Bak Kwa is a popular Chinese New Year snack with a delightful combination of sweet and savory. It is tender and full of flavor made with minced pork and simple marinade seasonings. It may look challenging, but making homemade pork jerky is easy with just 3 basic steps: marinating, shaping, and baking.
All About Pork Jerky Chinese Recipe
Chinese pork jerky, also known as bak kwa, is a popular dried meat snack often enjoyed during Chinese New Year festivities. However, it’s common to find this snack sold at high prices during the holiday season. Despite the cost, many enjoy its fragrant aroma and savory taste.
Additionally, making your own pork jerky allows you to control the ingredients and avoid additives commonly found in store-bought varieties.
So, instead of buying expensive pork jerky, I recommend making your own with my easy-to-follow recipe. Similar to beef jerky, Chinese pork jerky is a thin slice of dried minced pork. The only difference is that beef jerky requires dehydration, while Chinese pork jerky is grilled or baked until hardened.
You will need a pork cut with a bit of fat. This is made into minced pork and then marinated with sugar, salt, light soy sauce, oyster sauce, cooking wine, white pepper powder, and red beet powder for a deeper red hue. Flatten the meat mixture in a tray, bake, and brush it with a honey water mixture for that sugary crunch.
If you love Chinese snacks, I recommend making these as well:
- Wife Cakes (Sweetheart Cakes)
- Baked Sweet Potato Slices
- Air-Fried Chinese Chicken On A Stick
- Taro Snow Skin Mooncake With Cheese
- Fried Wonton Strips
- Snowflake Crisps
- Chinese-Style Salt And Pepper Chips
- Sachima (Chinese Soft Flour Pastry Cake)
- Chicken Floss
- Steamed Egg Custard Buns (Nai Wong Bao)
How To Customize The Ingredients
- Pork: I used about 200g of minced pork. Ideally, pork with a bit of fat is recommended to achieve tender results, similar to my Steamed Pork recipe. You can use lean pork with at least 10% fat or minced pork with about 20% fat. If there is no fat, the pork jerky becomes too dry. If there is too much fat, it becomes too oily. Avoid using frozen meat as well since it will have moisture when thawed which can affect the texture. If you prefer to use other types of meat, such as turkey, chicken, or beef, you can do so but the baking process and time may vary.
- Marinade: Marinate the ground pork for at least an hour. If you have time, you can marinate for a few more hours or overnight for better flavor absorption.
- Sugar: Sugar balances out the salty flavors of the other seasonings. Any type of sweetener is okay, such as white sugar, cane sugar, brown sugar, maple syrup, or coconut sugar.
- Salt: A marinade won’t be complete without a bit of salt. Salt helps bring out the flavors of the seasonings. And with the help of osmosis, the seasonings are more absorbed by the meat. Use any type of salt, such as sea salt, pink salt, and kosher salt and adjust to taste.
- Light soy sauce: Light soy sauce is one of the most flexible seasonings that serves as the foundation of marinades. It gives the jerky a deep umami and salty taste with a hint of soybean. You can use regular soy sauce, tamari, liquid aminos, coconut aminos, or gluten-free soy sauce.
- Oyster sauce: Oyster sauce does not taste fishy at all. In fact, it is umami, salty, and briny. It has a hint of caramel-like taste, similar to soy sauce mixed with barbecue sauce. You can swap this with hoisin sauce, kecap manis, teriyaki sauce, Worcestershire sauce with soy sauce and sugar, and oyster-flavored sauce.
- Cooking wine: Chinese cooking wine lends a sweet and briny taste. You can use Shaoxing rice wine or cooking sake. Other alternatives are dry sherry, meat or vegetable broth, red wine vinegar, or alcohol-free wine.
- White pepper powder: Unlike the woody, piney taste of black pepper, white pepper is musty and earthy with a subtle heat. You can swap white pepper powder with black pepper if needed.
- Optional for color: For a deeper red color, use natural coloring ingredients, such as red beet powder or red yeast rice. However, it is perfectly fine to omit this, and it will not affect taste or texture.
- Honey water mixture: Brushing the jerky with the honey water mixture is key to getting a sticky, crystallized outer layer. Both sides of the jerky are brushed with this mixture and baked until it hardens. I mixed 30g of honey with 15g of water. In addition to honey, you can use maltose syrup, maple syrup, or golden syrup.
- Optional flavoring ingredients: If you want to make a spicy version, add chili powder or cayenne pepper and adjust the taste according to your desired heat level. Aside from oyster sauce, you can add fish sauce for a salty, umami taste. To add more Asian flavors, add sesame oil for something nutty, Chinese five spice powder for a hint of licorice, and dark soy sauce for a deeper color and subtle sweetness.
How To Store And Reheat Bak Kwa
After making this delicious treat, let it cool down and follow these methods for storage and reheating:
- Pantry or room temperature: Store it in an airtight container and keep it in the pantry for 3 to 7 days. Make sure it is stored in a cool and dry location away from heat and sunlight. It should also be away from moist or wet environments.
- Fridge: Store it in an airtight container and keep it in the fridge for up to 1 month. Reheat by toasting it in the oven or microwave.
- Freezer: Freezing bak kwa is not recommended for quality purposes. But if you want to store it in the freezer, keep it in a sealed freezer-safe container and freeze it for 1 month or more. Reheat by letting it thaw and heating it in the oven or microwave.
Ingredients And Kitchenware
The essential tools you need for shaping the jerky are a baking tray lined with parchment paper (to prevent sticking), a rolling pin (to flatten the meat), and plastic wrap (to roll the rolling pin without the meat getting stuck). It helps to have a pastry brush or oil brush to apply the honey water mixture evenly onto the jerky. You will also need a mixing bowl for the marinade and a knife for cutting the jerky into smaller pieces.
Here’s what you need to prepare:
Kitchenware
- Mixing bowl
- Plastic wrap
- Parchment paper
- Baking tray (rectangular)
- Rolling pin
- Oil brush
- Knife or kitchen shears
Ingredients
- 200g of minced pork
- 1 tbsp of sugar
- 2g of salt
- 1 tbsp of light soy sauce
- 1/2 tbsp of oyster sauce
- 1 tbsp of cooking wine
- 2g of white pepper
- Red beet powder (optional for color)
- Honey water mixture: 30g of honey + 15g of water
Instructions To Make Pork Jerky Chinese Recipe
Don’t forget to follow my short tutorial video on Instagram or TikTok to get the best results. In a nutshell, simply marinate the ground pork, flatten it onto parchment paper on a flat surface, and keep baking and brushing with a honey water mixture. The result should be hardened jerky with a gooey sugar coating.
If you have tips and recommendations for this recipe, remember to leave a comment in the comments section. When you are done making this recipe, snap a photo and share it with me by tagging @kitchenmisadventures. Follow these steps to make pork jerky Chinese recipe:
- In a bowl, combine the minced pork with sugar, salt, light soy sauce, oyster sauce, cooking wine, white pepper, and optionally, red beet powder. Mix well, cover it with plastic wrap, and marinate for 1 hour or more. If using pork cuts, blend them in a blender or food processor until they become ground pork.
- Preheat the oven to 180°C.
- Place parchment paper onto a flat surface and transfer the marinated pork.
- Cover with plastic wrap and flatten the pork mixture into a thin layer with a rolling pin. The thickness should not be too thin or too thick. You can flatten it between 2mm to 4mm.
- After flattening the meat mixture, transfer the meat with the parchment paper to a baking tray and remove the plastic wrap. Avoid fully covering the tray with the meat to allow a clear space for flipping the meat and letting the juices flow.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 10 minutes at 180°C.
- In a small bowl, mix honey and water to make a honey water mixture.
- After baking for 10 minutes, brush the jerky with honey water and bake for 5 more minutes.
- Flip the pork to the other side and brush with the honey water mixture. Bake for another 5 minutes. Keep baking and brushing until you achieve your desired color and texture. The jerky should be hardened with a sticky sugar coating. If there is liquid in the tray, drain it out.
- When done, let it cool and slice the jerky into rectangular pieces using a knife or kitchen shears. Top it with white sesame seeds for decoration and a nutty taste.
How To Make Pork Jerky In The Oven
Ingredients
- 200 g of minced pork
- 1 tbsp of sugar
- 2 g of salt
- 1 tbsp of light soy sauce
- 1/2 tbsp of oyster sauce
- 1 tbsp of cooking wine
- 2 g of white pepper
- Red beet powder optional for color
- Honey water mixture: 30g of honey + 15g of water
Instructions
- In a bowl, combine the minced pork with sugar, salt, light soy sauce, oyster sauce, cooking wine, white pepper, and optionally, red beet powder. Mix well, cover it with plastic wrap, and marinate for 1 hour or more. If using pork cuts, blend them in a blender or food processor until they become ground pork.
- Preheat the oven to 180°C.
- Place parchment paper onto a flat surface and transfer the marinated pork.
- Cover with plastic wrap and flatten the pork mixture into a thin layer with a rolling pin. The thickness should not be too thin or too thick. You can flatten it between 2mm to 4mm.
- After flattening the meat mixture, transfer the meat with the parchment paper to a baking tray and remove the plastic wrap. Avoid fully covering the tray with the meat to allow a clear space for flipping the meat and letting the juices flow.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 10 minutes at 180°C.
- In a small bowl, mix honey and water to make a honey water mixture.
- After baking for 10 minutes, brush the jerky with honey water and bake for 5 more minutes.
- Flip the pork to the other side and brush with the honey water mixture. Bake for another 5 minutes. Keep baking and brushing until you achieve your desired color and texture. The jerky should be hardened with a sticky sugar coating. If there is liquid in the tray, drain it out.
- When done, let it cool and slice the jerky into rectangular pieces using a knife or kitchen shears. Top it with white sesame seeds for decoration and a nutty taste.
