The Best Char Siu Recipe (Cantonese Roasted BBQ Pork)
Rated 3.6 stars by 10 users
Servings
5
Char siu is the kind of dish that brings happiness and satisfaction, especially the moment when you take it out of the oven. The sizzling meat is bursting with deliciousness, filling your home with the mouthwatering aroma of roasted meat and sweet caramelized honey.
You will be shocked how easy it is to make char siu at home. Just marinate the meat overnight and roast it in the oven the next day. Since I first tackled this recipe five years ago, I have picked up a lot of insider tips and tricks, so this upgraded recipe guarantees restaurant-quality results.
Author:Souped Up Recipes
Ingredients
- 63g / 5 Tbsps sugar
- 63g / 3 Tbsps honey
- 50g / 3 Tbsps soy sauce
- 20g / about 2 pieces red fermented bean curd
- 2.9g / ½ tsp salt
- 9g / 1 Tbsp grated garlic
- 1g / ½ tsp five-spice powder
- 6g / 1 Tbsp red yeast powder
- 7.5g / 1 Tbsp tapioca starch
- 15g / 1 Tbsp water
- 1134g / 2.5-pound boneless pork shoulder or pork butt
- 42g / 3 Tbsps Chinese cooking wine
- 53 / 2.5 Tbsps honey to brush the char siu
Directions
Make the Char Siu Sauce
Combine the sugar, honey, soy sauce, red fermented bean curd, salt, grated garlic, five-spice powder, and the red yeast powder in a saucepan. Smash the bean curd and thoroughly mix the sauce.
- Stir the sauce over medium-low heat for 5 minutes or until the texture becomes syrupy. Chef’s Secret: This step is essential because when marinating the meat overnight, the seasoning will draw out lots of moisture from the meat, which dilutes the flavor. Therefore, reducing the sauce makes a significant difference in taste.
- Mix the tapioca starch with water and then add to the sauce. Continue to stir over medium-low heat for 2 more minutes or until the sauce becomes thick and sticky; set it aside.
Marinate the Pork
- Cut the pork into 1.5-inch thick strips and then poke a lot of holes into the meat with a fork. This helps the marinade infuse evenly.
- Rub the pork with Chinese cooking wine for a few minutes and then use paper towels to absorb the excess moisture from the surface. Chef’s Secret: In Chinese cuisine, cooking wine is used to remove impurities and improve the flavor of the meat. However, you can skip it if you don't have cooking wine.
- Combine the pork with the char siu sauce in a big mixing bowl and mix thoroughly. If your room temperature is too cold, the char siu sauce will coagulate and become too sticky. You may need to reheat it over the stove at medium heat for just 30 seconds so it becomes softer and easier to mix.
- Cover the marinated pork and place it in the fridge overnight. If you have the time, give the pork a good mix about halfway through the marinating time.
Roast the Char Siy and Serve
- Wrap a baking pan with tinfoil. Put a baking rack in the baking pan and place the marinated pork strips on the rack with some space between each other. Reserve the extra marinade left in the bowl.
- Preheat the oven to 400°F / 204°C. Bake the pork for 20 minutes.
- Take the char siu out of the oven and brush the leftover marinade on the pork. Flip over and brush the other side.
- Put the pork back into the oven and bake for another 20 minutes.
- Remove the char siu from the oven again and brush a thin layer of honey all over the meat, creating a shiny and tempting glaze.
- Bake the honey-glazed char siu for another 5-10 minutes. Every oven is different. Please keep an eye on the meat until it is beautifully charred.
- Slice the char siu into thin pieces. Serve with a mound of white rice and some blanched choy sum on the side. Chef’s Secret: You can use char siu to make Cantonese Roasted Pork Char Siu Bun (see page ***)or add it to many other dishes, such as HK Style Egg Foo Young (see page ***), and Singapore Stir-Fry Rice Noodles (see page ***).
