History of Peranakan Itek Tim • Salted Vegetable Duck Soup 土生華人咸菜鸭汤 • 炖鸭汤

I love kiam chye ark or salted vegetable duck soup (actually I love everything duck 😬 ). In Singapore, this savoury sourish duck soup dish is rarely found in hawker stalls. The favourite of most people is sold at Hup Seng Duck Rice at Blk 22, Sin Ming Road.

Both Teochew and Hokkien people have kiam chye ark in their cuisine. The salted vegetable duck dish was brought to Malaya by both Teochew Chaoshan (Guangdong) and Fujian migrants.

Kiam chye ark at Hup Seng Duck Rice

The Teochew and Hokkien versions of kiam chye ark or salted vegetable duck soup in Malaysia and Singapore use duck, kiam chye (salted mustard), tomatoes, old ginger, garlic, preserved plum, peppercorn, optional tofu, rice wine. The purpose of the rice wine is to remove the duck's gamey taste. In Fujian and Chaoshan, they may add pickled bamboo shoot (but I have never seen this done in Singapore and Malaysia).

Itek Tim at Guan Hoe Soon restaurant

The Peranakan dish Itek Tim share many features with the Hokkien & Teochew kiam chye ark or salted vegetable duck soup. The ingredients and preparation process are at least 80% similar.

Itek Tim uses duck, kiam chye (salted preserved vegetable), old ginger, tomatoes, preserved sour plum like their Teochew and Hokkien counterparts.

Asam Gelugur

In addition, the Peranakan rendition has dried tamarind skin (asam keping or asam gelugur), dried belimbing fruit, optional pig trotter, and brandy. Like the rice wine in the Teochew and Hokkien versions, the brandy is used to remove the duck's gaminess. In Penang, they may also throw a couple of nutmegs into the soup.

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Itek Tim is eaten with condiments like belacan (fermented shrimp paste) and green chili pepper.

Peranakan wedding. Image courtesy of Wikipedia

Peranakan (which means local born in Malay) are descendants of Chinese traders who settled down in the Malay archipelago as early as the 15th century during the heyday of both the Ming dynasty and Malacca sultanate (they enjoyed close political and trade ties).

It is unclear when Itek Tim became part of Peranakan cuisine. Was it brought to the Malay peninsula during the Ming dynasty era or more recently during the 1800s when the British brought millions of indentured labourers (coolies) from Guangdong and Fujian for its plantations, mines and ports in British Malaya.

The name Itek Tim is likely a combination of Itek, the Malay word for duck and 炖 (pronounced tim in Teochew and Hokkien) which means to simmer over slow heat.

Bonding Kitchen's modern take on Itek Tim with chopped boneless duck meat ball

There's an alternative (commonly cited) theory from the blog Ooi Family Cookbook. The blog suggested that the name came from the Portuguese Eurasian dish known as “Teem Reunion Soup”. The Portuguese ruled Malacca from 1511 to 1641 (followed by the Dutch, then the British before Malaysia gained independence in 1963). 

According to the Ooi Family Cookbook, Portuguese Eurasians and also Peranakans of Malacca traditionally served "Teem Reunion Soup" during festivities such as Christmas Eve or gatherings. According to the Ooi Family Cookbook, “Teem” referred to “Spiced Snow Pea Soup” but it evolved to become similar to kiam chye ark due to Peranakan influence. The Peranakans called kiam chye ark soup, Itek Tim adopting the Portuguese Eurasian term "teem".

I am now checking with Portuguese Eurasians in Malacca and Singapore. So far, none have heard of "Teem Reunion Soup". The Portuguese Eurasians also do not have a salted vegetable duck soup dish. My research continues. If you have any information or leads, please share with us. Thank you 🙏

Written by Tony Boey on 26 Sep 2022

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