It doesn’t matter if you are a die hard football fan or not, gather your friends and family this Sunday (or any Sunday, really) for some tasty snacks while enjoying the game, serve them with simple and delicious finger foods with Bak Kwa.
So, put on the jersey, apply eye black, grab a comfortable seat, GAME ON!

Ingredients

(serves 2-4)
- Turkey Bak Kwa (1 pack, 4oz)
- 15 Wonton Wraps
- 1-2 Tomatoes
- 1-2 Avocados
- Sour Cream
- Salt
- Lime to taste

Directions:

1. Cut the wonton skin into triangles (half the size)
2. Heat a frying pan with vegetable oil (just enough to cover the base), fry two wonton skins at a time. Watch closely as they brown pretty quickly, about 2-3 seconds each side, and lay them on a paper towel to drain excess oil
3. Sprinkle lightly with salt when the wonton skins are still hot to give them some favor
4. Use a processor and pulse the Bak Kwa until they become small pieces. Cut tomatoes and avocados into small bites
5. Assemble them however you like. (A) Individual Style OR (B) Nacho Style

Imagine Bak Kwa, sweet, savory and smoky, as toppings on French macarons. When done right, they taste like clouds in the mouth. Nutty crusts with savory-sweet BBQ Bak Kwa toppings and fruity champagne mixed Bak Kwa buttercream filling - these extraordinary treats challenges every single strand of willpower one has, it is hardly possible to stop after just one bite.

Inspired by Love With Food’s award-winning bacon macarons at the Bacon Takedown earlier this year, we convinced our good friend and master of French Macarons at Color Me Sweet in experimenting with our Bak Kwa. Read on for Color Me Sweet’s take on this meat snack creation.

Macaron Shells

(Makes about 60 mini macarons)
- 150g egg whites (about 5 eggs)
- 90g sugar
- 180g almond flour
- 250g powdered sugar
- Drop of pink coloring gel paste
- Bak kwa (about 2 oz)

Directions:

Grind bak kwa in a food processor into very small pieces to sprinkle over your macaron shells. Set aside.

Sift almond flour and powdered sugar and set aside.

Place the egg whites in a stand mixer and turn on mixer to medium high. Add the sugar gradually to the egg whites and continue whipping until it forms shiny stiff peaks. Add the drop of coloring right before you stop the mixture.

Add the sifted almond flour and powdered sugar into the meringue and mix. Do not fold.

You need to knock out some of the air that you added to the meringue otherwise, your shells will look like mini volcanoes in the oven when you bake them. Stop stirring the mixture as soon as the mixture falls like a ribbon from the spatula.

Pipe them using a round tip onto a parchment lined baking pan.


Sprinkle the ground bak kwa over the piped shells. You can press the bak kwa bits so they adhere to the shells, but be careful not to puncture the shells.


Let the shells rest for 30 minutes. While the shells rest, you can make the champagne buttercream with bak kwa filling (Recipe below). Preheat your oven to 300F, then bake the macarons for about 11-12 minutes or until the top of the shells don’t slide around on their feets when lightly touched.
 Let cool before removing from parchment.

Champagne Buttercream with Bak Kwa filling

Ingredients

- 150g egg whites (about 5 eggs)
- 90g sugar
- 180g almond flour
- 250g powdered sugar
- Drop of pink coloring gel paste
- Bak kwa (about 2 oz)

Directions:

Toast or grill the bak kwa, then grind in a food processor into very small pieces. Set aside.
Whisk butter until light and fluffy.
Add powdered sugar and continue to whisk until incorporated.

Add champagne one tablespoon at a time while continuing to whisk.
Finally add the finely ground bak kwa and mix well.
The buttercream mixture will be very soft at this time so refrigerate it until it firms a little bit before piping it onto the macarons. After removing the buttercream from the refrigerator, whisk it for a couple of seconds to break any lumps that may have formed so you can pipe it easier.

Chef's tip:

Fresh macarons are crunchy. You need to refrigerate your macarons overnight or for 24 hours before serving them. Store them in an open container so no condensation will form on the shells. Remove the macarons from the refrigerator 30 minutes before serving to let the buttercream soften and come to room temperature. They will be chewy and delicious that you’d be wanting to eat another one.

Here’s Color Me Sweet’s original Bak Kwa Macaron recipe.

Cold weather and a warm oven, nothing sounds cozier that cuddling inside a blanket and making your home smell like a bakery. Stay in and crack up the oven to make some delicious muffins that will surely warm you up from head to toes.

Ingredients:

- 1 Pack (4 oz) of Bak Kwa (use more as you wish)
- 2 bunches of chives
- 2 cups of cake flour

- 2 tsp. of baking powder
- 1/2 tsp. of baking soda
- 1/2 tsp. of salt
- 1 tbsp. of sugar
- 1 egg
- 1-1/8 cup cream cheese (use yogurt as lighter, less moist substitute)
- 1/4 cup of canola oil

Method:

- Preheat the oven to 400ºF
- Cut Bak Kwa and chives into small pieces. For finer bites, you can mince the Bak Kwa into to sizes that resemble size of bacon bits.
- In a large bowl, mix all the dry ingredients.
- In another bowl, beat up an egg, and mix in other wet ingredients until well combined.
- Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients’ bowl, along with Bak Kwa and chives. Mix well.

- Slightly butter the muffin’s pans (make 12), and scoop the mixture into container and bake for 20 minutes (or until golden brown)

Enjoy!

Preparing a Thanksgiving meal can be stressful, here’s a nice crunchy no-cook Turkey Lettuce Wrap recipe that would help make your Turkey Day entertaining a little easier.

We filled our wraps with Red Pepper, Bean Spouts, Carrots and Turkey Bak Kwa. It is a light snack with great source of protein.

Chef’s Tips: Eat by the rainbow, choose any veggies you like and make your wraps colorful

Ingredients:

- 1 head of Boston lettuce
- 1 pack (4oz) of Turkey Bak Kwa
- Shredded Carrots
- Bean Spouts
- Roasted Garlic Red Pepper
- Hoisin sauce (sweetness) and Sweet Chili (a kick of spiciness)

Method:

- Wash and dry all vegetables, then slice them to strips.
- Remove Bak Kwa from package and heat them up in a microwave for 5-10 seconds to bring out theirs juiciness
- Filled all lettuce with veggies and Bak Kwa
- Dip into your favorite sauce and ENJOY.

And last, but not least... Have a very Happy Turkey Day!

XOXO Karen

Some folks must think that the steam in our kitchen has sent us hair wired for recommending this salty and smoky, candied Bak Kwa bits with vanilla bean ice cream but it’s simply too sinful of us to not share our delight in this summery treat.

Creamy vanilla bean ice cream topped with caramel and crispy Bak Kwa bits (BBQ Asian Jerky), giving you an explosion of flavor with each mouthful. Our kitchen tasters have given this combination thumbs up and we don’t think you can ever get enough once you’ve tasted it as well.

Here’s a quick and simple Bak Kwa bits recipe. All our Bak Kwa have been seasoned, smoked and grilled therefore requiring minimal prepping.

Ingredients:

- 1 pack of Turkey Bak Kwa (Turkey jerky)
- 2 tbsp brown sugar
- Smucker’s caramel syrup
- Dreyer’s slow churned vanilla bean ice cream

Method:

- Pre-heat oven to 400F.
- Thinly coat Bak Kwa with brown sugar. Bake in oven at 400F for 3 minutes
- Once sizzling is detected, flip Bak Kwa over immediately and bake for another 1 1/2 minute
- For extra crispiness, bake in increment of 30s, be careful not to burn the Bak Kwa
- Remove Bak Kwa from oven and let cook in room temperature to crisp and caramelize
- Finely chop Bak Kwa as toppings, if toppings are not intended to be used all at once, be sure to keep it in a seal tight container

A healthy treat. Toss a nice salad with the delicious jerky and make an appetizing starter.