Bak Kwa
We had a picnic among friends just in the past weekend. It was perhaps the largest we had organized with over 50 adults and children attending. We could not have chosen a better weekend as the day was simply beautiful and a great time to be outdoors. Feels like summer already to us!
It was a pot luck picnic and as usual, everyone tries to bring something unique to the picnic to share. Suanne had a great idea to make something new for a change — Bak Kwa (or Rougan in Mandarin or Yoke Kon in Cantonese). Bak Kwa is basically dried meat … perhaps like the western Jerky but not quite. Bak Kwa is miles better than any Jerkies in the world, I swear.
Surprisingly the way to make it is a simple process although it could be tedious and time consuming to prepare the slices. There is a two step process … the first is to prepare dried slices from minced meat (Suanne used pork) and then the second part is to grill it to release the juiciness.
The pictures below does not do justice to the taste. Well, it was my first time grilling the Bak Kwa but really it should look like this (click here). However it looked, it actually tastes not bad … not great but really good.
Here is how you make it …
Ingredients
- 1 kg ground pork (from the part called Mui Tao Sao)
Marinate:
- 1 1/2 tablespoons fish sauce
- 1 1/2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 200g sugar (more if you like it sweeter)
- 1/8 teaspoon five spiced powder
- 1/2 teaspoon kam cho (licorice) powder
- 1/2 teaspoon white pepper
- 1 tablespoon oil
- 2 tablespoons rose wine
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons honey
Click on the link below for the instructions.
Instructions
 Season the ground pork with the marinating ingredients and mix thoroughly. |
 Leave the pork in the fridge overnight or at least for four hours for the marinates to permeate the pork. |
 Preheat the oven to 175F.Place dollops of the marinated pork on a baking sheet and try to spread the meat as thinly as possible to cover the whole sheet. |
 Bake in the 175F oven for 15 minutes or until the meat is firm to the touch. |
 Use a paper towel to absorb the excess oil from the partially cooked pork before cutting it into smaller pieces. |
 Layer the pork pieces in between layers of aluminum foil to prevent them from sticking together. |
 Here is a thin piece of the bak kwa in comparison with a fork.The bak kwa is now ready for grilling or wrapped tightly in aluminum foil and freezeuntil needed. |
 Grill the bak kwa in medium heat to prevent burning.The meat does shrink quite a bit after grilling. |
Popularity: 16% [?]
Technorati:
About the Author: 
Ada | Jun 5, 2007 | Reply
Hi Ben and Suanne,
I have been reading your website and I just think it’s amazing! I was originally from Hong Kong but lived in Singapore for 5 years when I was a kid and really misses the food there and in Malaysia. Reading about your blog bring back those good memories! Wow, I’m impressed that you know how to make bak kwa.. I think I’ll try it myself too.. but I have a question, what is licorice powder?? I’m in San Francisco… dont know if they sell it in the chinese stores.. if so.. what is the name in chinese? Can I leave it out?
Thanks!
PS: I lived in Vancouver for 14 years before moving down to SF so I have been/heard of a lot of the resturants you blogged about… Oh, and I love Kam Do too! =D
Ada | Jun 5, 2007 | Reply
Never mind!! I figured out what kam cho is… Gum Cho, some sort of grass but in powder form right? Ok, I get it. I’ll search around chinatown to see if they have it.. thanks again! Oh by the way I enjoyed reading your UK posts too. I”ll be there in Sep for 2 weeks for work and I really craved chinese food the last time (didn’t know where to find them!) With your post, I’m gonna take the underground and go to that BBQ store to have BBQ!! =D
Suanne | Jun 5, 2007 | Reply
Hi Ada, you are right on the Gum Cho. I bought mine from a Chinese herbal store and it only cost $1 per oz. If you really cant find the Gum Cho, just add a bit more of the five spiced powder which also consists Gum Cho in it.
Elly | Jun 5, 2007 | Reply
Tks for the recipy. I love how you show each step. Have been wanting to make Yoke Kon for a long time. Now that I can see what u do I will try making it.
What is Mui Tao Sao in English. Is it a Cantonese word?
Cheers Elly
Suanne | Jun 5, 2007 | Reply
Hi Elly, when I asked the butcher what is the English term for Mui Tao Sao (yes, in Cantonese), he said he did not know but it’s something close to pork butt. You need a little bit of fats so that the meat is tender. One of my friend who tasted it said it’s too lean while Ben said it’s a tad too fatty. So, it’s up to your preference on how fatty you like it. I remembered someone recommended 20% fat would be perfect. If you make it with chicken meat, the thigh meat would be the preferred meat.
Chubbypanda | Jun 5, 2007 | Reply
Looks good. I wonder if using a meat drying box would work. There’s one I’ve been meaning to build for making jerky. This would be interesting to try with it
Pamela K. | Jun 6, 2007 | Reply
I love reading your blog and the awesome recipes!My question might be rather silly but I am very curious. I see mentioned quite often ‘community kitchen’ …. just what is this??? Thank you in advance,
Pamela K.
Suanne | Jun 6, 2007 | Reply
Hi Pamela, community kitchen is a service provided by the Family Services of Greater Vancouver. It’s where a group of people meet together in a community setup with a large kitchen like community centers, churches, etc. The members share recipes and demonstrate in the kitchen and enjoy the labour of their love. Members share the cost of the food. It’s a great place to learn new recipes and many times from other cultures and also a great place to practice English for new immigrants. This is a great place to meet new friends.
rose | Jun 10, 2007 | Reply
i have been looking for this recipe for a long time but no luck; thanks for sharing!
rose | Jun 13, 2007 | Reply
hi suanne:
thanks for sharing this recipe with us; i live in the east coast; i can’t find the ricorice powder; however i have licorice roots that i sometimes would use like teabags. i figure if i grind up a small amount of the roots; that would be able to yield enough powder to spice it up.
Suanne | Jun 13, 2007 | Reply
Hi Rose, you certainly can grind up the licorice root and use it for the recipe.
rose | Jun 13, 2007 | Reply
hi suanne:
all the ingredients are in my grocery list. i can’t wait to make this “bak-wa”. will let everybody know on the outcome.
great site, it’s definitely my mostly visited site!
rose | Jun 14, 2007 | Reply
hi suanne:
it turned out very nice. i played around using ground turkey mixed with ground pork and even make it a little spicy! all i have to do after the pre-bake is to throw them in the toaster oven, and i have a very tasty “bak-wa”. i recalled the vendors used a little fatty part, and it almost glazed, but i just want a leaner one. great basic recipe, and the licorice makes a difference from other kind of jerky style meat.
thanks for sharing it with us.
Darrell Martin | Aug 5, 2007 | Reply
I just flew home from SIngapore with 2 POUNDS of Bak Kwa which I got in Chinatown. It ws fresh, delicious, vacuum sealed, labeled and …confiscated at SFO customs. Had to declare such a huge packages as that.
Thank you for the recipe, gonna have to make my own.
Wenny Tan | Sep 17, 2007 | Reply
Hi,
Can you tell me what is “kam Cho (licorice) powder” is? What is it made from? Where can I mostly find it? If I can’t find it, can I replace that with something else? Is this ingredient plays a major part in this dish?
Suanne | Sep 17, 2007 | Reply
Hi Wenny, licorice is a root plant which has a sweet flavour. It does give the Bak Kwa it’s flavour. You may find licorice powder in Chinese herbal store.
Jenny | Mar 11, 2008 | Reply
Hi Suanne
Thanks for sharing the recipe, I will try it when I’m off work. Have not had this for years as I have been living in the UK >25 yrs and only go back to Msia/Sin once every 2 or 3 yrs. This is an interesting site and I’m sure to visit this more often for other mouth-watering recipes from home.
indiegrunge | Aug 28, 2008 | Reply
hi there i was just wondering if you need to add any coloring to get the red color of the bak kwa, or if there’s anything that will give the redness that bak kwa has?
thanks!
Suanne | Aug 28, 2008 | Reply
Hi Indiegrunge, there is no food coloring in this recipe.