Chinese snack - Part II - Beef/Pork Jerky

This is another impressive looking "Chinese Snack", it looks complicated but it's actually quite easy to make! The idea came to me from my mother in law, she has been making a lot of HK style pork jerky lately and it soo good, so I decided to try it out as well. Unlike the beef jerky you get at the local gas station for $1, the Chinese style pork/beef jerky is more of a high end snack. There are speciality stores that sell these jerkies for upwards of $7 a piece! The main difference is that the Chinese style jerky is more moist, a softer consistency and is often sweet. I always thought making jerky will require a lot of special tools and equipments, but it turns out all you need is an oven. And all the ingredients required are mostly likely already in your fridge and pantry!

Chinese style meat jerky

Ingredients


2lbs of  minced pork (or minced beef, I used a combination of 1.5 lbs of pork and 0.5lb of beef)
1/2 tbsp fish sauce
1/2 tsp sesame oil
1/2 tbsp 5-spice powder
1/2 tsp light soy sauce
1/2 tsp dark soy sauce
1 tsp Chinese wine (Hua Tiao/Shao Hsing)
dashes of black pepper
5 tbsp sugar

Directions

1. Combine all the ingredients in a bowl, mix until the mixture is in a gluey consistency. Let marinate for a few hours in the fridge.
2. Place the mixture on a large cookie sheet covered with foil.

3. Cover the mixture with plastic wrap, and flatten/roll into a thin layer, as thin as possible.

4. Preheat oven to 180°C, bake for 12 minutes.

5. Set oven to broil and broil until the edge is brown and slightly char. Remove the jerky from the oven, let cool, flip the jerky over, and broil the back side until it gets brown and char as well.

6. Slice (A pizza cutter works really well) and ENJOY!

Weeknight Entertaining

We love having people over for dinner even on weeknights, I know it seems like a hassel, but sometimes a night of catching up and laughter is exactly what we need after a long day at work. And obviously due to time constraint, pizza and Chinese takeout are usually the way to go. But honestly, with a bit of advance preparation, you can have a nice meal on the table for your family and friends in no time! Here is one that doesn’t take a lot of effort, it’s yummy and also somewhat elegant.

Bacon wrapped stuffed pork tenderloin
Serves 2 (Multiply the recipe for your party)

1 pork tenderloin

1 head of garlic
6 pieces of bacon
1 tbsp each of thyme and rosemary
Salt & Pepper to taste


1) To make roasted garlic: Slice the top of the garlic head (exposing part of the flesh), place on top of foil, drizzle with olive oil, salt and pepper. Wrap the garlic with foil, place in oven (Preheat to 375F) and roast for 60 min. Set aside to cool, this can be made in days ahead and place in the fridge.

2) Squeeze out the garlic flesh from the bulb into a bowl, mix with thyme and rosemary (the herbs can substitute with any other herb you like), season with salt and pepper.

3) Cut the pork tenderloin in half lengthwise, spread the garlic mixture onto the cut side of one piece of the tenderloin, place the other piece back on top.

4) Cut each piece of bacon into 2, wrap each piece of bacon around the tenderloin, with all the bacon seams on one side, place wrapped tenderloin seam side down in a baking dish.

5) Bake in 375F oven for 30 minutes
6) Slice and serve

This is a truly simple and elegant dish, only a few ingredients and a short prep (if you roast the garlic ahead) and cook time! You can serve this with roasted potato, a salad or roasted vegetables too!