Enjoy thick, tender slices of bak kwa from a hawker stall
Jia Hui BBQ's version is soft and less sweet
I have a love-hate relationship with bak kwa. Over the years, this sinful piece of sugared and caramelised barbecue jerky became monotonous and predictable.
Each brand's only differentiation would be the logo.
Then came along bespoke bak kwa like what you get from Empire. They use fruitwood and an American-styled smoker to extract the best from the kurobuta pork slices. Sadly, only a privileged few can try it.
Then I came across Mr Chang Kay Hui's curious looking hawker stall. It looks like he sells packs of leaf-wrapped nasi lemak with freshly barbecued chicken wings as a side dish and little jars of wild honey.
On closer inspection, I spied a meat slicer and a rack of bamboo frames spread with fresh slices of bak kwa that rests above the amber heat of the charcoal grill.
According to Mr Chang, the slices of pork are marinated at 7.30am every day and are smoked till 8pm.
The 61-year-old added that he uses only pork collar, which explains the softer texture of his handmade bak kwa.
Mr Chang has been a hawker since he was a teen, selling a host of things. He became fixated on bak kwa about 15 years ago because he liked it.
WINGING IT
No one taught him how to make bak kwa. Armed with just a few tips, he winged it but failed to achieve "that bak kwa taste" at the start, he said.
Fish or soya sauce and sugar make up the key ingredients in the marinade, but there is an edge to it.
It did not take him long to figure out an "extra secret" ingredient. This under-the-radar hawker now has his own set of regulars, and you can see the slick boxes stacked in front of the stall.
His wife Yiling helps out when he takes a break at lunch.
His bak kwa ($3 for a stick and $50 a kilo) is twice as thick as thetypical kind and is surprisingly soft. He uses sliced and not minced meat.
There must be an ingredient besides sugar that helps tenderise the already softer cuts of collar meat used.
And he is easy on the sugars. I can taste the pork, not just slices of cloyingly sweet pieces of grilled cardboard-like jerky.
The best part is that he serves individual mobile phone-size slices on site and it is a pleasure to have them with a cup of kopi o kosong po.
His bacon version came with nary any fats and with that same less-sweet taste.
You may like machine-made versions of bak kwa, but they are only mechanical imitations of these handmade ones.
Truly, this is a slice of our local makan culture worth celebrating.
Jia Hui BBQ
16, Bedok South Road, #01-40, Bedok South Market and Food Centre
10am-8pm, closed on Monday and Tuesday
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