I am not sure if the recipe for Bak Kwa is from China, Singapore or from Malaysia. However, the first time I tried it was in Singapore, and it was made from pork. I love the sweet and salty mixture, and the crispy charred edges. While I was in NYC, I went to a place called Malaysian Beef Jerky. Actually, I think that was the first time I had tried the beef version, and it was just as delicious! There were other flavours besides the sweet honey one, such as spicy. And they had beef, pork or chicken bak kwa.
In London, I searched for a place to buy bak kwa, and did not find one, even in China Town. So, my friend sent me a few recipes, and I decided to make a recipe for bak kwa at home. The ingredients were all easy to find and it turned out to be very simple. It does take some time, but it was worth the effort and I would make it again. My first try was with pork, and maybe next time I will try beef.
Ingredients
Meat Mixture
500g of minced pork
2 Tbsp corn syrup
1/2 tsp of salt
100 g (8 Tbsp) granulated sugar
Pinch of ground white pepper
1 Tbsp Shaoxing wine
1 Tbsp light soy sauce
1 tsp dark soy sauce
Large pinch of 5 spice powder
1 Tbsp of oyster sauce
1/2 tsp of fish sauce
Basting Liquid
2 Tbsp honey
1 tsp water
Instructions
First, in a large bowl, mix all of the meat mixture ingredients. It should become sticky. Then marinate in the refrigerator for at least two hours.
Next, place about 1/2 of the meat mixture on a piece of baking paper on bakind tray. Place plastic wrap on top and flatten the meat with your hand or a rolling pin. Remove the plastic sheet. Repeat this process on another tray (as needed), until you have used all of the meat mixture.
Preheat the oven to 160C (320F). Then bake each tray for 15 minutes. Remove the tray(s) from the oven, and cut each piece into smaller squares. Prepare the basting liquid by heating the honey with water. Then brush the basting liquid on both sides of each piece of bak kwa.
Increase the heat to 220C (430F). Finally, arrange the bak kwa on a wire rack and bake for about 5 minutes on each side. Once the edges start to char, remove the bak kwa from the oven and cool. For this step, you can also use an air fryer and air fry at 200C for a few minutes on each side. In fact, this is a good way to crisp it up again if you want to eat it hot and crispy.
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