Continuing a legacy: The traditional art of bak kwa making in Kuching

KUCHING, July 30: Inheriting his employer’s successful ‘bak kwa’ business and continuing his legacy is a gratitude that 53-year-old Chin Lim Nean will forever treasure.

Chin shared with DayakDaily that he is among a few traditional-style bak kwa makers who learned how to prepare and preserve the meat in the Padungan area.

“I joined my employer at 16 after leaving school at 13. Ever since then, it has become my profession,” Chin said.

Chin revealed that his employer rented the present shop in 1987, and when he left, Chin took over and continued making bak kwa till now.

He was not sure why his employer started the business 37 years ago, but he believed there was a demand for the products and not many competitors and locals did it.

A variety of traditional-made bak kwa products are available at Chin’s shop in Padungan.

Chin disclosed that bak kwa makers from Ipoh, Perak, and China taught his employer and fellow workers how to make the meat product.

“We were taught the traditional style of making minced pork mixed with spices, sugar, salt, and soy sauce, then dried on rattan racks at a temperature and charcoal grilled. Before we sell, we usually grill it again. Of course, traditional bak kwa had that charcoal-grilled aroma, but now it is different. Despite that, the taste of my bak kwa is as good,” Chin explained.

He said traditional bak kwa making was tedious work and needed constant monitoring.

“We used manual methods most of the time, and with modern equipment these days, it can be done at a touch of a button. It is more hygienic and can last longer through vacuum packing. We make the product as needed to fill the shelves.

“I remember picking remnants of charcoal and rattan splinters on the jerky meat. It was not very pleasant. Certainly, since it is my business now, I impose quality control on the products I sell. We adhere to food handling regulations and the law,” he explained.

Chin further shared that he also learned to make meat floss to give more varieties of meat products to sell in his shop.

“Bak kwa and meat floss products come together, and customers buy this product, especially on festive and other occasions. So that is the reason I learned to make these meat products,” he said.

Chin reiterated that making meat products is almost similar in tasks and explained an example of making chicken floss meat.

“We boil, dry, shred, and fry it with ingredients to make it savoury. Just the frying alone over a slow fire will take four hours, so it is still a tedious process. But this culinary technique is learned. The process is almost similar to making pork meat floss,” he further disclosed.

Traditional pork and chicken crispy floss displayed in a glass jar container at Chin’s shop in Padungan.

Chin said he also has diverse Chinese baked pastries like lao gong ping, dao shao bing, peng bing, and lao po bing sold at RM2.50 per piece.

He hopes to continue his Singaporean employer’s legacy as he knows and is optimistic that there will be demand for his dried meat products and other traditional Chinese pastries.

“There are not many culinary traditional makers of food like us left in Padungan. I hope the younger generation can learn and continue what we are doing. Modern equipment is there to help,” he said.

Chin’s bak kwa is available at his Shoon Siang Enterprise at 183 Padungan Road, Kuching. It opens daily except Wednesday from 8am to 6pm.

For more information, call 019 876 2418. — DayakDaily