuts and sweet samba chilies that cost $1.50 😂😂😂😂😂

while in Medan, Pekanbaru, Palembang, Jakarta and Pontianak also have their own version of Bak Kut Teh brought by The Peranakans Centuries ago

Bak Kut Teh from Klang a town in Malaysia

Malaysian and Singaporean bak kut teh are so different. Just each to their own lah, no need to argue where it belongs.

It's better to acknowledge that the price is always increasing and no longer a coolie dish, funnily there is no instant noodles version or as a sauce condiments

Indonesian and Singaporean has one thing in common. Which is claiming things. Indonesian claim everything in malay archipelago was belongs to them and Singapore claim everything Chinese is belongs to them.

the bkt stall owner said there was a 传说，which means ‘legend’ that says this dish sounds like his grandfather's name. He is also not very sure who created the dish. 😂

Good research and presentation! Ming and gang.

My colleague likes the (Hokkien) Malay one, she says it’s richer and has stronger flavour just how she prefers her food. I like the clear (SG BKT) version because that’s the one I grew up with. One of my friends’ mother used to bring us a big container of BKT when we’re in university. Then, when I went to SG for the 1st time, my friend took me to eat BKT and I was surprised to find how familiar its taste was, taste home. At the end of the day, in my opinion, food is all about preference. ❤

I reckon the taste of Sabah’s Bak Kut Teh is between Klang’s and Singapore’s. Would have been nice if CNA covered Borneo’s variation too!

I agree to Mr Tony Boey findings! Being a Hokkien and growing up along Singapore River, the BKT I had during my childhood is actually the black herbal BKT. Almost everyone will order a paper wrapped chinese tea (usually 铁关音）and prepare a pot of "Gongfu" tea. They will chat over the pot of tea!

I can see that a lot of commenters did not finish watching the documentary, therefore, let me summarise it for you people. Singapore's earlierst BKT is the hokkien version, which is herbal and dark, and the earliest time IN RECORD is in the 1920s!

Great documentary . Im proud of being a 'PA SANG LANG' !

How come the olden days they don't have recipe book one meh?

In 1920 both the Strait Settlement including Penang, Malacca and Singapore, together with the states of Malaya are part of British Malaya. So technically, Bak Kuk Teh should be food originated from British Malaya. Bak Kuk Teh was created by residents of British Malaya who were all British subject.😂

Have we forgotten that when bak kut teh was created, the city called Singapore was part of Malaya, and Malaysia has yet to be created?😂

Both Malaysia and Singapore all come from South China though many dishes are very similar does it matter if one claim one dish and other. For I know Malaysian and Singaporean cross boarder for work in JB. Plus living in Australia dishes for both country are slight different by hair

What bothers me is the depth (or lack thereof) in the research done to reach this conclusion...

Damm, I ate at Teck Teh many years ago! Only uncles ate there and I was taken aback when I was sitting there. There was no fancy enoki mushrooms, yao cha kwei, etc. The service was like pre WW2. Then an old uncle sat next to me and asked if I was from out of Klang? I said yes and he explained to me that a long time ago BKT was eat what the cook served. So you just say one or two pax and they served what you get. The uncle explained those days customers were simple and not complicated. From Teck Teh that's when Seng Huat appeared (which was correct from this show) and from there BKT was modernised with many extra offerings. Klang along has 220+ BKT shops. I love my BKT (both Klang and SG) and appreciated the differences between both. When I am in Singapore, my colleagues would take me to Legendary BKT because they said it is less touristy.

Bak Kut Pepper Teh is a Singaporean invention. Bak Kut Herbal Teh is a Malaysian invention. End of argument.

After thanni always extra special 😍🍻

Another winning documentary in this series with Ming!

I see a lot of commenters saying stuff like "Why do we even need to claim who owns it" or stuff like "food is just food" so here are my two cents : There is nothing wrong with claiming that a certain food originated from a specific country, because if we all considered food as "just food" without any labels, then how would be even categorize them in the first place ? Like there's probably hundreds of versions of curries in the world, by stating stuff like "Japanese curry" or "Indian curry" or what not, we're just stating that whilst they might all be curry, they're different in the sense of their taste, the way they are prepared, etc. Basically, there's nothing wrong with claiming that a certain dish originated from a country because it's part of who we are and our identity. Secondly, the other thing we have to acknowledge is that if Singapore claimed that all these foods were theirs, then globally they would be known as Singaporean foods, and there would be a possibility of people claiming that we are the ones who are copying them instead, which isn't true as we both share a similar history. The thing is, Singapore is very good at marketing, and I largely blame the Malaysian Government for not doing anything to promote any of our culture. So when that happens, how do we introduce our country to other people ? If we say Nasi Lemak is Malaysian and people reply with "isn't that a Singaporean dish ?" like how do you respond to that ? The fact is both Malaysia and Singapore have a shared history, and we both have very similar foods. But despite that, I think it's important to distinct where these foods originated from because it is a part of our culture and identity, and Malaysia already isn't very well known on the global stage, whereas Singapore does not have the same problem. It's not a matter of being petty and wanting to claim everything. Besides, there's nothing wrong with saying stuff like "Singaporean Bak Out Teh" instead, but outright claiming it, I think, isn't the way to go. Also, the dish is literally called Bak Kut Teh, which is a hokkien word. By that logic I'm pretty sure the hokkien version would be the originator, whereas the Teochiew version is more off a spinoff. One gripe I have with this video is it kind of favored the Singaporean side ? There wasn't much research done on the Malaysian side at all (maybe like only a fifth of the entire video). Also to be fair, Chinese people came to Malaya way before the 1900s , and also we didn't do a very good job of documenting stuff either.

I am from Klang....the town of Klang Ba Kut Teh. This is the most stupid question.....of course it is Malaysian creation.

I learned from this ‘documentary’ a New term: coolie.

Guys... Is bak kut teh is known as pork rib soup among chinese?

LMAO, loving this comedy from CNA. I think Singapore will claim fish and chips next XD

Why Klang is famous for BKT? Coz it started with d kuli working at d ports, they needed more energy to support their laborious work. D hawkers then started adding Chinese herbs to d pork soup to give more energy. That's d purpose of dang gui n juzhi (wolf berry) to promote blood circulation. D "teh" was later added to the drinking side, not to d broth, as some comments said where's d tea element in d broth, duh...

the comments are more fun than the actual vid..

A thing can only be invented ONCE. It cannot be "invented" a second time!

I honestly think Singapore is better or a lot better than Malaysia in many areas however when it comes to food, Malaysia (especially Penang) is definitely far superior.

The Klang etymology makes more sense. The concoction is clearly a soup so it is very odd that it is called a tea "teh". Hokkienese are not known to call a soup a "tea" in any other context. My father came from Hokkien/Amoy directly and he never called a soup a "tea" in any other context. Linguistically speaking this is very odd. People usually call a spade a spade unless there's a special reason.

Can you do a version of Dona Manis and Auntie Peng at Katong Shopping Centre? They seem to have a change from my last visit in March 2024.

in Malaysia has the peper base soup.. but it not call bkt

I heard Singapore has durian season too.

Bak kut teh from Malaysia has more kick, it's much more delicious, pure.. Bak kut teh from Singapore tastes very weak like a stew/soup 🤷🏻‍♀️ which has a lot of pepper, I feel confused when eating it..Bkt Malaysia is my choice👌 I think what's good about Singapore is that it has a high value for money compared to Malaysia..that's all😁

Please lah, let Malaysia be known as inventor of everything. INCLUDING CORRUPTION INVENTION!

Bro, SG version bkt looks like hand wash water 😹😹😂😂😂

Nothing to compare about. I'm born in the 1960s. I already ate this teochew style BKT since very young. Never eat before the herbal type. So not sure how malaysian style BKT came about.

According to this vlogs, Hokkien Bak Kut Teh already exist in Singapore since 1920, so for past 100years only 2 generations ( the founder and the lady worker ), she took over the business since 1989, So she took over the business for past 40years. And the 1st owner selling the BKT for 60years. The timeline was suspiciously long. The 1st owner let say start selling this BKT 20years old, mean he retired at almost 90years old. Perhap should check his age he past away to deduce estimated how long he start the business. As for the ex-worker, she look 60 years old, so she must had took over the business when she was 20 plus. So what happened to other more senior workers? Don’t tell me the founder work alone selling BKT for 50 over years then passed away the secret recipe to this lady only, the very young worker then. Nanking Street was renamed to South Bridge Road in 1895, so another wrong info as to the time line.

Must remember hor soup with pepper all originated in the fishing village in bolehland so dun argue ah

It's a bit like arguing where Hokkien mee is from. Hokkien mee from Penang is totally different from the one in KL, as well as the one from Singapore. Just the name is the same.