Bak Kwa Recipe (Pork Jerky)
Fresh from the oven: Home-made bak kwa (rougan; long yoke; 肉干)
Chinese New Year (CNY) is just a few days away (23 January, Mon), have you bought your bak kwa (Chinese bbq pork jerky) yet? By this time, there will be long queues at popular bak kwa stores and the prices will be sky high (at least S$40 per kg). I have always hated queuing so I almost never buy bak kwa during the festive season anymore. This year, I experimented with making my own bak kwa and I was pleasantly surprised by the result. I will definitely be making a few more batches before CNY. The ingredients are really cheap (just minced pork and seasonings) and I am using the oven to do the grilling. The quantity listed below will fit one standard oven tray, but feel free to make several batches at a time according to your needs and oven size. As long as you have the proper set-up and equipment, believe me that making your own home-made bak kwa is actually a breeze to pull off!
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Bak Kwa Recipe (Pork Jerky)
- Serves: 2-4 (as a snack)
- Prep: 20 mins
- Cook: 45 mins
Home-made bak kwa is easier than you think! In addition to the ingredients listed below, you need the following tools: wire rack for oven, a wire mesh cut to fit your oven and parchment paper (same size as wire rack).
Ingredients
- 200 grams minced pork
- 1/2 tbsp fish sauce
- 1/2 tsp sesame oil
- 1/2 tbsp 5-spice powder
- 1/2 tsp light soy sauce
- 1/2 tsp dark soy sauce
- 1 tsp Chinese wine Hua Tiao/Shao Hsing
- dashes of white pepper powder
- 2 tbsp caster (castor) or super fine sugar
- 1/2 tsp knorr ikan bilis seasoning powder double light soy sauce if not using
- 1/8 tsp red food colouring I use Bake King Cochineal Red/Cherry Red
- vegetable oil
Instructions
- Combine minced pork and seasonings in a deep plate. Mix the ingredients (except vegetable oil) with the back of a spoon in a circular motion, until the red hue is even; this will take several minutes. The resultant mixture will have a gluey consistency. Wrap plate with cling wrap and refrigerate for a few hours.
- Place parchment paper on a flat surface and spread the meat mixture one layer as thin as possible (about 5mm) with the back of a spoon.
- Brush the wire mesh with some vegetable oil. Align the wire mesh directly over the meat mixture, invert it, then carefully peel away the parchment paper.
- Place the wire mesh with the meat mixture on top of an oven wire-rack with a tray beneath it. Bake the bak kwa at preheated oven of 100°C for 20 minutes to dry the meat.
- Increase the oven heat to 180°C and bake for 12 minutes.
- When cool enough to handle, remove wire rack and transfer bak kwa to chopping board. Use a pizza cutter or pair of kitchen scissors to cut bak kwa to desired shapes and sizes.
- Return bak kwa pieces to wire rack, the other side up (the side with the wire grill lines), and continue baking at 180°C for 10-15 minutes, until the edges start to char slightly. Cool on wire rack and store in air-tight container.
(Get step-by-step photos, cooking notes and ingredient list on page 2)
Pages: 1 2
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{ 47 comments… read them below or add one }
does the juice leak out during baking?
Have people started hanging around outside your apt and ringing your doorbell? I have the nose of a bloodhound where bak kwah is being grilled.
Malcolm, the bak kwa is sitting on a wire mesh, so any liquid will be collected on the tray beneath.
I love you NoobCook for making every dish or types of food possible thru your clear and encouraging recipes!!! Am keeping all your recipes or life! Yay yay yay!!!
I want to make this but no time :( Maybe after CNY.
U r incredible!!
Thanks Yvonne ♥
Yum yum! Beats having to queue up and they’re just as tasty!
Is there a ratio of meat vs fat for the mince meat you used?
Candy, no particular ratio, but you can use slightly fattier minced pork for more fragrance if you like.
I really want to try this bak-kwa. Looks sooo yummy!
Lovely! Bak kwa for the CNY! I think I need to make some too!
I make my own in the US cos there is no chance to queue for Bak Kwa over there! LOL
Hi Wiffy, looks like you are also making your own bak kwa. I think the prices are already about $45 to $48 per kg now. Seems ridiculous to pay this amount just to eat it during CNY. I personally don’t crave for it, so it is no big deal to me. But I must salute you for attempting a home-made one. Wishing you and your family a happy Lunar New Year.
hi, i refrigerated but why i can see it is watery? something i missed out?
Hi Alice, it is supposed to be a gluey consistency, did you measure the ingredients?
yes.. seasoning n mince pork x 2 coz i wan to double size it. i just cover the seasoned meat in fridge but not wrap it like you mentioned. could this be the reason? hmmm… wondering it can be successful or not… :S gona grill it later..
Erm. .. I’m trying it out too and i used a baking tablespoon to measure all seasoning. It turned out too watery and i just threw in somemore meat.I think maybe a tablespoon that is used for eating was used originally?
do you use a tsp = teaspoon? only the 5 spice powder, fish sauce and sugar is measured in tablespoon (tbsp). I used the types for baking, not eating. 3 tsp=1 tbsp. let me know how it goes.
baking teaspoon? hmm… i used the normal spoon.. guess mine in trouble…
meaning mine need to top up rite?coz all my seasoning i measure in normal spoon.. anyway to save it before i go to grill later
Omg! Mine’s in trouble too. Haha Oh well. …. My son’s gonna eat it anyway. :-P
If that is the case, u have to add more minced meat until it reaches a gluey consistency. All my recipes are measured in baking teaspoons and tablespoons for precision, they are not the same as the eating types. You can buy the measurement spoons cheaply at Ikea SG (about S$2 or so).
ok.. add in meat but seasoning dun have to top up? i tasted a bit.. it taste ok now.. just the mince pork is soaking 1/4 of its watery..
I can’t believe it! I can’t believe you made your own bak kwa! Can’t wait to try it out myself
Now i in the midst of making 3kg of Bak Kwa, to given out to relatives..Homemade one always the best..Your Bak Kwa sound good too.
Wiffy, bak kwa prices are $50 and above now! I don’t own an oven… Any kind soul wants to donate home grilled bak kwa :-) Michelle
I like your cooking, very simple and easy.
Wow, homemade pork jerky? Must taste much better than the store bought. I used to buy them very often, but was a little skeptical of the ingredients and preservatives…now I can try to make my own.
Thanks for the recipe and hope you are having a wonderful week :-)
I’m coming back to re-read this post again but it would be awesome to make some in Aus! They look sooo tempting and glistering ..calling for me! haha
wow, looks soooo good!
I made mine spicy…and that way I didn’t have to use any food colouring!
http://www.thehomefoodcook.com/2012/04/bbq-sweet-dried-meat-bak-kwa.html
Hi,
We buy bak kwa at such exp prices outside and actually we can make it with simple ingredients. Yours look so nice.
Can I just use a baking tray as I do not have the wire mesh?
How long can we keep it?
Hi, check out page two of the recipe: it elaborated on the reason for the wire mesh. I think it can keep a few days in an air-tight container. There are no preservatives added, so the shelf life will be shorter than those sold commercially.
Great recipe! I made this and it’s a huge hit with my friends and family :)
Where do I get the oven wire rack and the parchment paper?
Hi lala, for parchment paper, can get it at the baking section or cling wrap area at the supermarkets.
For wire rack, either get from Daiso or cut to size by getting a large piece from BBQ section of supermarkets. More information on this on page two of the recipe.
Wonderful.. i am going to try this for CNY. Save time queuing, fresh and save money too..
Btw. I love your recipes, your instruction were easy to follow. And, my helper can understand it! :D.. now everyday we have nice dinner after work :)
If i make a kg worth, can i freeze it after step 6? In case not enough to eat or too much too eat :P We can be pretty greedy sometimes.
I have not tried, but I think it might not be so ideal to freeze the minced meat, perhaps can freeze the cooked bak kwa?
At last i bake my bak kwa… I rolled it too thin and it was a little dry, then i make it thicker and the texture is better, more juicy. However its not sweet enough and the 5 spice powder a little too power. Think my mince not fatty enough, self blend mince… now marinating my 2nd batch , added more sugar and lesser 5 spice powder, will try out if the taste suit me better. crossing fingers… thx so much for an easy receipe… really food deprive overseas :P
Hi wiffy,
I was looking for those wire mesh without the thick metal boundary but not able to find at Ntuc. Any advise where I can get them from?
Hi Lily, I got mine from NTUC, BBQ section. Try a few other outlets, or perhaps Daiso.
My ba kwa turns out to be hard n dry so disappointed. I followed your steps but it din work.The wire mesh without the hard border is really hard to find. I go to ntuc shop n save n neighborhood shops, all comes with the hard border n they are large pieces. End up I buy 2 small ones with border fm daiso. I overlap them to fit in my oven
Sorry to hear that. If you ever try again, reduce the oven temperature (every oven is slightly different and needs to be calibrated) and/or baking time.
Does this work with chicken?
Hi, may I know is there any further use of this Bak Kwa? I mean can it be used in any cooking recipe? Because all the time people bought it as gift and we can hardly finish it due to its meaty nature. Can it be used to fry with vegetables?