Hokkien Bak Kut Teh First? or Teochew First? Son of Singapore River or Son of Chu Kang?

Lau Ah Tee Bak Kut TehIn Singapore, idle men chilling over Nanyang tea and bak kut teh, sometimes argue over whether it was Hokkien first or Teochew first, especially on slow news days.

Image credit: National Archives of SingaporeConventionally, most people assume and agree that bak kut teh was created by coolies at Singapore River. That's where agreement ends. There's no end to arguments on whether it was the Hokkiens or Teochews who first created it. Legend has it that a poor coolie picked up spices dropped here and there at the Singapore River quay side and used these to make pork bone soup. And thus, an iconic Singapore dish was born. If you believe bak kut teh is Hokkien, then the coolie picked up some Chinese herbs like dang gui etc. If you believe the Teochew version, it was peppercorns that the coolie picked up. I am now going to muddy the murky bowl of pork bone soup a little further. Give you more fodder for idle bak kut teh talk 😝

Whether it is Hokkien first or Teochew first, it is assumed that bak kut teh was created after the founding of Singapore by Raffles in 1819 (thus kicking off the development of Singapore port).Whether it was Hokkien or Teochew bak kut teh - it was born of the Singapore River. But, was it? In 1819, Stamford Raffles signed an agreement with the Sultan and Temenggong of Johor (who ruled Singapore) which allowed him to operate a port on a strip of land "the distance of a cannon shot (i.e. 2 miles)" centred on Singapore River. Of course, Raffles wasn't the first foreigner to come to Singapore.

Image credit: National Archives of SingaporeThere were already Chinese settlements in the 1700s in Penang and the Riau islands. They were gambier planters who exported their produce to China. Gambier was in demand to make dyes and as a leather tanning agent. Malays used gambier as a medicinal plant. (There were also Peranakan Chinese in Malacca since the Ming dynasty in the 1400s, but that's another story.)

Pepper plantation 1890s. Image credit: National Archives of SingaporePepper and gambier were usually planted together. Waste from gambier processing (e.g. boiling leaves to extract tannin) were used as fertiliser for pepper plants. The vast majority of Chinese planters and workers were Teochews, and a small handful of Hokkien and Hakka. From the 1730s, the Yamtuan Muda (ruler) of Riau would issue Surat Sungai (River Letters) to the Chinese headman to permit him to cultivate gambier and pepper at a defined plot of land at the river bank known as a "Chu Kang" 厝港. The Chinese headman "Kang Chu" 港主 paid taxes on profits from the gambier - pepper plantation, and the "Chu Kang" tenure was renewable via Surat Sungai. The Surat Sungai was the precursor and similar type of agreement which Raffles signed with the Johor Sultan and Temenggong nearly 100 years later (in 1819).

Map of Singapore 1825. Image credit: National Archives of SingaporeSome "Chu Kang" settlers migrated to Singapore in the early 1800s, and by the time Raffles arrived in 1819, there were some 20 gambier - pepper plantations under Surat Sungai terms. By 1850s, there were some 800 gambier - pepper plantations in various "Chu Kangs" all over Singapore. The British abolished the "Chu Kang" system in 1917. The legacy of "Chu Kang" remains in place names today like Lim Chu Kang, Choa Chu Kang, Yio Chu Kang - the prefix being the surname of the headman or "Kang Chu". Sengkang and Hougang were also "Chu Kangs" in the past. There were also Lau Chu Kang, Tan Chu Kang, Chan Chu Kang etc which no longer exist.

Image credit: WikipediaSo, before the establishment of the Singapore port in 1819, the basic ingredients of Teochew bak kut teh - garlic, pepper and pork - were already readily available in the many "Chu Kangs" of Singapore.

Lau Ah Tee Bak Kut TehChinese have been boiling pork in water to make soup since time immemorial. Did one of the pepper plantation workers in a "Chu Kang" boiled pork bones, garlic and threw in some peppercorns, and thus created Teochew bak kut teh? There is no written record, so it remains only a possibility. That's the thing about early food history. It is harder to pin down than even antiquities as there are no documents or even artefacts. Hence, they are open to endless debates and occasional "food wars" over opposing claims of ownership. If bak kut teh was a child of Singapore River - Hokkiens and Teochews have equal claim to its origin. If bak kut teh was born in a gambier - pepper plantation (i.e. in a "Chu Kang"), then the Teochew claim is considerably strengthened. Hokkien or Teochew? Son of Singapore River or son of Chu Kang? If you got nothing better to do, discuss. Reference: Surat Sungai