Char Siu is one of my favorite dish to cook because of it is so easy to make and handle. Even if we cannot eat all of them once, it goes so good with common leftover dishes like char siu fried rice, chow fun and steamed buns.
Previously we have a very localized Chinese char siu using red fermented tofu as the coloring agent. After getting so many complains about the hard to find ingredient “red fermented tofu” or “red yeast powder”, I believe there should be an easy approach. So I use hoisin sauce as the main coloring agent. If you read the ingredient label on the bottom of your hoisin sauce, you can find red yeast powder. So it should work 100% fine for bringing us a char siu red color.
Cook’s note
Usually pork butt is recommended for char siu as it has the perfect lean and fat ratio and is quite tender. But if you do not like fat, pork tenderloin can work fine too. Leaner pork belly contains more fat but can be used for making char siu too.
Brushing some sesame oil on the surface after roasting can make your char siu shining shining without influencing the flavor too much. But it is ok to brush honey a sweeter taste is preferred.
Ingredients
- 600g pork butt (tenderloin and pork belly can also work)
- 2 tbsp. hoisin sauce
- 2 tbsp. light soy sauce
- 1 tbsp. oyster sauce
- 1 tbsp. Chinese cooking wine or rose wine
- 1 tbsp. honey
- 1/4 tsp. Chinese five spice powder
- 2 garlic, sliced
- 1 thumb ginger, sliced
- sesame oil for brushing
Brushing
- 1 tbsp. honey
- 1/2 tbsp. previous made char siu sauce
- 1/2 tbsp. hot water
Steps
Firstly, poke some small holes on the pork butt so it can absorb the flavor better and cut into 2 cm wide and 4 cm thick long strips. Set aside and drain.
In a large bowl, mix hoisin sauce, cooking wine, honey, light soy sauce, oyster sauce and Chinese five spice. Give a big stir-fry to combine well.
Add garlic and ginger and pour the Char Siu sauce over the meat or you can use a bag. Turn over for 2-3 times during the marinating process. Keep in fridge for 24 to 48 hours. Or you can simple mix everything in a sealed bag.
Pre-heat oven to 200-degree C (around 400-degree F).
Before baking, add around ½ tablespoon of warm water and ½ tablespoon of char siu sauce with 1 tablespoon of honey. Combine well. Place the pork on grill and with a layered baking tray. Brush the honey water on both sides.
Roast again on middle track for another 10 minutes. If you want to hardening the surface, move the grill to up track and roast for another 2 minutes.Transfer out and brush some sesame oil on surface. Cool down for 3-4 minutes and cut into slices.
- 600 g pork butt ,tenderloin and pork belly can also work
- 2 tbsp. hoisin sauce
- 2 tbsp. light soy sauce
- 1 tbsp. oyster sauce
- 1 tbsp. Chinese cooking wine or rose wine
- 1 tbsp. honey
- 1/4 tsp. Chinese five spice powder
- 2 garlic ,sliced
- 1 thumb ginger ,sliced
- 1 tbsp. honey
- 1/2 tbsp. previous made char siu sauce
- 1/2 tbsp. hot water
- sesame oil for brushing optional
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Firstly, poke some small holes on the pork butt so it can absorb the flavor better and cut into 2 cm wide and 4 cm thick long strips. Set aside and drain.
-
In a large bowl, mix hoisin sauce, cooking wine, honey, light soy sauce, oyster sauce and Chinese five spice. Combine well.
-
Add garlic and ginger and pour the Char Siu sauce over the meat or you can use a bag. Turn over for 2-3 times during the marinating process. Keep in fridge for 24 to 48 hours.
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Pre-heat oven to 200-degree C (around 400-degree F)
-
Before baking, add around ½ tablespoon of warm water and ½ tablespoon of char siu sauce with 1 tablespoon of honey. Combine well.
-
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. If you want to hardening the surface, 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.
The prepare time do not include refrigerating time.
Wow wow wow that’s all I can say about this Char Siu recipe. I found it so easy to make using your instructions. I had pork belly so I used that. I have to tell that realy made a pig of my self eating it.
1 TB honey in Step 2, then another in Step 5?
thatf’s 2 TB of hondy?
Sorry, Linda. I miss the brushing mixture section. Already updated. Thanks for the correctness.
You never mentioned when to put in the ginger or garlic. I am & did presume it goes it with all the other ingredients. Would be nice to get everything in detail if it is posted as a recipe.
My apologies , i re-read your instructions & do see where you have added those items to the recipe. Again, sorry for jumping the gun.
Since returning from China, I have been missing Char Siu but there is none available locally. I’ve tried other Char Siu recipes I found online and even some commercial sauces, but all fell short of the Char Siu I remember in Hong Kong. This was great! I added a few drops of red food coloring to increase the red color. You are my new, favorite Cantonese food site. I want to try making the Egg Tarts too. In Hong Kong a cheese egg tart was becoming popular. Those were my favorite. Do you happen to have a recipe for those?
Thanks Debra.
Cheese egg tart is the new pop star in Chinese bakery now. I will try a chance to test it at home.
The Char Siu sauce sounds incredible, but meat can get a little pricy where I live, fish excepted. Any other suggestions as to which other dish it can pair well with?
You can use boneless chicken thigh.
Hi would like to get a little bit of clarity with the instructions lol.
So after preheating the over i make the water honey char siu sauce. Then it says place the pork on grill, is that inside the oven? And bake it for 10 mins?
So i pretty much i brush then bake 10 mins brush then bake for 10 mins?
Thank you!
Yes, Cowen.
Roast the pork firstly and then brush the char siu coating sauce. Then continue roasting until well cooked.
I agree, the baking instructions are not clear and there are several typos so hard to trust this recipe.
This is so yummy! I have made this with pork, but I have also made the sauce and put it on tofu for my mother who doesn’t eat pork. That was delicious as well. Thanks for another great recipe, Elaine.
Thanks for the feedback, Jessica. Using tofu is a brilliant idea.
Hi Elaine,
I’ve just put the bag with meat and marinade in the fridge and am excited to see how it turns out!
In step two you say “Give a big stir-fry to combine well” the Char Siu Pork-Chinese BBQ Pork also says this but in the video it says combine well. I assumed stir-fry was a typo. Is that the case?
Other than that, the instructions are very good and the pictures are exquisite!
Sure Gia. It is a typo. I mean to mix all of the sauce together.
Hello Elaine!
I’m glad to have come across your recipe! Do you have brand recommendations for light soy sauce? I currently have kikkoman soy sauce (not low sodium).
My favorite brand is Lee Kum Kee. And I love to use low sodium version.