Grilled Jerky / Bak Kwa / Dendeng

Name: Grilled Jerky / Bak Kwa / Dendeng
Total time: 10800 s
Cuisine: British
Ingredients: 300 g lean meat, e.g chicken breast; 300 g dark meat, e.g boneless chicken thigh; 2 tbsp brown sugar; 3 tbsp honey; 1 tbsp fish sauce; 1 tbsp light soy sauce; 1 tbsp oyster sauce; 1 tsp dark soy sauce; 2 tsp Chinese five spice; 2 tsp chilli flakes / gochugaru; 2 tsp ground pepper; 1 tsp liquid smoke or sesame oil

danh @dan_h

Singapore

This recipe requires a dehydrator and a charcoal grill to recreate the traditional methods used for Bak Kwa as close as possible.

The dehydrator aids in the drying and curing which is required to give bak kwa it's springy texture, useful for thicker cuts.

The charcoal grill may be substituted with liquid smoke and seared on a hot pan to char instead.

This recipe requires a dehydrator and a charcoal grill to recreate the traditional methods used for Bak Kwa as close as possible.

The dehydrator aids in the drying and curing which is required to give bak kwa it's springy texture, useful for thicker cuts.

The charcoal grill may be substituted with liquid smoke and seared on a hot pan to char instead.

danh @dan_h

Singapore

This recipe requires a dehydrator and a charcoal grill to recreate the traditional methods used for Bak Kwa as close as possible.

The dehydrator aids in the drying and curing which is required to give bak kwa it's springy texture, useful for thicker cuts.

The charcoal grill may be substituted with liquid smoke and seared on a hot pan to char instead.

This recipe requires a dehydrator and a charcoal grill to recreate the traditional methods used for Bak Kwa as close as possible.

The dehydrator aids in the drying and curing which is required to give bak kwa it's springy texture, useful for thicker cuts.

The charcoal grill may be substituted with liquid smoke and seared on a hot pan to char instead.

Saved

Ingredients

3 hr minimum

Meat (see meat selection notes)
300 glean meat, e.g chicken breast
300 gdark meat, e.g boneless chicken thigh
Marinade
2 tbspbrown sugar
3 tbsphoney
1 tbspfish sauce
1 tbsplight soy sauce
1 tbspoyster sauce
1 tspdark soy sauce
2 tspChinese five spice
2 tspchilli flakes / gochugaru
2 tspground pepper
1 tspliquid smoke or sesame oil

Saved

Steps

3 hr minimum

1

Mix marinade ingredients (all except chicken) and set aside.
Taste and adjust seasoning as preferred.
2

(Optional) If chicken breasts and thighs come with skin: Remove, chop and mince finely with a very sharp knife and set aside.
See notes on chicken fat percentage and mincing.
3

Slice chicken breasts and thighs into bite sized pieces and mix both parts together.
4

Place chicken breasts, thighs, skin and marinade into a blender and blend into a sticky paste.
Alternatively, marinade for at least one hour or overnight to let honey tenderize.
Blend in batches if required.
5

Spread the mixture between two large pieces of baking paper before using a rolling pin to even out thickness to about half a cm (thickness of a chopstick).
6

Transfer onto the dehydrator rack and set to 65c for 2 hours to slightly cure.
7

After dehydrating, store in freezer for months or reserve in fridge wrapped in baking paper until needed.
8

Brush bak kwa pieces with a mixture of honey and diluted water before grilling.
9

Grill bak kwa over charcoal or torch until slightly charred.
Do not grill or torch too long otherwise texture will become tough.
10

Use a scissors to cut into bite sized pieces and store in a container to serve.
11

Meat selection notes:
Pre ground minced tends to be too dry so avoid unless a fat percentage is labelled.
Using lean meat alone such as chicken breast alone would result in a very dry and dense end product.
12

Experiment and failure notes:
Using a chai or masala spice blend instead of five spice would turn the flavor into otah instead.
Honey is not only for sweetness but to tenderize. Substituting it with another form of sweetener would require an additional ingredient with protease, e.g pineapple, papaya, kiwi, pears etc.
Thin edges and rough surfaces char and burn quicker so use this to own preference.
13

Future ideas:
Combine beef, mutton and chicken similar to Bolognese, maybe try add sofrito too.
Explore other spice such as Szechuan peppercorns, other Chinese herbs, rempah or masala blends.
Make marinade into equilibrium brine instead.