Bakkwa - Bacon of the Gods

[roddy]

I was introduced to this stuff by a friend several years ago and after stuffing my face on it last night I feel a need to share it with the world.

Basically it's a Singaporean thing apparently, and I've only ever had it from the 美珍香 chain, there's one in the Wudaokou shopping center, plus plenty of other malls. - list of Beijing stores here.

You want the 经典肉干, although there's also a spicy version you might like to try. It's like bacon covered in . . . I don't know. Ambrosia perhaps, although I suspect it's actually just honey. Thankfully it's expensive (110Y / 500g) otherwise I'd have died of it long ago. Plus other meaty delicacies.

Questions - is there a cheaper local equivalent of this? I've never seen anything like it in local 肉干 shops, where the 肉 is . . . well, 干. And if not, would it work out cheaper to move to somewhere else in Asia so I can eat it every day? Are there any cities where having this for breakfast would be considered normal?

[dumdumdum]

there are many shops in HK, TW and SG. its basically an old chinese recipe, pork slices barbecued with either honey mixture, if you prefer sweet taste, or soy sauce if you prefer saltish taste. the HK and SG types are sweet, whereas hokkien people usually likes it saltish. but it can be anywhere in between depending on each other's 'grandpa recipe'.

美珍香is the only SG one which made it to china, under modern management. most of these are family businesses and like most family businesses, they decline after a few generations cos the younger generations are not interested. it's pretty tideous and generally labourers dont earn much respects (even the money is good), from traditional chinese viewpoints. so the younger generations are not interested in the business.

it goes best with plain white rice porriage from traditional stand. but japanese and koreans like to eat it with beer. it is very expensive in these countries. most westerners i met think it's 'unhealty processed food'. maybe i'm just lucky to meet all the greenies...

[skylee]

Oh but it is just common 豬肉乾, isn't it? Something very common, right? People going to Macau like to bring some home and there is free tasting on the streets of Macau. Or is it something else?

[semantic nuance]

美珍香in Taiwan

I can buy that in the traditional market and it is not so expensive as that sold in the stores. I have had the very thin crispy one. Well too tasty!

[Zomac]

110Y per 500g seems to be pretty expensive.

The cheapest variation, usually sold at RMB1-2, is like a piece of thin paper that gives you pretty horrible mouth-feel. For the one with a similar taste to 美珍香, try 优之良品. It may be a little bit cheaper.

If you're addictive to the level that you couldn't live without it, better do re-engineering on it and develop the recipe on your own. It seems to me that the seasoning and preparation is similar to making BBQ pork (叉烧).

I had a glimpse on recipes available on internet but all of them miss one natural but important "secret" ingredient in a commercial recipe.

Anyway, they use maltose (麦芽糖) and brown sugar (红糖) instead of honey. Make them syrup. Seasoned with 八角, 茴香. Many recipes on internet use 花椒 but 美珍香 (and hong kong jerky too) doesn't seem to use it much.

如果真要试, 我会买一斤猪颈肉 (pig's neck), 肥瘦参半的, 就算弄错了, 至少也不会太硬, 咬不动.

用刀背或木棍不断拍打, 打至薄薄一片和起胶, 可能要打20分钟以上.

之后把肉泡在调味汁料, 用慢火烤至半熟. 约10分钟后, 拿出来补上酱汁, 继续烤. 烤好后拿出来风干一段时间.

烤箱可以用, 但这些东西应该是明火(碳或煤气)烧出来的, 做到边缘要微焦(叫燶边或焦边). 不过家里不好搞, 可以考虑一下在烤箱先弄好, 火干后再拿到煤气灶上, 烧几十秒营造“焦”的口感. (用煤气灶直接烤东西, 其实比碳还卫生)

不过人家做了那么多年, 可能要试验很多次才能仿制得差不多, 但要做类似的东西, 似乎也不难。

What I'm sure is that 美珍香 earns huge money that they are always located in the best location with skyrocketing rental cost.

To make it at home, the cost of the meat is at around RMB10. After baked, pork will lose some weight but it will gain weight from syrup. So the total cost should be less than RMB15 per 500g.

[xiaocai]

Well 肉干 itself is a south China snack so I doubt if you can find a "local alternative" of 美珍香 in Beijing.Personally I find it alright, and it is a little bit too sweet to me. Just have to say that different people have different taste.