Bak Kwa (Chinese Pork Jerky)

A piece of Chinese pork jerky held up by a pair of chopsticks.

5 from 5 votes

Bak Kwa, or Chinese Pork Jerky, is 1 of the most popular Chinese New Year snacks in Singapore & Malaysia. Save yourself time and money by making your own using this super simple recipe with easy-to-find ingredients! It's tender, savory and delicious!

Course: Breakfast, Side Dish, Snack

Servings: pieces

Calories: 3183kcal

Author: Zen

Equipment

Large bowl and cling wrap
Oven and 3-4 baking trays
parchment paper

Ingredients

2 lbs ground pork 15-25% fat. I recommend minimum 20%. Substitute: some people use thinly sliced pork instead of minced but it takes skill to get the meat so thin!
¾ cup white sugar Substitute: honey but I find it a waste as the nutrients get destroyed in the heat!
2 Tablespoons rose wine Substitute: shaoxing, huatiao or brandy
2 Tablespoon dark soy sauce Substitute: sweet soy sauce but you'll need to reduce the sugar or the bak kwa will be sweeter.
1 Tablespoon fish sauce
1 teaspoon sesame oil
½ teaspoon white ground pepper
1 teaspoon 5 spice powder Click through for homemade 5 spice for the tastiest results- extra can be used in these recipes
salt optional. omit if your soy sauce is salty. To test, pinch off a bit of the marinaded meat, fry, taste, then season accordingly.

For the glaze

Maltose traditional and vegan, but a little difficult to find outside of an Asian grocery. Substitute: maple syrup, a neutral honey or sugar to glaze the bak kwa instead. You'll need about ½ Tablespoon (mixed with a bit of water to make it easy to apply) per pound of meat.

Instructions

Making the mixture

Mix the pork with all the ingredients, except for the glaze. Stir for a few minutes till it turns into a gooey and sticky mess. (No mixer needed- you can do it by hand!)
Note: you can bake it straightaway as the seasonings are pretty flavorful but it'll definitely taste better if marinated! If not marinating, skip the next step to "Roasting"
Cover with plastic wrap then refrigerate for 4-8 hours (overnight.)
Note: it is normal for some juices may leak out after marinating.

Roasting

Preheat the oven to 250F/ 120C
Scoop ⅓-¼ of the meat mixture onto parchment paper (the paper you are going to use to bake later. I recommend Parchment not Silpat for quicker drying in the oven. (It's thinner.))
Next, cover with a Silpat (more sustainable) or parchment paper/plastic wrap then use a rolling pin to roll flatten the meat into a thin sheet of 2-4 mm. Place the parchment paper on a wire rack or baking tray.
Note: if your meat is too thick, some juices will ooze out later. Don't worry and just dry it with a paper towel. If it's too thin, the meat will shrink and form holes (see below.)
Repeat till all the meat is used up.
Bake at 250F/ 120C for 20 minutes till the meat forms a dry sheet. Blot off any juices that ooze out with paper towels. (The time will vary a little depending on the moisture and thickness of the meat.)
Tip: if you want charred edges around each slice, cut each sheet into the desired sizes now (about 6 pieces per sheet.) If not, just skip to the next step (easier as you don't have to worry about whether the meat is firm enough to be cut easily.)
Increase the oven temp to 425F/ 220C, glaze the pieces then grill them for 4-9 minutes, watching carefully to make sure it doesn't burn (the concentrated sugars means it will char easily.)
Remove the trays from the oven, flip the meat with tongs, baste again then grill the other side for 3-5 minutes.
When charred to your desired color, remove and allow to cool then cut into 6 pieces.

Notes

Tip #1: Be careful when you open the oven to turn the trays around (there are hot spots in the oven) as there will be a lot of very hot steam.

Tip #2: Placing the parchment paper on a wire rack over a baking tray makes it easier for you to pour out the extra juices that ooze out after the 1st bake.

Tip #3: Watch the bak kwa carefully once the glaze is on as sugars burn very fast. You want chargrilled jerky, not burnt-to-a-crisp ones!

Tip #4: If you have a pizza roller to cut the bak kwa, that would be perfect. If not, you can cut the jerky with a pair of scissors- you need to make sure it's pretty dry and firm before you cut, if not the jerky will break into small pieces which is NOT what you want!

Note: the nutritional information is an estimate automatically calculated using the WPRM recipe maker and I am not responsible for its accuracy.

Nutrition