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ChinesePopular & ClassicPorkRecipes

Chinese Barbecue Pork (Char Siu)

written by Emma Tang

Chinese Barbecue PorkI am excited to introduce today’s dish – Chinese Barbecue Pork (also known as Char Siu). It’s beautiful char and shiny glaze on the surface will awaken your taste buds instantly. And I know you will be impressed by the bold flavor and tender texture. I will explain step by step how to make this wonderful dish. You’ll be surprised how easy it is. Let’s jump right in!

Pork shoulder is the most common choice to make char siu. It’s a fairly fatty cut from the pork (but less than pork belly). The fat in the pork shoulder and marinating process and will help the Char Siu develop a great flavor when is cooked.

First, I cut the entire pork shoulder piece into several big chunks (helps better absorbing flavor when marinating). Next, I marinate the pork with a combination of Lee Kum Kee Char Siu Chinese Barbecue Sauce, cooking wine, dark soy sauce, five spice powder, honey and grated ginger for 24 hours in the fridge.

chinese-barbecue-pork-step-oneNow that all the preparation work has been done, all we need is roasting the pork! After preheating the oven to 400 F (200 C), I first inserted a baking pan filled with water (3/4 full) onto the bottom level of the oven before placing the meats on a roasting rack on the middle level. The water to helps to generate moisture during roasting, so the pork will remain tender.

The picture below shows how the pork looks like after 20 minutes of roasting, doesn’t it look delicious? Next, I turn the pork over and brush more marinating sauce onto the pork and let it bake for another 20 minutes.

chinese barbecue porkAfter roasting for 40 minutes (flip the pork and brush with more sauce after 20 minutes), the pork char siu will have a nice red color already. But we want to kick it up a notch and make it even more irresistible.

To create a nice char and shiny glaze on the surface, I used the secrete “weapon” of honey! Simply brush some honey onto the pork and let it roast for five minutes, then flip the pork and brush on with more honey before letting it bake for five more minutes.

Below is a picture of the final product. I don’t know about you, but my mouth is literally watering just by looking at the picture and can’t wait to taste a piece of the meat.

chinese-barbecue-pork-char-siu-4After slicing the pork char siu into bite-size pieces, I like to wrap them with raw lettuce to enjoy.

chinese-barbecue-pork-char-siu-9There are also many ways to use char siu for making other popular Cantonese dishes. You could cut them into dices and put inside a bun to make roast pork bun(叉烧包); slice them and place on top noodles to make roast pork noodles(叉烧面), or served with rice to make roast pork rice(叉烧饭).

As an example, I also made a delicious roast pork rice in less than 10 minutes by simply putting some char siu slices next to a bowl of white rice, adding lettuce and placing an fried egg on top.

chinese-bbq-pork-riceHere is an overview of how I made this Chinese Barbecue Pork or Char Siu.

how-to-make-chinese-barbecue-porkI hope you enjoy making this delicious Chinese barbecue pork at home. If you like this recipe, please leave a rating and share it with your friends!

Chinese Barbecue Pork (Char Siu)
 
Print
Prep time
24 hours
Cook time
50 mins
Total time
24 hours 50 mins
 
Author: Spice the Plate
Serves: 3-4
Ingredients
  • 1 pound pork shoulder, cut into 3-4 big chunks
  • Marinating Sauce:
  • ⅓ cup Lee Kum Kee Char Siu Chinese Barbecue Sauce
  • ⅓ cup cooking wine
  • ¼ cup dark soy sauce
  • 1 tablespoon five spice powder
  • 1 tablespoon honey
  • 1 teaspoon grated ginger
Instructions
  1. Cut pork shoulder into 3-4 big chunks, place in a food storage container (with locking lid).
  2. Whisk Chinese Barbecue Sauce, cooking wine, dark soy sauce, five spice powder, honey and ginger in a bowl, set aside.
  3. Pour the sauce into the container and marinate the pork for 24 hours in the refrigerator.
  4. Preheat the oven to 400 F, fill a baking pan with water (3/4 full), place on the bottom level of the oven.
  5. Place the pork on to a roasting rack and place on the middle level of the oven (keep the rest of the marinating sauce for later use), bake for 20 minutes.
  6. Removed from oven and turn the pork over, brush the remaining sauce over and place the pork back in the oven, bake for another 20 minutes.
  7. Remove baking pan at the bottom level, drain water, wipe dry and cover with tinfoil, put back into the oven.
  8. Brush some honey onto the pork, bake for 5 minutes.
  9. Removed from oven and turn the pork over, brush honey over and place the pork back in the oven, bake for another 5 minutes.
  10. Slice the Char Siu into thin pieces, serve with rice or noodles and enjoy!
Notes
Pork shoulder is moderately fatty and is great for making Char Siu.
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4 comments

Ferne C November 13, 2019 - 9:07 pm

Great recipe but what is the purpose of Step 7?

Reply
Yuri April 5, 2022 - 12:10 pm

Yeah, That’s what I’d like to asking that , too !! I don’t get it. Would you reply for us ?Please. Or just mistake instruction ?

Reply
Emma Tang April 5, 2022 - 4:17 pm

Hi Yuri, step 7’s main purpose is to remove the water added in step 4. At this step, we’ll want to create a nice coating with the honey 🙂

Reply
Ray Blanco December 27, 2019 - 3:18 am

Send me more recipes

Reply

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About Me

About Me

Hello!

Welcome to Spice the Plate! I am Emma, the cook and author behind this food blog. Creating and sharing delicious Asian recipes is my passion. Here you can find tasty, easy-to-make traditional and modern Asian recipes, cooking tips, and more. I am excited you've found us! To learn more about me and this blog, visit here.

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