Happy Lunar New Year my dear readers! (: So sorry for the lack of posts! I’ve been back in Singapore and spending as much time as I could with my family. But I’m back and ready to share lots with you, so please hang in there with me. I promise to make your time worthwhile!
I’m not sure what your traditions are for Chinese New Year, but for me, it’s about coming together as a family and feast on delicious food! Of course it’s not always about food, it’s also about spending time with your loved ones and just reminescing on the good things from the past year, setting goals for the new one!
There are many different kinds of Chinese New Year goodies that we love to eat. Lucky for me, I got to eat my fair share before I flew back to Melbourne. But there is one that I didn’t quite get to have and also sadly, we aren’t allowed to bring it back cause it’s meat. BAK KWA! It’s like a chinese pork jerky that is sweet and salty and just delicious!
Singaporeans really do love their bak kwa, and many would actually queue for hours to get some! So instead of queueing (plus I don’t think I can get any that are similar to those back home), I decided to try making them this year!
The best thing about this is that you can freeze it and just grill it when you feel like having some! Trust me. Once you have a bite, you would definitely want to keep some in your freezer. These are so addictive! So give them a go, you won’t regret it!
Homemade Bak Kwa (adapted from Nasi Lemak Lover)
Ingredients :
900g mince pork
130g caster sugar
2 tbs light soy sauce
1 tbs shaoxing wine
2 tbs oyster sauce
1 1/2 tsp thick dark soy
1/4 tsp five spice powder
Ground white pepper
1 tbs honey
Steps :
1) Marinade the mince pork a day before you intend to make it. In a large bowl, add all the ingredients and mix with a pair of chopsticks.
2) Make sure you stir it in one direction and until the mixture becomes gluey. Do make sure it’s gluey as it will allow the meat to stay as one piece after being baked. Cover the bowl with cling wrap and place it in the fridge overnight or for at least 3 hours.
3) Preheat the oven to 160 degrees Celcius. Spread the marinated pork mince thinly onto the baking tray using a spatula.
4) Bake the pork mince for 15 mins and remove it from the oven. Allow it to cool slightly before cutting it into desired shape and size using scissors or a pizza cutter. If you intend to freeze it, allow them to cool completely before placing them in a zip lock bag and freeze it up to 2 weeks.
5) Turn the grill on at 240 degrees Celcius and grill one side for 5 mins before flipping and grilling the other side for a further 5 mins, until the meat is golden brown or slightly charred on the sides. Let is cool down (it actually tastes better the day after it’s grilled!) and enjoy! (:
So you ready to make some bak kwa? You’ll love it for sure! Have a prosperous year of the horse everyone!!
Remember to always cook and bake with love.
Yummy!
it definitely is! (: x
Oooo you did it! I always thought it would be a long drawn process. Good to know that it’s doable!
Yes I did! (: and it’s very doable! hehe Should try it when you get here! hehe
Looks fab, Lianne…I use this recipe too!!!Never thought of freezing it, but great idea! It’s one of Mum’s fav things to eat =)
hehe it’ so good right??? hehe yes! I’ve frozen half of what I made! hehe so there’s always some when I want some! hehe Hope all is well! x
Mmm, this stuff is awesome! Thanks for the recipe! I always try to eat as much as I can when I go to Asia. I just wanted to say I’ve been following your blog for sometime and I love it! I was wondering if you could help me with something. You have a lovely font or ornament that has a line and then a row of little triangles on it. Most of the letters are capital letters…I was wondering if you could tell me what that font was…You use it in the picture for your Hazelnut olive oil cake 🙂
Hi Tara! (: Thanks for your constant support and I’m so glad you’re enjoying my posts! hehe the font that I use is called Holy Ravioli! haha It’s a cute font isn’t it? hehe Hope you can find it!! x
Thanks for your help! It’s a lovely font and great for a school project 🙂 Keep up the good work with your cooking and your blog!
No worries! Hope you found it! hehe and thanks for your constant support! x
Thanks for the recipe, will def be trying this out in the near future. Think I might add some chilli when I attempt it though 😉
Addition of chilli sounds good!! hehe
Waaah so cool to know that it can be quite easily made at home! Very true that this is one yummy thing that you can’t bring back to Australia. On my last trip to France, dad brought over 1kg of bak kwa and we had it with croissants… HAHAHHAHA! Desperate lar! 😀
Haha! (: That would be something I would do too if I had the chance!!! hehe Such a good combination I have to say! hehe Hope you had a good Lunar new year!! x