Yummy and easy to prepare homemade Char Siu Pork with a homemade Char Siu Sauce.
Char Siu Pork is also known as Chinese style BBQ pork is famous roasted pork dish. It is featured not only by the yummy taste but also the light red color.In Chinese Char Siu is 叉烧 meaning roasted pork on certain of fork. In traditional Cantonese restaurants, the pork is hooked during the roasting process, which guarantee the uniform heating from different sides. Homemade version can be much simplified and easier. And my homemade version is as yummy as the restaurant style.
As it is so famous outside China, I guess most of you have tested it in Cantonese restaurants. And you may wonder about how this light red color is created. In Cantonese cooking, people make their own Char Siu sauce. The main ingredients for Char Siu sauce contains oyster sauce (for more information about commonly used sauces in Chinese cooking, check Chinese Sauces), soy sauce, sugar, red onions, garlic and red fermented tofu. Red fermented tofu is quite widely used in Cantonese cuisine, either to roast pork or braise pork belly. It is fermented along with red yeast rice. In the following picture, I listed three commonly used coloring ingredients. But essentially, they are the same. Red yeast powder is grounded from red yeast rice. If you really cannot find them, skip this coloring. We are just sacrificing some coloring, no taste difference.
- For light coloring, use red fermented tofu + some of the juice in the bottom(I know lots of you may do not like the taste of fermented tofu. If you never tasted it before, I would recommend trying one cube).
- For middle coloring, use red yeast rice. Pre-soak the rice until soft and use the water.
- For deep coloring, use red yeast powder directly (1/8 teaspoon is recommended) or you can resort to red food coloring.
I tried to search but failed to find where you can find red fermented tofu. If you come across with any possible sourcing, please leave a comment so we can share it with other readers. If the red one is not available, use white fermented tofu or you can skip it (just a slight difference in taste). The remaining ingredients can make your char siu enough yummy too.
You can see a light red color on the edges of the slices form the picture. I marinate the pork for around 30 hours with my homemade Char Siu sauce.
About the meat for this recipe;
In China, the most popular ingredients for char siu is pork butt, sometimes we refer it as pork shoulder. For a fatty taste, you can use pork belly.
About the BBQ sauce;
I use a very basic homemade Char Siu sauce in this recipe. In fact, we have a well made char siu sauce from Lee Kum Kee. Surely, you can use that one directly if you do not want to assemble the sauce at home.
- 300 g pork butt , pork shoulder
- 1 thumb ginger , sliced
- 2 garlic cloves , sliced
- 2 tablespoons light soy sauce
- 1/2 teaspoon Chinese five spice powder
- 1 tablespoon rice wine , rose rice wine is the best
- 1 tablespoon oyster sauce
- 1 red fermented tofu with 1/2 tablespoon of the sauce
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 1/2 tablespoon water
- 1/2 tablespoon char siu sauce
- sesame oil for brushing
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Firstly poke some small holes on the pork butt so it can absorb the flavor better. Then cut into 2 cm wide and 4 cm thick long strips. Set aside.
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In a large bowl, add red fermented tofu, cooking wine, honey, light soy sauce, oyster sauce and Chinese five spice. Give a big stir-fry to combine well.
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Transfer the pork into a plastic bag and then add ginger and garlic slices. Pour the Char Siu sauce in. Squeeze extra air out and seal. Message the pork for couple of minutes and keep in fridge for 24 to 48 hours.
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Pre-heat oven to 200 degree C (around 400 degree F)
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Before baking, add around 1/2 tablespoon of warm water and 1/2 tablespoon of char siu sauce with 1 tablespoon of honey. Combine well.
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Place the pork on grill and with a layered baking tray. Brush the honey water on both sides.
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Place on middle track and back for 10 minutes. And re-brush the honey mixture on both sides again.
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Roast again on middle track for another 10 minutes. Move the grill to up track and roast for another 2 minutes.
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Transfer out and brush some sesame oil on surface. Cool down for 3-4 minutes and cut into slices.
Recipe Video
The size of the pork section influences the roasting time. So try to make each section in similar sizes and turn around before re-brushing the sauce.
I just love your website. I live in the United States in the state of Kentucky. Kentucky is mostly known for its barbeque. We BBQ pork, chicken, beef, lamb and goat. I’ve been cooking for over 50 years and love to find new places for any Asian recipes. I just stumbled upon your site last week and am enjoying your recipes and photos. I have to travel a few miles to shop at a market that carries Asian cooking ingredients and supplies but it is well worth the drive so I can use your recipes and ideas. Thank you so much.
Hi Bonnie,
Wow, it really sounds good for the BBQ. You must be a great chef! I personally love BBQ lamb, chicken and fish very much. Let me how you feel about our Chinese BBQ after trying it.
Merry Christmas and happy cooking ahead.
Hello Elaine, I just found your website while searching for recipes for Char Siu Bao. This recipe makes me want to try and make my own BBQ pork. Your site is lovely and the photos of your food are fantastic, beautifully composed but also instructive. Thank you so much!
Thanks Jennifer for stopping by and leaving me such a wonderful and kind comment. Happy New Year to you and your family.
Hi Elaine, I’m so excited to see this recipe for homemade char siu sauce. I use Lee Kum Kee brand char siu sauce but wondered if I could make a home made sauce. Now, I found your recipe! And it seems pretty simple. How long do you think the sauce would keep before it is used?
Hi Nerimaro,
I do not recommend to store homemade sauce for a long time because freshly made version usually provide a better taste. I always make the sauce just before marinating the pork or ribs.
Hi Elaine: This looks pretty cool. Where can someone purchase Red Konjic Rice Powder ? I only want to get a small amount and I don’t really want to get it on line or travel a great distance. Where I live, there are many different Asian immigrant communities.
Thanks
Hi Jackie,
If you cannot find Red Konjic rice powder, you can try to find Red Konjic rice. We only need the red color of the rice, not flavoring issue here. If this cannot be found, you can skip it. There will be no influences about the taste.
Try using red bean curd sauce for color and added flavor,but taste as you add because sauce can be very pungent and overwhelming.
Hello Elaine
I am a Mandarin student and I love cooking, so your blog is really the best thing I’ve ever found. Now, I have a question. I saw you mention in the comments that the red rice is only for coloring and not for flavor. I was wondering if using red food coloring would be ok?? I really love that beautiful red color.
Thank you very much and congratulations on your blog.
再见！
Yes Cami,
Red food coloring can work too. Just pay attention to the amount. We just need a really small amount.
I was just talking with my daughter about Char siu during lunch. Her favorite Chinese food is Char Siu Fan. I am so happy to see this simple recipe. I would love to try making it myself soon. Thanks for sharing.
Really!! I am so glad it can help. Char Siu Fan is my favorite ordering in Cantonese restaurants too.
I have several recipes for Char siu…can’t wait to try yours…Looks delicious! Love the video as well. Thank you so much. Happy Holidays!
I always buy this and just wondering how to cook. I am so glad you posted this in your website. Thank you for sharing your wonderful tasty recipe. Merry Christmas!
You are the most welcome. Ne. I know that many of you are familiar with yummy dish. Hope this helps and Merry Christmas too!
I am so glad I came across your web site! You have posted so many of my favorite Chinese dishes and I am always looking to make them more authentic, especially Ma Po Tofu, my all time favorite. My granddaughter is Chinese and so I am trying to learn and make as many Chinese dishes as I can. Your photography is beautiful as well. Keep up the good work and I hope to learn a lot from you. Thank you so much.
You are the most welcome Marijke!!! I am so glad to be helpful and dedicated to provide more interesting Chinese dishes. Happy cooking in the coming new year.
This site is great! Just so I am understanding, you move the oven rack away from the heat (up) for the final 2 minutes of cooking?
Can’t wait to try this!
Hi Michael,
That step is conducted for a darker brown and more crisp upper shell. You can skip it for sure.
Hi,
I love your blog and excited to try so many things.
If you did use the ready made char sui from Lee Kum Kee how much would you need to marinate?
Marianne x
Hi Marianne,
Yes, I use Char Siu sauce directly from Lee Kum Kee at the beginning of cooking. It can be a good substitute if the ingredients are hard to collect.
I found rose fermented bean curd (it has rose flavor in it). Is that the kind you mentioned?
Hi Nicholas,
They share the same group but different spice. However I guess rose fermented bean curd can work for Chinese Chai Siu too.
Red fermented tofu can be found at Amazon.com
I just looked at Amazon.com like Gary and I don’t know if this is the correct ingredient, but this is what came up for fermented tofu.
https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_1?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=fermented+tofu&rh=i%3Aaps%2Ck%3Afermented+tofu
Hi Yoshi,
That’s fermented tofu. But the one I am using in this recipe is fermented tofu with red yeast rice. They share a similar taste but different color. If fermented tofu is really hard to find, you can skip it and slightly increase the other ingredients by ratio.
These sound so good, thanks for sharing this delicious looking recipe.
Simon
unchhhhhh .. looks so perfect for processed pork. usually not so attractive and tend to be greasy and unappealing.
thank you
I’m happy that you love it, thank you for the kind compliment.
Dear Elaine,
I love your blog…can’t wait to try..
I am a muslim ,I love to make char -siu but will replace it with chicken or mutton. if you could suggest certain ingredients used that will be able to replace eg. alchol.
Regards
Nur
Hi Nur,
You can use fatty mutton to replace pork. You can skip alcohol and add one shredded red onion. The purpose of using alcohol is to remove the smell of the meat, red onion can help too. But you need to pick them out before roasting. I hope this helps. Good luck!
I can’t wait to try this, but I have question: Do you boil the marinate liquid before using it to baste the pork — or do you set some aside ahead of time? It seems as if it might be unsafe otherwise, but possibly it heats sufficiently after it is applied to the pork.
Thank you!
Yes, I let it simmer for 4-5 minutes.
Hi,
I’ve been doing a lot of your site’s recipes and they’ve all been wonderful. Thanks for sharing!
But i have a question for this one. Is red bean curd the same as red fermented tofu? And how much does “one fermented tofu” yields as if in cups, tablespoons, etc.?
there are many Asian markets here in the area where I live. I will keep an eye out for red yeast rice and fermented red tofu now. thanks for all the great ideas. next I want to try making the sauce with some condensed fruit juice, like cherry or something.
thanks for all the inspiration
I hope you will like it. Happy cooking. If you can find red yeast rice or fermented red tofu, I believe you can produce the beautiful red color.
Looks really yummy, I can’t wait to try these at home !!!
Hi Elaine. What kind of honey do you recommend? Solid raw style? Or clear liquid style? Any particular variety suggestion?
The two types both can work for this recipe. But clear liquid is slightly better.
I finally made the char siu, and made bao with it. My friends loved it! Great recipe and website!
Nice Job!
I have tried many char siu recipes on the internet and your recipe is my favorite! Simple recipe but tasted delicious and authentic! Thank you for sharing and I’m looking forward to trying out other recipes of yours! 🙂
Thanks Pham. This is really an awesome comment, making me a lovely day. Happy cooking. I hope you can love the other recipes on my blog too.
Looks so delicious!Can i grill this Char Siu Pork?
100% yes!
Hi Elaine,
I definitely want to try your recipe. I have red fermented bean curd (pot of 500gr) but your recipe doesn’t say how much we should use for the 300 gr of meat?
Any suggestion?
Many thanks!
Hi David,
The red bean curd should be cube and we need 1 cube for this recipe.
I have been trying different cha siu recipes and today I made your chasiu and like everybody noted it’s really like the real thing. I guess i won’t have to try others. Thanks very much. Next target，the Char Siu Bao ?
Hi, Elaine
I found this in amazon, this is red fermented tofu?
https://www.amazon.com/Wangzhihe-Fermented-Traditional-Bean-DragonMall/dp/B00786YL72/ref=sr_1_1_a_it?ie=UTF8&qid=1508785583&sr=8-1&keywords=red+fermented+bean+curd
Yes, but it is not red fermented tofu. It is normal fermented tofu without the red color.
Thanks for replying Elaine
However, how do I know if a product is actually fermented red tofu?
In the product link I inserted in the ingredients mention the red rice, so I thought it was authentic
If you cannot find the red fermented red tofu, which seems quite difficult, you can use red rice or hoisin sauce as a coloring substitute.
Can I substitute pork tenderloin for the pork butt?
Sure, pork tenderloin is a great choice who prefer leaner meat.
I made this recipe as listed, except I used red food coloring. It was delicious. Thank you so much 🙂
Thank you, Sara.
You can find red fermented tufu in a Chinese supermarket and lee kam kee has it too
Made recipe as described. Used red food coloring for color. It is delicious! Froze some of the meat and it is just as good reheated. Thank you!
Yes, you can grill the barbeque. I have never tested myself but get positive answer from other readers.
Peking duck actually use a different coating, you can check this for more information.
Hi,
Can i use porkloin instead of pork shoulder?
Thanks and God bless
Yes, pork tenderloin can be used to make char siu, although not the best option.
Hi Elaine: I live in Scarborough, Ontario, Canada. Many Chinese groceries like Bestco at Brimley and Huntingwood carry Red Fermented Tofu. Some herb shops near me carry red yeast tablets. Can they be used too once they are crushed?
I love your site and am slowly working my way through your recipes that look good for day to day cooking.
Andrew.
Thank you, Andrew for such a lovely comment. Yes, red yeast tablet can be used as a coloring agent after crushed.
Hi Elaine:
I would like to give an update. Bestco also carries red yeast rice in the dried medicinal herbs section. Keep up the good work.
Thank you,
Andrew.
That’s good, Andrew. Then you are well loaded with the ingredients.
If you can’t get fermented red tofu you could try beetroot powder.
Thanks for the suggestion, Antony! That’s a great natural coloring.
I dont understand what you mean by ‘roast’ is it different from baking at 200 degree Celsius? Or does it mean that i need to utilize the ‘grill’ function of an oven
Hi Holo,
This is no need to use grill function. In most cases, we say we bake the bakery and roast the meats. Sorry for the misunderstanding. Happy cooking!