Bacon Ba-kwa

Adapted from here

Bacon Ba-kwa (培根肉干🥓) is a must have food during the Chinese Lunar New Year! Nowadays Ba-kwa are so expensive and to make the traditional ba-kwa, it is quite a complicated process. One day, I came across a short-cut way: instead of using minced meat, bacon is the answer! In just a few fool-proof steps we can enjoy Ba-kwa, the same traditional taste, with just some simple tweaks.

Ingredients

• 300g Streaky Bacon, sliced in half

• 1/4 Cup Castor Sugar

• 1/3 Cup Honey

• 1/2 Cup Water

• 1 tablespoon 5 Spice Powder

• 1 teaspoon Shao Xing Wine

• 1 teaspoon Soy Sauce

Directions

1. Rinse the bacon to get rid of the excess water from the packaging if any, pat dry and set aside.

2. Mix sugar, honey, water and microwave for a minute to dissolve sugar, then mix in the 5 spice powder and soy sauce.Coat bacon slices with marinade, cover and leave in fridge overnight (or for at least 12 hours)

3. Preheat Oven to 200C, line a baking tray with a parchment paper and bake the bacon slices in batches for about 10 minutes or until caramelized. Drain off the fat, let cool completely and store in airtight container for up to 2 weeks

*Fun fact while I made this: When I tried to buy Shao Xing wine in an Asian grocery store, I couldn't because I am under 21...