What to do with leftover bak kwa (19 ideas for 2022)

Every year, we buy a ton of Chinese New Year goodies- it would be super embarrassing to run out when people visit, so we usually end up with leftovers. Here are some ideas for what to do with leftover bak kwa, or Chinese pork jerky!

Jump to:

• What is bak kwa?
• What does it taste like?
• Trends
• Ideas for leftovers
• Mains
• In Baking
• With Eggs
• Others
• More Chinese pork recipes

What is bak kwa?

The closest English translation I can think of for Bak Kwa, also known as rougan, is Chinese pork jerky. Even then, the name doesn't do it justice as jerky is usually tough and dry, whilst bak kwa can be sinfully fatty. But the gist is that it is a dried, semi-preserved Chinese meat that was traditionally made from pork. (Nowadays, there are different versions such as beef and chicken bak kwa (halal), spicy bak kwa etc, mala bak kwa etc. I even made vegan mushroom bak kwa a couple of times!)

Although this snack came from China, it is most associated with Singapore these days (many Chinese tourists actually buy this as a souvenir when they visit the small red dot), and is SUPER popular during Chinese New Year- hence, the price goes up in Jan or Feb and there are LOOOOONG queues outside the bak kwa shops.

Fun fact: Bak kwa is so ubiquitous in Singapore that Bloomberg even released a bak kwa index to track its price!

Note: The oldest bak kwa shop in Singapore is Kim Hock Guan but Bee Cheng Hiang seems to be the best known as it has a TON of outlets.

What does it taste like?

Bak kwa is salty, sweet and full of umami.

Trends

Bak kwa sellers have been making the snack more healthy in recent years, by adding less sugar etc. Some have even taken to making vegan versions- above is 1 I made with king oyster mushrooms last year but I'll be honest, it's not as good as the shop-bought version which is why I've not shared the recipe on this blog! (For an easy soy and butter mushroom recipe, click the previous link or this one for Asian vegan recipes.)

Ideas for leftovers

I hate wasting food which is why I have an entire section in this blog devoted to using kitchen scraps and leftovers. Unfortunately, there is always a lot of uneaten food over CNY, as there is a lot of visiting and it is considered bad hosting in Chinese culture to not have more food than your guests can eat.

If you've made, bought or been given so much bak kwa that you can't eat it plain anymore, here are some ideas to use it up. I have linked to some recipes which use bacon- just substitute leftover bak kwa for bacon- but note that bak kwa is sweeter than bacon so you may want to cut down the sugar in the recipes.

Note: although bak kwa is "preserved", it is best to keep it in the freezer if you don't plan to consume it so quickly.

Mains

• in fried rice (why not add some kimchi whilst you're at it and make kimchi-bokkeumbap. The acidity of the kimchi helps to cut the fattiness of the Chinese pork jerky.) Click the link to see a recipe I shared on Instagram last year (or last last year?)
• as a topping for porridge such as this abalone seafood congee
• added to pasta e.g. spaghetti carbonara (Click for a recipe with 4.86 rating from over 139 reviews)
• In cheese grits

In Baking

• Dice it and mix it into your scone or (American) biscuit batter then bake- I actually have a great recipe to this, just need to take some photos!
• Do I hear someone saying bak kwa cookies? I love how this recipe has used coin-shaped bak kwa to make the cookies look like flowers!
• Added to a quiche (Click the link for a quiche recipe with over 132 ratings and an average >4.9 star rating)
• Use as a pizza topping- I would add them towards the end or after baking the pizza, if not they may burn
• Baked with beans
• In Mac and cheese (this recipe has almost 50 reviews and an almost 5-star rating)

With Eggs

Instead of bacon and eggs, we have:

• Bak kwa + cheese + spring onion omelette. Yum
• Serve with toast (non-vegans can add butter and eggs to make a very filling meal!)- it's delicious in French toast!
• Sprinkled on devilled eggs

Others

• Mixed into potato salad
• Use to make bak kwa jam, which can be spread on toast
• Bak kwa butter- mix softened butter with diced up Chinese pork jerky
• Mixed with grated cheese and breadcrumbs then stuffed into baked mushrooms.
• On top of waffles and with maple syrup
• To replace lup cheong (Chinese preserved sausage) in Chinese carrot cake!

I'll be updating this "what to do with leftover bak kwa" post from time to time as I have a TON of ideas that I want to test before sharing, so don't forget to check back in at a later date! In the meantime, before you go, here are some Asian pork recipes that you may enjoy:

More Chinese pork recipes

If you use any of these leftover bak kwa ideas, do tag me on social media (@greedygirlgourmet) as I love to see readers' photos! Last year, someone in Australia made my leftover bak kwa recipe, so that was really nice to see.