Chinese / Malaysia
Rou gu cha xiang
(The fragrance of Bak Kut Teh)
Gasing Buku
(text)
Zheng, Weizhen
(illus.)
Shah Alam, Selangor: Persatuan Kebajikan Tangan Sejati (Little Hands Action Charity Foundation), 2025. – [28] p.
ISBN 978-629-99685-6-6
Picture book | Food | Worker | History | Bak Kut Teh | Coolie
Reading age: 3+
White Ravens issue: 2026
In her debut, Zheng Weizhen introduces Bak Kut The, a popular dish in the city of Klang, Selangor, by following a little girl and her father to a restaurant. Bak Kut Teh translates from Hokkien as »meat bone tea«. It consists of pork ribs slow cooked in a rich broth made with spices and Chinese medicinal herbs. While the girl enjoys mouth-watering ingredients like pork feet and trotters, her dad explains the dish’s history. In the 19th and early 20th centuries, thousands of Chinese immigrated to work as »coolies« at the Klang docks or in Malaya’s tin mines and plantations. A local food stall owner, Lee Boon The, added Chinese medicinal herbs and seasonings into his soup for them. Legend has it that the locals named the dish after him. While Dad’s story ends, the girl finishes her meal with a full burp. They depart with takeaways, belly full, heart warm. Crucial to the ethnic identity of the Chinese community in an Islamic country, Bak Kut Teh was recognized as a Malaysian national heritage dish in 2024. [LO]