Bak Kwa (Chinese Barbecue Pork Jerky)

Method15 steps

1. 1

   Step 1: Pat the pork dry with clean kitchen paper and trim as needed. Cut into small pieces and mince finely in a food processor, or mince by hand. Keep raw pork and its utensils separate from cooked food.

   Uses 500 g pork neck, or a pork cut with about 20% fat

2. 2

   Step 2: Put the minced pork in a mixing bowl. Add ¾ tsp salt, 80 g sugar and the 2 tbsp maltose reserved for the marinade. Mix thoroughly.

   Uses All the minced pork from step 1 · ¾ tsp salt · 80 g sugar · 2 tbsp marinade maltose

3. 3

   Step 3: Add the white pepper, Thai fish sauce (1 tsp), Shaoxing wine (1 tbsp), five-spice powder (⅛ tsp), oyster sauce (1 tbsp), light soy sauce (2 tbsp), dark soy sauce (1 tbsp) and sesame oil (1 tsp). Stir in one direction until the mixture becomes sticky and well combined.

   Uses All the pork mixture from step 2 · A dash of ground white pepper · 1 tsp Thai fish sauce · 1 tbsp Shaoxing wine · ⅛ tsp five-spice powder · 1 tbsp oyster sauce · 2 tbsp light soy sauce · 1 tbsp dark soy sauce

4. 4

   Step 4: Cover and refrigerate at 4°C or colder for 8 hours, or overnight. Keep the mixture cold until you are ready to shape and cook it.

   Refrigerate the pork mixture for 8 hours · 480 minUses All the seasoned mixture from step 3

5. 5

   Step 5: Preheat the oven to 160°C. Line shallow baking trays with baking paper. A 35 × 18 cm tray is a useful size, but use enough tray area and oven loads to spread the mixture to 2 mm thick. Keep room in the refrigerator for uncooked sheets waiting to bake.

6. 6

   Step 6: Stir the cold marinated pork mixture thoroughly, then divide it into two equal groups. Work with the first half and keep the second half covered in the refrigerator. Keep any working mixture that is waiting for tray space refrigerated too.

   Uses All the chilled mixture from step 4

7. 7

   Step 7: Lightly grease your hands with cooking oil. Spread the first half of the pork mixture onto the lined trays, distributing it over as much tray area as needed for thin sheets. Keep uncooked portions cold while you work.

   Uses The first half of the mixture divided in step 6 · Cooking oil, as needed to grease hands

8. 8

   Step 8: Cover the mixture with another sheet of baking paper and roll it evenly to about 2 mm thick. Remove the top paper. Refrigerate any shaped sheets that will not go straight into the oven.

   Uses The spread mixture from step 7

9. 9

   Step 9: Bake one oven load at 160°C on the middle rack for about 15 minutes. Check from 15 minutes and continue until the ground pork is fully cooked and reaches 71°C/160°F at the centre. Keep the remaining uncooked sheets refrigerated. Cook the pork through before glazing and browning it.

   Check the baked pork sheets · 15 minUses The sheets from step 8 that fit this oven load

10. 10

    Step 10: Lift out the baked sheets and cut into squares with scissors or a pizza cutter. Pieces around 4 inches across are a guide where the sheet size permits; smaller pieces are fine. Turn the oven to 240°C with top heat for browning.

    Uses The fully cooked sheets from step 9

11. 11

    Step 11: Dissolve the separate 2 tbsp glaze maltose in 1 tbsp hot water. Brush a thin layer onto the first face of the cooked pork pieces. Keep the remaining glaze in its bowl for the second face and later loads.

    Uses The cooked pieces cut in step 10 · 2 tbsp glaze maltose · 1 tbsp hot water

12. 12

    Step 12: Arrange the glazed pork pieces on a metal rack over a drip tray. Brown the first face under the oven top heat at 240°C for about 3–5 minutes, checking from 3 minutes. Watch constantly and stop when lightly charred and glossy; do not let the sugar burn.

    Check the first browned face · 3 minUses The glazed pork pieces from step 11, with the remaining glaze kept aside

13. 13

    Step 13: Turn the pieces and brush the second face with some of the remaining glaze. Brown that face under the top heat at 240°C for about 3–5 minutes, checking from 3 minutes and watching constantly, until glossy and lightly charred.

    Check the second browned face · 3 minUses All the browned pieces from step 12 · Glaze prepared in step 11, as needed for the second face

14. 14

    Step 14: Keep the finished pieces on a clean plate. Return the oven to 160°C and repeat the spreading, rolling, full baking, cutting, glazing and two-face browning in steps 7–13, using the one glaze batch prepared in step 11, for any remaining first-half sheets, then for the second half of the mixture. Keep all uncooked mixture and sheets refrigerated until their turn. Make every sheet about 2 mm thick, bake each load through to 71°C/160°F before browning, and use the remaining glaze as needed. Continue until all the pork mixture is cooked; the number of oven loads depends on your trays and oven.

    Uses The cooked and browned pieces from step 13 · Any remaining cold sheets shaped in step 8 · The second half reserved in step 6 · Any remaining glaze from step 11 for later loads · Further cooking oil only as needed for greasing

15. 15

    Step 15: Serve the bak kwa freshly cooked. Refrigerate unserved pieces promptly in shallow covered containers at 4°C or colder, within 2 hours of cooking, or within 1 hour if the room is hotter than 32°C. Use refrigerated cooked pork within 3–4 days, or freeze it. Reheat stored pieces to 74°C/165°F before serving.

    Uses Finished pieces from step 14, including any unserved remainder