Recipe: Bak Kwa (Homemade Chinese Pork Jerky) 肉干

Bak kwa, also known as rougan 肉干is a type of thin square-shaped Chinese sweet-salty dried meat slices similar to jerky. In Malaysia, you can buy it all-year round from specialist shops but it is especially popular during Chinese New Year as a snack. Often, there will be a long queue as the days get closer to the CNY period. This is because bak kwa is translated to long yoke in Cantonese, which means having a robust fortune ahead.

The meat is marinated in a mixture of sugar, soy, honey and more, and then barbecued in the oven to smoky perfection. It certainly is not difficult to make your own, and furthermore you know exactly what goes into your bak kwa (no artificial preservatives!).

This tasted as good as the ones from the shops, and we enjoyed it warm out of the oven. In fact, my family liked it so much that we finished the whole batch that evening. ;) Thanks Sonia for the recipe!

Glistening bak kwa

Homemade Chinese Pork Jerky (Bak Kwa) 肉干
Recipe by Baby Sumo, adapted from NasiLemakLover
Preparation time: 15-20 minutes
Cooking time: 38-40 minutes
Makes 16 (7cm x 7cm)

Ingredients
450g minced pork (with fats)
100g soft brown sugar
1 tbsp light soy sauce
1/2 tbsp Shaoxing Chinese rice wine
1/2 tbsp fish sauce
1 tbsp oyster sauce
1/8 tsp Chinese five-spice powder
A pinch of white pepper
1/2 tsp salt
2 tbsp honey (or maltose)

For greasing pan
1/2 tsp cooking oil


1. Place all ingredients (except minced pork) in a bowl and mix well. Then, add the minced pork and mix in clockwise direction with a pair of chopsticks until the meat becomes gluey, about 3-4 minutes. You will know it is ready when the meat clings together. Leave to marinate in fridge for 2-3 hours.

2. Preheat oven to 160°C (roast mode). Lightly grease a baking tray (18"x13") with some cooking oil, then  using your fingers, spread the marinated meat thinly (as thinly as you can) onto the baking tray. You will fill about 12"x12" of the tray.

3. Place in preheated oven and bake for about 15-17 minutes, until cooked. Remove from oven, and then change to grill mode (240°C).

4. Using a pizza cutter, cut into desired size. The meat would have shrunk a little (mine was 28cm x 28cm) and I sliced it into (7cm x 7cm) squares. You can also use scissors or sharp knife to cut, but pizza cutter would be easiest.

5. Return tray to the oven and grill about 8 minutes on the top side, then remove from oven and using chopsticks, flip to the other side and grill for a further 8 minutes, or whenever it is golden brown. You will need to watch it closely as it tends to burn very easily at this stage - remove pieces which are already browned and continue cooking the rest.

6. Allow to cool and enjoy. Bak kwa is best enjoyed warm and fresh. Once cooled, you can store in a tupperware, but try to consume within 2-3 days (you can gently heat each piece in a frying pan over medium heat for 2 minutes before consuming).

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