Wednesday, February 4, 2009

Bak Kwa!



















I'm sure most people will agree with me ... Chinese New Year is not complete without Bak Kwa! It's like Mid-Autumn Festival is not complete without carrying lanterns and eating mooncakes. Since we can't find/buy any Bak Kwa in the woods, I will have to find a way to make some!

I got the recipe from Lily's Blog.
Thank you Aunty, for the wonderful recipe!

1 kg Ground Pork
11/2 tbsp Oyster Sauce
11/2 tbsp
Soy Sauce
1 cup
Sugar
1/8 tsp
5-Spiced Powder
1/2 tsp
Cinnamon Powder
1/2 tsp
White pepper (I use only 1/4 tsp)
1 tbsp
Oil
2 tbsp
Rose Wine (I use Shaoxing Wine)

  • Season pork with marinade for at least 4 hours.
  • Preheat oven to 175F.
  • Oil the underside of a baking sheet.
  • Spread a portion of the seasoned pork, as thinly as possible, over the baking sheet.
  • I cover the underside of the baking sheet with parchment paper, and spread the pork on the parchment paper instead.
  • You can also put the pork, spread thinly on asheet of parchment paper, onto a baking tray/grilling pan to bake. Some fluid may be released while baking, and the tray is good for containing the fluid. You don't want the fluid to drip onto your heating element in the oven.
  • Bake for 10 minutes, or till the pork is firm to the touch.
  • Adjust the temperature or time, depending on your oven.
  • The pork is not supposed to be browned when done. Just firm.
  • Remove from oven, and let cool.
  • Cut into pieces.
  • The meat is now ready for Grilling (using broiler), or to be wrapped in foil and freeze!
  • For grilling, brush a little honey onto the pieces of baked pork.
  • Broil for a couple of minutes, and turn the pieces over.
  • Do not leave the pieces of pork under the broiler for too long or they will be burnt.

I am really grateful to this kind lady. She is very generous and shares many asian recipes in her blog. Without her recipe and step by step explanation, I will not be able to make any Bak Kwa for this new year. The boys were very excited. They kept coming into the kitchen and asked if the Bak Kwa were ready, ha ha. They had it as their snack that night, and I packed some for their lunchboxes the next day.





























We received an envelope containing some Chinese New Year decorations in our mailbox during the first week of Chinese New Year. It was from Hubby's friend. The kids were excited as their papa opened the envelope containing the decorations.

The lantern does make the house look more festive =)
... and ... I am looking forward to Spring!

8 comments:

panda257 said...

Hi :)

I tried this recipe of bak gua, but it seems to be pale and totally doesnt look like yours. (taste wise, 100% doesnt taste like the famous Singapore bak gua).

PiggyMummy said...

Hi, Maybe the baking/grilling time was not long enough, hence the pale colour? Two rounds of baking. First round to just cook the meat slices. Second round, to grill till browned.

The recipe yields bakgua (in my opinion) close to the ones I have had back home. Not 100% of course, or else the famous bakgua stalls will have to close their stalls. Everyone will be making their own with no one buying =p Anything close is good for me as I couldn't get my hands on any while staying "in the woods" =)

panda257 said...

Hi :)

Less than 10mins, everything went burnt. Mom had to assist me, but still charcoal in colour. :((

PiggyMummy said...

I'm so sorry to hear that everything was burnt =(
For the grilling, you have to stand in front of the oven to 'watch' how the meat browns. The colour darkens after you take them out and leave on the table to cool for a while. So it's better to take them out once you see the edges starting to burn. You might want to move your rack further away from the heating element too. That's what I do when I see the edges starting to brown too fast and the centre of the pieces are still not so grilled. Hope it helps =)

panda257 said...

Oven? LOL. I used gas grill. No worries. Next batch will try your tips :))

PiggyMummy said...

yes, i use an oven =)

panda257 said...

:) my mom did all the baking. It tasted so good (I ate the whole container). Thanks alot for the recipe & tips :))

PiggyMummy said...

Thank you so much for dropping a comment and letting me know that it turned out great after the first try! My boys also finished the whole container by themselves =) Have fun baking and eating!

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