Malaysians have been discussing the meaning of 'Bak' in Bak Kut Teh and whether it refers to meat rather than pork. A similar debate has arisen over Bakso, the famous Indonesian meatball soup dish.
According to a report in China Press, the director of the Al-Islam Specialist Hospital, Shahrizal Azwan Bin Samsudin, discovered that Bakso and Bak Kut Teh have roots in the same Hokkien vocabulary during his visit to Indonesia.
Bakso typically contains beef or a combination of chicken shaped into savoury meatballs. Some argue that 'Bak' still refers to pork, while others say that the original word means meat without specifying the protein source. This debate originates from the fact that Bak Kut Teh is commonly associated with pork meat, which led many to assume it only refers to pork.
Some people have sarcastically pointed out that Malaysia is more interested in discussing Bak Kut Teh than improving the country's education and economy, hoping for the Ringgit to strengthen against the USD.
