Classic Cantonese Char Siu Recipes

CHAR SIU (CHINESE BBQ PORK)

Steps:

• Cut pork with the grain into strips 1 1/2- to 2-inches long; put into a large resealable plastic bag.
• Stir soy sauce, honey, ketchup, brown sugar, rice wine, hoisin sauce, red food coloring or red bean curd (see Cook's Note), and Chinese five-spice powder together in a saucepan over medium-low heat. Cook and stir until just combined and slightly warm, 2 to 3 minutes. Pour the marinade into the bag with the pork, squeeze air from the bag, and seal. Turn bag a few times to coat all pork pieces in marinade.
• Marinate pork in refrigerator, 2 hours to overnight.
• Preheat an outdoor grill for medium-high heat and lightly oil the grate.
• Remove pork from marinade and shake to remove excess liquid. Discard remaining marinade.
• Cook pork on preheated grill for 20 minutes. Put a small container of water onto the grill and continue cooking, turning the pork regularly, until cooked through, about 1 hour. An instant-read thermometer inserted into the center should read at least 145 degrees F (63 degrees C).

CHAR SIU (CHINESE BBQ PORK)

Steps:

• Cut the pork into long strips or chunks about 2 to 3 inches thick. Don't trim any excess fat, as it will render off and add flavor.
• Combine the sugar, salt, five spice powder, white pepper, sesame oil, wine, soy sauce, hoisin sauce, molasses, food coloring (if using), and garlic in a bowl to make the marinade (i.e. the BBQ sauce).
• Reserve about 2 tablespoons of marinade and set it aside. Rub the pork with the rest of the marinade in a large bowl or baking dish. Cover and refrigerate overnight, or at least 8 hours. Cover and store the reserved marinade in the fridge as well.
• Preheat your oven to 'bake' at 475 F (246 C) with a rack positioned in the upper third of the oven. (If you only have a convection oven, keep in mind the oven not only heats more quickly, your char siu will roast faster than what we have described here). It's amazing how oven temperatures can vary-from model to model, in different spots in the oven, and in how ovens pre-heat and maintain heat. Using an oven thermometer to double-check the actual oven temperature is a great safeguard to monitor your food (I say double-check because even oven thermostat calibrations vary and can sometimes be incorrect). Regardless, be sure to check your char siu every 10 minutes, reducing or increasing the temperature as needed.
• Line a sheet pan with foil and place a metal rack on top. Using the metal rack keeps the pork off of the pan and allows it to roast more evenly, like it does in commercial ovens described above. Place the pork on the rack, leaving as much space as possible between pieces. Pour 1 ½ cups water into the pan below the rack. This prevents any drippings from burning or smoking.
• Transfer the pork to your preheated oven. Roast for 25 minutes, keeping the oven setting at 475 F for the first 10 minutes of roasting, and then reduce your oven temperature to 375 F (190 C). After 25 minutes, flip the pork. If the bottom of the pan is dry, add another cup of water. Turn the pan 180 degrees to ensure even roasting. Roast another 15 minutes. Throughout the roasting time, check your char siu often (every 10 minutes) and reduce the oven temperature if it looks like it is burning!
• Meanwhile, combine the reserved marinade with the maltose or honey (maltose is very viscous--you can heat it up in the microwave to make it easier to work with) and 1 tablespoon hot water. This will be the sauce you'll use for basting the pork.
• After 40 minutes of total roasting time, baste the pork, flip it, and baste the other side as well. Roast for a final 10 minutes.
• By now, the pork has cooked for 50 minutes total. It should be cooked through and caramelized on top. If it's not caramelized to your liking, you can turn the broiler on for a couple minutes to crisp the outside and add some color/flavor. Be sure not to walk away during this process, since the sweet char siu BBQ sauce can burn if left unattended. You can also use a meat thermometer to check if the internal temperature of the pork has reached 160 degrees F. (Update: USDA recommends that pork should be cooked to 145 degrees F with a 3 minute resting time)
• Remove from the oven and baste with the last bit of reserved BBQ sauce. Let the meat rest for 10 minutes before slicing, and enjoy!

CLASSIC CANTONESE CHAR SIU

Steps:

• Marinate pork shoulder steaks for 5 hours with all the sauces and seasoning.
• Preheat oven at 200°C. Remove any garlic mince on pork steaks to prevent burning.
• Place pork steaks on an oven shelf and roast for 30 minutes.
• Meanwhile, mix 3 tbsp of the remaining marinated sauce with 3 tbsp of honey (or until it gets thickened) to create honey glaze.
• Every 8 minutes, brush the honey glaze on the pork steaks so that the char siu gets evenly coloured.

CHAR SIU (叉燒) - CHINESE BBQ PORK

Steps:

• We'll cut our pork shoulder into long slices, roughly about 1 inch thick.
• To a bowl, we'll add:
• Place the meat into a ziploc bag, pour the sauce in, and massage the pork for about 2 minutes so that the sauce is able to finesse its way into the meat. Afterwards, we'll push all the air out of the bag and seal it.
• Preheat the oven to 425° F or 218° C.
• Now, we'll be placing the pork into the oven and taking it out periodically to lather it again with either our leftover pork marinade, or honey diluted with water.
• Once the char siu has finished its last cycle in the oven, we'll lather each side with our diluted honey.

CANTONESE CHAR SIU

Steps:

• First, make the marinade. Whisk the hoisin sauce, red bean curd (along with the sauce from the can), the soy sauces, rice wine, garlic and 3 tbsp honey together. Tip half into a large bowl with the pork, reserving the rest of the marinade for basting later. Season the pork, toss to coat and chill for 5 hrs to marinate.
• Heat the oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Transfer the pork to a roasting tin and roast for 30 mins.
• Meanwhile, mix the remaining marinade with the rest of the honey. Brush over the pork every 10 mins, so it's evenly coloured. Serve with the rice and pak choi, and the spring onions scattered over.

CHAR SIU

Steps:

• To make the marinade, stir the soy sauce, hoisin sauce, ketchup, oyster sauce, 1/4 cup of the honey, the sugar, sherry, ginger, five-spice powder and food coloring if using together in a large bowl. Set aside.
• Cut the pork into strips 6 inches long and 3 inches wide. Place the strips flat in a shallow baking dish. Pour the marinade over the pork strips and refrigerate 8 hours or overnight.
• When ready to roast the pork, position one rack to the lowest part of the oven and another rack about 5 inches above it. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Drain the pork; place the marinade in a small saucepan. Bring to a rolling boil. Remove from the heat and stir in the remaining 1/4 cup honey.
• Place a shallow roasting pan on the bottom rack of the oven and fill the pan about three-quarters full with water. Carefully place the pork strips on the oven rack above the roasting pan so all sides of the pork strips are exposed to heat and all are over the pan to catch drips.
• Roast the pork for 30 minutes. Baste the pork strips with the honey mixture and roast for 15 minutes and baste again. Roast until the pork strips are crisp and golden brown, about 10 minutes longer.
• Remove the pork from the oven and let cool. To serve, slice the strips across into 1/2-inch strips and smother with reserved sauce.

EASY CHAR SIU (CHINESE BBQ PORK)

Steps:

• Cut the pork lengthways into strips 2 inches wide and 1-inch thick and put into a nonreactive container. Combine the marinade ingredients in a saucepan over low heat and stir together. Leave to cool, then stir in the garlic and massage the marinade into the pork. Cover with plastic wrap and marinate in the refrigerator for 5-6 hours or overnight.
• Preheat the oven to 425°F. Bring the pork back to room temperature and drain off the excess marinade into a small bowl. Place the pork on a rack in the middle of the oven and put a roasting pan containing a cupful of hot water underneath on the bottom rack. Roast the meat for 20 minutes, basting with the marinade occasionally. Reduce the oven to 350°F and roast for a further 15 minutes or until the internal temperature of the meat reaches 165°F.
• Cool the pork briefly, then cut it into bite-size pieces. Garnish with spring onions and serve as an appetizer or with steamed rice as a light meal.