Sweet and Savory Pork Jerky - Making Bakwa from Scratch

Bakwa experiment.

After discovering that S&R sells Bee Cheng Hiang Chicken Bakwa, I became obsessed with the idea of making my own pork bakwa at home. A quick online search reassured me that it wasn’t overly complicated, and since I already had many of the ingredients in my pantry, I only needed to pick up a few items from the grocery store.

I based my recipe on one from Malaysian Chinese Kitchen, with a few tweaks to suit my taste and available ingredients.

Here’s what I used for my test batch (half the original recipe, which calls for 1 kilo of ground pork):

500 grams of ground pork (the recipe suggests 1 kilo, but I wanted to start small)
Dark soy sauce - not common here in the Philippines, where the usual soy sauce is very salty and thin. This thicker, more complex soy sauce is only found in larger supermarkets.
Shao Hsing cooking wine - a recent addition to my kitchen, which I first bought when making a big batch of pork siomai a few months ago.
Chinese five spice - not a regular ingredient in my cooking, but I sometimes use it for braised pork, so it felt like a natural fit here.
Fish sauce - a pantry staple in these parts, adding that familiar umami depth.
Ground pepper - I upped the amount by about 50% because I like my bakwa with a bit more kick.
Muscovado sugar - I swapped this for the white sugar in the original recipe to add a richer, molasses-like sweetness.
Sesame oil - another pantry favorite that adds a subtle nuttiness.
Paprika - not in the original recipe, but I wanted just a hint of warmth and color.
Aji Ginisa flavor mix - definitely not traditional, but after frying a small portion of the meat mixture to taste, I felt it needed more saltiness. Instead of adding more fish sauce, I used this seasoning to balance the flavor.
Honey - for glazing at the end, if you want to get fancy and add a glossy, sweet finish.

Since I couldn’t find my rolling pin, I spread the meat mixture as evenly as I could on a parchment-lined pizza tray that fits my air fryer. I cooked it at 250°F (121°C) for 15 minutes on one side. After that, I glazed the meat if desired, then finished it off in the air fryer at 400°F (204°C) for 6 to 8 minutes on a rack placed over a drip pan. I flipped the meat so the less-charred side was facing up for the final crisping. Keep a close eye during this step because the glaze’s sugar can burn quickly. For an even more authentic touch, try finishing the bakwa over a charcoal grill to infuse that irresistible smoky aroma.

The result was fantastic. It wasn’t as sweet as the commercial versions, but that’s the beauty of making bakwa yourself, you can experiment, adjust, and perfect the recipe to your own taste. Visit the Malaysian Chinese Kitchen for the full recipe.