Char Siu Pork is Cantonese BBQ Pork. If you have been following me for some time, you know that I made Char Siu Pork before. Today, I’d like to remake this recipe and address some of your questions from before. And this is what I call, the ultimate Char Siu Pork recipe!
Char Siu Pork Recipe
Serves: 6 to 8
Prep time: 10 minutes
Marinate time: Overnight
Cook time: 1 hour and 15 minutes
For the pork
3 pounds pork butt
2 pieces fermented red bean curd (replace it with red yeast rice or red food coloring)
2 tablespoons fermented red bean curd sauce
2 tablespoons oyster sauce
2 tablespoons hoisin sauce
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon dark soy sauce
2 tablespoons rose cooking wine (mei kuei lu chiew) (or replace with other cooking wine)
4 tablespoons sugar
½ teaspoon five-spice powder
½ teaspoon white pepper
3 garlic cloves, minced
For the glaze:
3 tablespoons honey (or replace with maltose)
3 tablespoons hot water
Char Siu Pork Instructions
To prepare the pork:
- Use a fork to lightly stab the pork everywhere on both sides. (It helps to tenderize the meat and allows the marinade to penetrate more.)
- To make the marinade, in a bowl, mix in the fermented red bean curd (This provides a beautiful red coating on the char siu. You could also use red yeast rice or red food coloring to replace it.), the sauce of fermented red bean curd, oyster sauce, hoisin sauce, soy sauce, dark soy sauce, rose cooking wine (You could also use other types of cooking wine, or opt it out if you can’t consume any alcohol.), sugar, five-spice powder, white pepper, and garlic. Whisk thoroughly.
- Reserve 3 tablespoons of the marinade. Cover and place it in the fridge.
- Transfer the pork to a large Ziploc bag and pour in the marinade. Squeeze most of the air out of the Ziploc bag and seal it. Distribute and rub the marinade all over the meat. Transfer the bag to the fridge to marinate overnight, flipping it about halfway through.
To roast the pork:
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (204 degrees C). (Please keep in mind that every oven is a bit different, and the thickness and size of the meat are varied too, so you might have to adjust the temperature and time based on these conditions.)
- Place a roasting rack on top of a foil-lined roasting pan. Remove the pork from the Ziploc bag and place them on the roasting rack. Transfer the roasting pan to the oven, where the pork is located at the center, and roast for 30 minutes, 400 degrees F (204 degrees C).
- Remove the roasting pan from the oven. Brush the reserved marinade all over the pork on both sides. Return the roasting pan to the oven and roast for another 30 minutes, 400 degrees F (204 degrees C).
- In the meantime, in a bowl, add the honey (or replace it with maltose) and hot water. Whisk until combined.
- Remove the roasting pan from the oven and brush the honey glaze all over the pork on both sides. Return the roasting pan to the oven and roast for a final 15 minutes, 400 degrees F (204 degrees C)
- Remove the char siu from the oven. Let it rest for about 10 minutes before slicing it into bite-size pieces. At least point, the internal temperature of the pork is at least 165 degrees F (74 degrees C). Enjoy!
16 thoughts on “The Ultimate Char Siu Pork Recipe (Chinese BBQ Pork)”
Thanks for the recipe
You are most welcome! 🙂
Thank you for the recipes.
Hi Minachi, thanks for the comment! You are most welcome! 🙂
Thank you for sharing the recipe. Which part of the chicken meat will be suitable for this recipe? Any other changes to the recipe if I am using chicken? Thank you.
Hi Gomathi,
Thank you for the question. Chicken thighs will be great. Please click here for my char siu chicken recipe: https://cicili.tv/char-siu-chicken-recipe/
Thank you for this recipe CiCiLi!
You are most welcome, Tess! 🙂
Love your recipes…dey are easy to follow n you are so creative n you always look so elegant n pleasabt!
Thank you for your kind words! Happy New Year to you and your family! 🙂
Can’t wait to try it 🙂
Hi Anton,
Thanks! I hope you and your family will enjoy your cooking! 🙂
Good morning. I’m unable to find many oriental ingredients. What can I use to substitute red bean curd or red yeast. Also do you have egg foo young recipe and egg foo young sauce? I’m hoping to make this soon. I love oriental foods. Thank you.
Hi Barb,
Thanks for stopping by my website! You could replace the bean curd with red food coloring. Please visit here for the egg foo young recipe. Enjoy! https://cicili.tv/char-siu-egg-foo-young-recipe/
What is five spice?
Hi Maria,
Five spice powder is usually a blend of star anise, cloves, cinnamon, Sichuan peppercorns, and fennel seeds. They are sold in most Asian supermarkets. Happy cooking!
CiCi