Thursday 23 January 2014

Homemade Cognac Bak Kwa - Chinese Pork Jerky 自制白兰地猪肉干 (中英食谱教程)


Chinese New Year is just around the corner, (in fact less than a week's time), it is not difficult to decide what to bake on the opening of my new dry kitchen using my new Brandt oven. I have decided to bake the Chinese Pork Jerky known as Bak Kwa or Rou Gan (肉干)which is traditionally eaten during this festival. Bak Kwa is available throughout the year in our local stores like Bee Chun Heng (美真香)and Fragrance (香味). However, nearer to the Chinese New Year, the price per kilogram would rocket up almost double to SIN $50 ~ $60. What an exorbitant price to pay!

Making Bak Kwa at home is not difficult. My first attempt last year was so well received that the first tray of bak kwa was gone in minutes when it came out of the oven!
 
This year, I decide to make something special with my homemade Bak Kwa by adding cognac to the marinate. As we know, cooking with wine will bring additional flavor to the food we are preparing. If you have young children at home like me, you may be concern about adding alcohol to any food that they will be consuming. But not to worry, it is absolutely safe for the kids to eat the cognac bak kwa (白兰地肉干)because when the wine is being heated, the alcohol and the sulfates found in it are cooked off, leaving only an aroma and light taste.
I baked a batch this afternoon and it is very fragrant. My kids did not detect anything unusual and they ate it happily. Do try making these homemade bak kwa as it is definitely healthier than store bought ones. We can eat with ease as we know what goes into making it, most important without any preservatives and chemicals. It will also make a great gift for your relatives and friends especially when they know it is homemade with love.

Updated on 25 January 2017
Here's the video of me demonstrating bak kwa on MediaCorp Channel 8 - 'Hello Singapore!' 24/1/17 programme. 
这是我在8频道“狮城有约”24/1/17的节目里,示范自制肉干的视频。




Click 'HERE' to watch this web exclusive video which shows you healthy ways of using bak kwa in your food preparation! 😊
肉干和什么食材搭配在一起,会吃得更健康呢?点击“这里”看这网路独家视频吧!


Updated 11 Jan 2017
Click "HERE" to see my updated highly recommended Homemade Bak Kwa recipe. 
请点击“” 看最新强力推荐的自制猪肉干食谱。










Homemade Cognac Bak Kwa - Chinese Pork Jerky 
自制白兰地猪肉干
(Recipe adapted and modified from here.) 


Tools needed:
Aluminium Baking Tray Size: 39cm x 34 cm (15” x 13”)
Pizza Cutter


Ingredients:
100g brown sugar
1 tbsp premium light soy sauce
1 tbsp Cognac (I use Hennessy V.S.O.P., you can replaced with rose wine or Shaoxing rice wine to make original flavour)
1tbsp premium oyster sauce

1 tsp fish sauce
1tsp premium dark soy sauce

1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp Chinese five spices powder
500g minced pork leg (with some fat for greater taste)

**If you prefer sweeter bak kwa, you may add 1~2 tbsp of honey to the above marinate.

Honey Glazed- 1 tbsp honey dilute with 1 tsp water (for brushing on the cooked slice pork before grilling)

Sauces for marinate


自制白兰地猪肉干 (谱教程)

所需工具:
铝烘盘尺寸:39厘米X 34厘米(15“×13”
比萨刀

材料:
100克 红糖
1
汤匙 特级酱青 
1
汤匙 白兰地 (可用玫瑰露酒或绍兴花雕酒做原味的)
1汤匙 特极耗油

1茶匙 鱼露 
1茶匙 特级黑酱油
1/2茶匙 盐
1/4茶匙 五香粉 
500猪腿肉碎(要带点肥肉比较好吃)
** 如果喜欢吃甜一些的肉干,可以在腌料中加入1〜2汤匙的蜂蜜

- 1汤匙加1茶匙水 (刷在煮好的肉片上)



Method 做法:
1)Put the first 8 ingredients in a bowl and mixed well into a sauce. Place the minced meat in a big mixing bowl and pour the mixed sauce into it and start mixing together with a pair of chopsticks. Blend and stir the mixture in one direction until the meat becomes gluey. (this is important, otherwise the meat will break up) Store in the fridge for 4-6 hours or overnight.


1)把8种调味料放入碗中搅拌均匀。将肉碎放入一个容器,把酱倒进,用一双筷子朝同样的方向,一直搅拌直到肉与酱混合变成胶状。(这个步骤很重要,肉烘烤时才不会分散)然后放入冰箱腌制4~6小时或隔夜最佳。


Marinate the minced pork and chill overnight


2) Spread the marinated minced pork thinly onto the baking tray lay with parchment or non stick baking paper.


2) 把腌好的肉碎薄薄地铺放在铺有一层不粘烤纸的烤盘上。





3) Bake at pre-heated oven at 130C top and bottom heat fan forced (for my brandt oven, I used the traditional pulsed function) for 12 mins. After the meat is cooked at this stage, remove from oven. Increase the oven temperature to 200C top heat fan forced. 


3) 放入预热烤箱,以130摄氏度上下火旋风,烘烤12分钟。肉煮熟后,从烤箱取出。把烤箱转成上火,温度提升至200摄氏度。





4) Cut the cooked meat into 9 pieces or any desired size with a pizza cutter (or scissors) as seen in the photo. Flip to the opposite side and brush the meat with the honey glaze.


4) 用披萨刀把肉切成9块, 翻到另一面,并刷上蜂蜜汁。





5) Put the tray of cut meat back into the top rack of the oven. Grill one side for 8~10mins, remove from oven, flip over to the other side, brush with honey glaze before putting it back to the top rack of the oven to grill for another 6~8mins or until golden brown with slight burnt. (The cooking temperature as suggested in all my recipes serve as a guideline. Every oven has different thermostat, you may have to adjust the temperature and timing to suit your oven. )

5) 然后把烤盘放入烤箱顶层,烤8〜10分钟。从烤箱取出,翻到另一面,刷上蜂蜜汁,再放入烤箱顶层,烤6〜8分钟或直到有轻微烧焦就可以了。(食谱里的烘烤温度和时间只是供参考,每一架烤炉的恒温器都不同,请自己调适。)



6) Once done, let cool and enjoy!

6) 冷却后享用!



Personal Note小笔记: 
1. 500g of minced meat can make 9 pieces of bak kwa weighing about 270 grams as most of the moisture have evaporated during the baking process.

1。500克的猪绞肉可做9片,重约270公克,因为大部份的水份在烘烤过程中已被蒸发掉了。

2. For homemade bak kwa if not consumed within a day, you can put it in an airtight container and store it in the fridge for about one week and in the freezer for up to one month. Just heat it up before consuming. 

2。自制肉干如果在一天内吃不完,可用密封盒保存。放入冰箱可收藏一星期,放入冷冻可收藏一个月。想吃时,再热一热就可以了。 





Feedback given by reader who has tried this recipe:


Marie Tseng says:"This is so yummy! "





Bak Kwa Recipe on WB News 
肉干食谱上晚报新闻 17/1/2015

6 February 2015: 
Update : Click 'here' to see my latest creation - Pineapple Prosperity Bak Kwa. 
更新:点击‘这’看最新创作 -  凤梨(旺来)肉干




“It takes time and effort to compose or translate recipes, I would appreciate it if you do not copy and pass it off as your own recipe. If you wish to share or adapt any of the recipes that I have posted in this blog, please provide a link back to the relevant post here. Thank you.”
"编写或翻译食谱需要时间和精力的,请不要复制或将它作为自己的食谱。如果你想分享在我部落格的任何食谱,请提供在这里的相关链接,谢谢。"

© Copyright 2014 bakingtaitai.blogspot.sg

6 comments :

Sanflower said...

Made my first attempt with this recipe and it was a huge success! My family loved it :)
Thank you for sharing this wonderful recipe!

Paulie said...

Thanks a lot, I made three batches and yet have to make more upon request from my relatives during Chinese New Year ! guess I would be very busy even after new year, not to mention that I simply love it. Best regards.

Unknown said...

Thanks for sharing! Now we can make our own bak gwa and avoid being 'chop' by retailers during CNY! ;)

Unknown said...

Hi Cheryl,
Thank you for sharing the bak kwa recipe. As I am living abroad now, I'm craving for bak kwa..
May I know how thin must the bak kwa be? Sorry for such a question as this is my first time making it.
Thank you for taking your time to read and reply to my question. ^^
-Keri-

Baking Taitai said...

Hi Keri, spread thinly to fill out a 15" x 13" tray, about 2mm.

Unknown said...

Thank you Cheryl! Yesterday I marinated the meat now going to start spreading it into thin layer.
Thanks again!
-Keri-