This week's Bits and Bites by Wall Street Journal

The Week’s Best Food Finds

A zesty za’atar herb spread guaranteed to upgrade your next meal, plus a new and noteworthy Irish cheese and a Malaysian twist on beef jerky

THE SNACK: Nice Jerky If You Can Get It (And You Can)

PHOTO: F. MARTIN RAMIN/THE WALL STREET JOURNAL, STYLING BY ANNE CARDENAS

When Ching Lee found that stateside beef jerky wasn’t satisfying her cravings for bak kwa—the marinaded-and-grilled meat snack popular in her native Malaysia—she launched her own line. Her company Little Red Dot steeps strips of meat in a spiced marinade before cooking them over high heat, with succulent results. On offer currently: the traditional pork and turkey varieties, seasoned with a sweet rice wine/soy sauce mixture; two beef options, one subtly lemongrass-flavored, the other spiked with spicy chipotle chili; and an addictive hickory-smoked candied bacon that hits both sweet and salty notes. Ms. Lee suggests lightly toasting the pork or turkey to bring out the juiciness. Or, for a killer BLT, swap in the bacon bak kwa. Of course, straight-out-of-the-bag is a perfectly acceptable serving style, too. From $8 per bag, reddotkitchen.com