There is a famous brand which manufactures these pork snacks called Bee Cheng Hiang, but I wasn't able to find their recipe. I'm sure it is a highly guarded secret. With this in mind, I embarked on my own journey to try recreate at least a decent Bak Kwa.
My starting point was to check out the existing recipes and then try to improve upon them. After a little Googling (I'm sure that's a verb nowadays), I decided to use this one. I chose it because it didn't use artificial red colouring and seemed more authentic than the others on the web.
So following that recipe, I cooked a tiny portion and tasted...it was fine but the proportions needed changing. So I adjusted the seasoning (sometimes doubling the amount) and added to the pork mix till I was satisfied... and the end result was pretty fantastic, even if I say so myself. (I made it a spicy version)
Here is my recipe:
- 300g minced pork
- 1 tbsp fish sauce
- 1 tsp dark soy sauce
- 1/2 tsp five spice powder
- 3/4 tbsp of Chinese Rice Wine
- 1/8 cup sugar
- 3 tbsp honey
- 5 tbsp of sambal belachan chilli
Thoroughly mix all the ingredients up into the pork. Place between two sheets of baking paper and flatten until 2 - 3mm and remove the top sheet of paper. Place into the oven at 100 degrees for about ten minutes. The pork will cook and let out a lot of liquid, but it will now be able to hold together as a sheet.
Cut the sheet into smaller but workable portions and then place onto a charcoal BBQ. Grill until slightly charred. The pork will stiffen and the colour turn to a dark red. Let cool and eat!
