Pork Jerky

Chinese New Year is around the corner. Everyone is busy with baking cookies. I want to join the crowd, but I just don't have enough time to do so. So instead of baking cookies, I bake a batch of pork jerky. Since it is one of the popular snack to have during Chinese New Year.

My eldest sister is the one who started to make pork jerky in our family. Her method is to marinate the minced pork, flatten it on a tray, get it dried under the sun, cut it into pieces, keep it in the fridge and get it baked just before eating. I don't have time to follow all the steps. So, I cut short the steps to expedite the process. Bear in mind, pork jerky is high calories food. 100gm of pork jerky is about 500 Cal. So, don't over-eat. :)

300gm minced pork with some fat

2tbsp light soy sauce (the brand I use is less salty)

1tsp dark soy sauce

1tsp fish sauce

1/3 cup of sugar (This can be reduced as I found my pork jerky a bit sweet)

1tsp sunflower oil

1tbsp cooking wine

You'll also need non-stick baking paper, and a clean plastic bag that has been cut open into a plastic sheet.

1. Mix all the ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Leave it for 1/2 hour.

2. Preheat oven at 170 deg C.

3. Put a thin layer of marinated minced pork on a piece of baking paper. Cover it with plastic sheet. Flatten it with your palms. 

* I like my pork jerky thin, so I flatten the minced pork to about 1mm thickness.

4. Transfer the minced pork on baking paper into a baking tray. Bake for 15 minutes under 170 deg C.

* You will need to adjust the baking time based on the thickness of the pork jerky.

5. Leave it cool and cut into desired size. Keep in air tight container.