A Dose of Medicine

Pork hocks and ribs receive a dose of medicine in this herbal pork rillette creation which dervies its aroma from "Bak-Kut-Teh" herbs and spices.



Herbal pork rillette is offered to the modern diner as the healthier equivalent of the very rich, savoury bouquet garni flavoured French pork and rabbit rillette. Cooked just like traditional rillette which is stewed at low temperature in fat with minimal water, this herbal pork rillette relies on the resulting aspic jelly for setting more than the fat itself.

The suggestion for main course is to serve the herbal pork rillette with rice, shiitake mushroom, wolfberries and wilted greens.



For an entrée use the rillette as a spread with tapioca crackling and poached red dates.



According to "Experience Asia Through the Eyes of a Traveler", accessed 15/06/05, "Bak-Kut-Teh" originated in China:

"While first commercialized in Klang which is in Malaysia, Bak Kut Teh was apparently invented by a gentleman from Quanzhou of the Fujian province in China. The recipe was passed to a friend who later emigrated to Malaysia and became the first person to commercialise the dish. That's why Klang is generally known as the home of Bak Kut Teh."

"Bak-Kut-Teh" herbs and spices are used in pork bone soup or stew, often eaten with rice, deep fried dough crullers or bean curd with a chilli and soy sauce dip. Typical accompaniments include preserved vegetables, pickles and Chinese tea to aid digestion of the fat.

For convenience "Bak-Kut-Teh" herbs and spices come in a variety of combinations in disposable paper or muslim infusion bags.



The main flavours come from star anise, cinnamon, peppercorn, garlic, and angelica sinesis, better known as dong quai. Dong quai holds claims to many health benefits including improving vitality. Dong quai is very pungent and for most it imparts a medicinal taste not acceptable in the home meal. Dong quai can be omitted in favour of a more general recipe of cinnamon, star anise, peppercorn, garlic, and soya bean, typical of Chinese cookery.

One of the other commonly used ingredients is the wolfberry or Fructus Lycii, a non-aromatic red berry which gives a slight sweetness, just like carrots. Wolfberries contains high vitamin A and C. These berries adds a colourful finish to the herbal pork rillete.

The feedback received so far suggests that herbal pork rillette tastes too medicinal to succeed as a menu item for an Australian style cuisine. Only time will tell.