Homemade Bak Kwa (Chinese Meat Jerky)

It has becoming a tradition for my family to make this homemade oven baked Bak kwa, or also known as rou gan 肉乾. Bak kwa is Chinese sweet and savory meat jerky and it is actually quite a must-have treat for Chinese Lunar New Year especially for Chinese in Singapore or Malaysia. By this time of the year, if you happen to travel in those two countries, it is unavoidable for you to smell the pleasantly fragrant bak kwa being grilled over charcoal.

Though it looks tough to make, Bak kwa (Chinese sweet and savory meat jerky) is surprisingly very simple to make. The best part making it at home is that you can decide how thick you want the bak kwa to be. I love mine to be on a thinner side, however my husband like it a little thicker. I hardly see thick bak kwa being sold in the store, so it’s nice to have this recipe handy for our Lunar New Year celebration.

Tools I used:

• Baking sheet pan – I like to use this non-stick baking sheet pan for any kind of baking needs in general. Easy cleaning and very durable.
• Rolling pin – This pin is very helpful when I would like to evenly distribute dough, or in this case, the ground pork.

Tip: Any leftovers can be refrigerated in an air-tight container for up to 7 days. Please heat up the bak kwa first prior to consuming. You can heat it up by placing it in the pan on the stove top, microwaving it or grilling it.

Ingredient:

• 2 lbs ground pork (preferably with 10-20% of fats)
• 3 tablespoons soy sauce
• 2 tablespoon sweet soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon oyster sauce
• 1 teaspoon five spice powder
• 2 tbsp Shaoxing rice wine
• 1 ½ cube fermented red tofu
• 5 tablespoons sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon pepper
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 2 teaspoons water

Direction:

• Except for honey and water, in a large mixing bowl, add all the ingredients above (ground pork, soy sauce, sweet soy sauce, oyster sauce, five spice powder, rice wine, fermented red tofu, sugar, salt and pepper). Give them a good mix.
• In a separate small bowl, mix honey and water and set aside.
• Pre-heat the oven to 350F.
• Line a baking sheet with a parchment paper. Then add the mixed meat and cover them with plastic wrap. Then, flatten the meat with a rolling pin or just spread them out with your hand (see picture above).
• Once the oven is heated, place the baking sheet into the oven and bake for 15 minutes.
• Take out the meat, remove all the excess juice and flip over. Bake for another 15 minutes.
• Take out the meat, brush the honey-water mixture onto the meat, and bake for another 10 minutes.
• Then, flip over, brush the mixture again and bake for another 10 minutes.
• Once the time is up, let it cool down before cutting the bak kwa into smaller pieces (see picture above).
• You can store the remaining bak kwa in the fridge. However, do not forget to heat it up before eating it. You can heat it in the pan, grill it or put it in the microwave. Enjoy!