Chinese Pork Jerky (Bak Kwa) 肉干
Finally found an alternative way to upload images on Weebly. I don't know what is going on with it, kept having problem to upload images direct from my computer.
I have cooked/ learned quite a few dishes since April 2012. These Chinese Pork Jerky, (Bak Kwa) 肉干, were inspired by the Biltong (South African beef jerky) my friend gave me to try. She mentioned about the kind of Chinese jerky she had when she was a child. After some research online, I found out that, the process of making the Chinese Pork Jerky is quite similar to Biltong (except the pork is marinated in some Chinese sauces and the end of the BBQ stage)
These Chinese pork jerky is a must-have-snack for Chinese New Year in Southeast Asia. You will find many pop-up stalls along the roadside, in front of the shops selling this snack. Each brand will have their own celebrity's endorsement. You will smell the sweet BBQ fragrance all over the street. It is the kind of snack always reminded me of Chinese New Year.
I have not been back to Malaysia to celebrate Chinese New Year with my family for few years. I have almost forgotten about the taste of these pork jerky. From my earlier jerky research, I came across some really easy recipes to make the Chinese pork jerky at home. It is so easy, I am starting to question why is it during Chinese New Year, these special snack is particularly expensive! I am sure a homemade version will be free of any preservatives and artificial food colourings!
To make this jerky at home, you will need the following ingredients:
Put everything in a large bowl and mix well. Set aside to let it marinate for overnight.
When it is ready, arrange some of the marinated minced pork in between two sheets of baking paper. Use a rolling pin, flatten them to about the thickness of 3-5mm. Carefully peel off the top sheet of the baking paper and set aside (with the bottom sheet of baking paper attached ) the flatten minced pork. Repeat the same process with new baking paper until you have used up all the minced pork.
Pre-heat the oven to 130'C. Bake each flatten minced pork sheet separately in a different tray for about 5-8 mins. The colour of the pork will be darken. Remove it from the oven, and set aside to cool down. Repeat the process until all minced pork sheets are baked. This is the first drying process.
Once the pork are cooled. Carefully remove it from the baking paper. Then cut the semi-dried pork sheet into squares (or rectangular shapes). You can keep the squares in a air-tight container for later use. Or you can turn the oven to 150'C to finalise the cooking process. Arrange the pork squares in the baking tray, return the tray to the oven and bake for about 5 mins or until the pork is fully cooked. These Chinese pork jerky should be moist and tender. Over cooked it, you will get a tough and hard jerky!
Now who want to place their order for this Chinese pork jerky for the coming Chinese New Year!??
I have cooked/ learned quite a few dishes since April 2012. These Chinese Pork Jerky, (Bak Kwa) 肉干, were inspired by the Biltong (South African beef jerky) my friend gave me to try. She mentioned about the kind of Chinese jerky she had when she was a child. After some research online, I found out that, the process of making the Chinese Pork Jerky is quite similar to Biltong (except the pork is marinated in some Chinese sauces and the end of the BBQ stage)
These Chinese pork jerky is a must-have-snack for Chinese New Year in Southeast Asia. You will find many pop-up stalls along the roadside, in front of the shops selling this snack. Each brand will have their own celebrity's endorsement. You will smell the sweet BBQ fragrance all over the street. It is the kind of snack always reminded me of Chinese New Year.
I have not been back to Malaysia to celebrate Chinese New Year with my family for few years. I have almost forgotten about the taste of these pork jerky. From my earlier jerky research, I came across some really easy recipes to make the Chinese pork jerky at home. It is so easy, I am starting to question why is it during Chinese New Year, these special snack is particularly expensive! I am sure a homemade version will be free of any preservatives and artificial food colourings!
To make this jerky at home, you will need the following ingredients:
- 1kg Minced pork
- 2 tbsp Soy sauce
- 1 tbsp Dark soy sauce
- 2 Large tbsp honey
- 1/4 cup sugar (Ideally unrefined cane sugar)
- 1 tbsp Chinese BBQ sauce (this can be found in Chinese Supermarket)
- 1 tbsp Sesame seed oil
Put everything in a large bowl and mix well. Set aside to let it marinate for overnight.
When it is ready, arrange some of the marinated minced pork in between two sheets of baking paper. Use a rolling pin, flatten them to about the thickness of 3-5mm. Carefully peel off the top sheet of the baking paper and set aside (with the bottom sheet of baking paper attached ) the flatten minced pork. Repeat the same process with new baking paper until you have used up all the minced pork.
Pre-heat the oven to 130'C. Bake each flatten minced pork sheet separately in a different tray for about 5-8 mins. The colour of the pork will be darken. Remove it from the oven, and set aside to cool down. Repeat the process until all minced pork sheets are baked. This is the first drying process.
Once the pork are cooled. Carefully remove it from the baking paper. Then cut the semi-dried pork sheet into squares (or rectangular shapes). You can keep the squares in a air-tight container for later use. Or you can turn the oven to 150'C to finalise the cooking process. Arrange the pork squares in the baking tray, return the tray to the oven and bake for about 5 mins or until the pork is fully cooked. These Chinese pork jerky should be moist and tender. Over cooked it, you will get a tough and hard jerky!
Now who want to place their order for this Chinese pork jerky for the coming Chinese New Year!??
RSS Feed
