Every year, Chinese New Year goodies take on more adventurous and newfangled flavours. Think pandan-flavoured egg rolls, salted egg yolk kueh lapis and lemongrass pineapple tarts. Bak kwa, or barbecued jerky, is the latest festive food to undergo a fanciful makeover. Instead of pork, a wider variety of meat is used, ranging from organically-grown chicken, lobster to crocodile, and bak kwa makers are pushing the envelope by seasoning the jerky with durian, pineapple and coffee.
1. Durian Bak Kwa
Love durian and bak kwa? Get the best of both worlds with this enigmatic-sounding pork jerky. Each slab of meat is barbecued with luscious Mao Shan Wang durian pulp. The novel-sounding jerky is caramel-sweet with a pungent durian aftertaste. This is one of seven bak kwa flavours at Hu Zhen Long, a home-grown bak kwa shop that started in 1972. Other brow-raising bak kwa include lobster, shark's meat and crocodile meat, and pork infused with coffee.
Where: Hu Zhen Long, 14 Sago Street, open: 10:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m., daily, tel: 6324-5825; 272 South Bridge Road, open: 11:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m., daily, tel: 6222-9518
Price: $120 per kg
2. Apple and Lychee Wood-smoked Bak Kwa
Meat smoked with fragrant wood chips are getting trendy in restaurants. Why not extend this dining trend to bak kwa? Local food manufacturing company Golden Bridge has come up with individually vacuum-packed bak kwa that is infused with these two flavours that are more closely associated with Christmas feasts.
Where: Order online
Price: $19.60 per pack
3. Borrowdale Pork Bak Kwa
Guilty of pecking at one too many slices of bak kwa? Try bak kwa from gluten-free grocery store and organic butchery, Ryan's Grocery. The bak kwa is made with hormone-and antibiotic-free Borrowdale pork from Queensland, Australia. The free-range pigs are brought up in a stress-free farm, which yields a more tender meat. Meat from the pig's hind legs are seasoned with fish sauce and five-spice powder, while the sugar and salt in the meat marinade is halved compared to those used in most bak kwa shops.
Where: Ryan’s Grocery, 29 Binjai Park, open: 9:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m., daily, tel: 6463-3933
Price: $48.80 for 500g
4. Pineapple Bak Kwa
Attracting snaking queues at its Changi Road shop every Chinese New Year is long-time bak kwa shop Kim Peng Hiang that is renowned for its tropical-themed pineapple bak kwa. Injecting a zesty twist are the shreds of fresh pineapple that are studded in each jerky. The shop also sells fa choy chicken bak kwa, which has black moss mixed in with chicken jerky. (From $22.50 per kg)
Where: Kim Peng Hiang, 465 Changi Road, open: 9:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. (Mondays to Saturdays), closed on Sundays, tel: 6742-6853
Price: From $24 for 500g
5. Chick Kwa
Local poultry producer, Kee Song, which is known for supplying fresh Sakura chicken—chicken fed with immune-boosting bacteria, lactobacillus—is gunning a slice of the bak kwa pie. For its Chick Kwa, cage-free organically-grown chicken—fed with lactobacillus—that are reared in Malaysia are used, yielding a more tender and softer bite. The ready-to-eat chicken jerky, which are roasted by local bak kwa supplier Peng Guan. One can also deep-fry or toast the jerky in the oven.
Where: Order online
Price: $18.80 for 200g
6. Fish Bak Kwa
For a seafood twist, opt for a trio of jerky made with three types of fishes from seafood supplier Ocean King. The bigeye tuna jerky imparts a moreish warm sensation in the mouth from its heavy chilli and pepper seasoning. The seared blue marlin is barbecued to give a lacquered caramelised coat. Fans of Japanese food will delight in the salmon jerky jazzed up with teriyaki sauce and roasted seaweed.
Where: Order online at oceanking.com.sg
Price: From $8 per 100g
