Bak Kwa

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Happy Lunar New Year! The Lunar New Year typically falls between January 21st and February 20th and celebrates the first new moon of the lunisolar calendar. This year, 2021, the new year starts today, 12th February. The lunisolar calendar is regulated by the cycles of the moon and the sun; a lunar year, which is 12 full cycles of the moon, takes roughly 354 days.

However the solar year, which is widely accepted as standard in the world, is based on the time it takes the earth to orbit the sun, which is 365 days. (Or, to be precise 365 days 5 hours 48 minutes 46 seconds, which is why we have leap years every 4 years – but that’s a whole different story!) The difference in time between the lunar and the solar years is the reason that the The Lunar New Year, is on a slightly different day each year.

Although most closely associated with the Chinese New Year, the Lunar New Year is also celebrated in Vietnam, Korea, Mongolia and Tibet. According to Chinese tradition, 2021 is the Year of the Ox, the second of the 12 zodiac animals, and this signals good fortunes for those born in the Years of the Ox – 1925, 1937, 1949, 1961, 1973, 1985, 1997, 2009 and now 2021.

Bak Kwa is a very popular and traditional New Year snack and gift. Is is a kind of Asian jerky. This delectable savoury, yet sweet, treat is made from pork (or beef or mutton) mince, marinated in sugar, soy sauce, oyster sauce, five spice, Shaoxing wine, fish sauce and some sambal oelek for a little kick. It is rolled out very thinly and then dried and cooked. This recipe is from the fabulous @sadiesweettreats. She explains that traditionally the meat is cooked over charcoal to give it a smokey flavour, but in this recipe it is grilled in the oven to make it more accessible to make at home.

Bak Kwa is quite sweet and because of the sugar in the recipe, it caramelises and can burn very suddenly. I caught mine just in time! Some dark caramelisation is what you are looking for to recreate that smoky flavour, but keep a very close eye on it!

Incredibly moreish, we plan to enjoy this treat tonight, probably with a beer! This is the first time I have made this – so the pictures are not great but the end result is fantastic. I hadn’t rolled it out perfectly evenly, so some slices were more chewy, whilst others were more crispy. Although this was not my original intention, this texture contrast, is actually delicious!

How to make Bak Kwa

Collect all your ingredients together:

• pork mince (or beef or mutton)
• bicarbonate of/baking soda
• caster sugar
• Shaoxing rice wine
• soy sauce
• fish sauce
• oyster sauce
• Sambal Oelek
• fine salt
• white ground pepper
• five spice powder

How to make this incredible treat:

1. Thoroughly mix the bicarbonate of/baking soda with the pork mince.
2. Add all the remaining ingredients to the bowl.
3. Mix until it is all completely combined and the meat is covered in all the glorious flavours.
4. Cover with cling film and put it in the fridge to marinate, for a minimum of an hour, but ideally for a few hours, or up to overnight in the fridge.
5. When you are ready to make it, place a large piece of baking parchment on your work surface and tip the meat out into the centre of it.
6. Top tip – using your hands, shape the meat into an oblong shape and ensure it is of even thickness before you start to roll it. I didn’t do this which was my biggest mistake because it made rolling it out evenly, very difficult.
7. Cover with cling film and roll out very thinly.
8. Use a palette knife to neaten the edges and try and ensure a more even edge.
9. Continue to roll – as it gets bigger, you may need to move the cling film around to the area you are rolling. Mine was roughly 25cms/10in x 40cms/16in.
10. Remove the cling film and transfer, on the baking parchment, to your oven tray and place in a very low temperature, pre-heated oven for 40 minutes to dry out a little.
11. After 40 minutes, turn the grill function on to 200°C/400°C/Gas 6 and grill the Bak Kwa until caramelised and cooked through. Turn the baking tray every 5 minutes or so to ensure even cooking and do not take your eyes off it – it can burn very easily.
12. Take out of the oven and very carefully turn the meat over. Briefly cook on the other side until glistening and a glorious sweet, sticky, brown colour. If you notice any areas burning or cooking more quickly than others, cover this area in a little bit of foil.
13. Leave to cool on the tray. When cool, remove onto a large chopping board, cut off the burnt edges and chop into squares.
14. Store in an airtight container in the fridge.

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Made this recipe?

If you make this recipe, do please tag me on instagram @daffodil_kitchen. You could also leave a comment in the box directly below the recipe.