環球之旅:一同享用東南亞美味肉骨茶
肉骨茶是東南亞的美食之一。當初下南洋創業的華人面對繁重的勞動，以中藥燉豬骨來維持健康，一不小心造就瞭如今肉骨茶的美譽。各地肉骨茶的做法雖不盡相同，卻都極盡美味。很多當地人已然習慣了每天早上吃一碗肉骨茶，來此旅遊的人也都慕名而來。
大多數海外華人，尤其是居住在東南亞地區的海外華人都品嚐過肉骨茶。
Pork rib tea is also called bak kut teh locally, which literally means “meat bone tea”, pronounced in the dialect of Fujian province in China. Pork rib contains both meat and bones, thus offering both nutrition and calcium for human body, especially after it is simmered for a long time with Chinese herbs and spices. It is usually served with rice or with noodles.
Pork rib tea 在當地也叫bak kut teh，字面意思就是“肉骨茶”，發音源自中國福建省的方言。豬肋排既有肉也有骨頭，尤其是經過與中藥材和調味品長時間的慢火煲燉後，可爲人體提供營養和鈣質。肉骨茶通常用來搭配米飯或麪條。
There are different versions of bak kut teh. In Singapore, there are three types of bak kut teh. The most common variant is the Teochew style, which is light in color but uses more pepper in the soup. The Hoklo (Hokkien), who prefer saltier food, use more soy sauce, which results in a darker soup. The Cantonese, with soup-drinking culture, add medicinal herbs to create a stronger flavoured soup.
肉骨茶有很多不同的做法。在新加坡有三種肉骨茶：最常見的是潮州肉骨茶，色澤清淡，但湯中胡椒味兒較濃；福建肉骨茶偏愛重口味，放的醬油較多，因此色澤偏深；廣東肉骨茶因爲當地特有的煲湯文化，加入了一些中藥材，因此帶有濃厚的藥材味道。
Bak Kut Teh has its origin in port Klang area of the present day Malaysia, during British colonial administration. In those early pioneering days, much of port activities relied on Chinese migrant coolies to do the heavy manual work. They needed something nourishing to maintain their good health while toiling in the hot and humid climate. Someone with knowledge of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) came out with a secret recipe of using herbs and spices to cook with pork. After cooking, the soup always takes on the color of tea.
肉骨茶最早出現在英國殖民統治下的巴生港，位於今天的馬來西亞。在最初開拓的歲月裏，很多港口作業都是靠那些從中國移居到當地的苦力用繁重的體力勞動來完成的。在炎熱潮溼的氣候下，他們需要吃一些有營養的食物以維持身體健康。一些具有傳統中醫知識的人提出了一個祕方，就是用中草藥和調味料一起燉豬骨。燉好之後，骨湯往往呈現出茶色。
The other explanation is that tea is always served after eating it. Among Chinese people, there is this concept of drinking warm tea after a meal, particularly if the meal is oily. The purpose of doing this is to flush out the oil in the digestive tract.
另一種說法是在吃完豬骨湯之後通常要飲茶。中國人有餐後喝熱茶的傳統，尤其是當膳食比較油膩的時候。這樣做的目的是清洗掉消化道中的油脂。
The ingredients of the pork rib tea are pork spare ribs, white peppercorns, garlic, mushrooms, coriander leaves, dried liquorice root, red chili, dark soya and light soya.
豬骨茶的製造材料是豬肋排、白胡椒、大蒜、蘑菇、芫荽葉、幹甘草根、紅辣椒、老抽和生抽。
