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    Home » Recipes » Asian

    Jan 28, 2022 · Modified: Apr 12, 2022 by Harriet

    How to Make Char Siu

    Jump to recipe card

    Learn how to make Char Siu at home. This mouthwatering Chinese barbecue pork (char siu pork) is so simple to make and just as easy to eat. There is no need to go and buy this delicious Chinese BBQ pork meat when you can make it yourself.

    Closeup of Chinese barbecue pork slices garnished with spring onion.
    Jump to:
    • 👛 Cost To Make
    • What Is Char Siu?
    • 🌟 Why You'll Love This Recipe:
    • Types of Pork Meat To Use
    • 🍳 Step By Step Instructions
    • 💭 Recipe Tips
    • 👪 Serving Size
    • 🍬 Calories Per Serve
    • 🥗 Serving Suggestions
    • 🌡️ Storage
    • 🍲 More Easy Recipes
    • 📋 Recipe Card
    • 💬 Comments

    Char siu or Chinese BBQ pork, is delicious, easy, and cheap to make at home. Use it to make many different dishes including stir-fries, noodle dishes, fried rice, steamed buns, and more.

    👛 Cost To Make

    Estimated cost = $14 or $2.33 a serve

    What Is Char Siu?

    Char siu is Chinese barbecue pork that is traditionally cooked on skewers over coals which gives the meat a smokey flavor.

    Chinese BBQ pork has red color on the outside, and this is because red food coloring is mixed into the marinade.

    🌟 Why You'll Love This Recipe:

    This recipe for How To Make Char Siu won’t give you the smokey flavor or the red color, because it’s cooked in the oven, and by choice, we prefer not to use red food coloring for this dish.

    But if you wish to, you can add about ⅛th of a teaspoon of red food color to the marinade or be traditional and use one red fermented tofu with ½ tablespoon of the tofu sauce.

    Types of Pork Meat To Use

    You can use just about any cut of pork meat, such as pork neck, pork shoulder, pork fillet, pork loin, and pork belly.

    We choose to use pork shoulder because it’s a cheaper cut of meat, relatively lean, and tender to eat (provided you don’t overcook it).

    When using pork shoulder, you will need to cut the pork into strips of equal width and length – about 5cm (2 inches) wide and about 12cm (5 inches) long would be ideal and ensures even cooking.

    An additional step we like to do is to poke the pieces of meat all-over with a fork so that the meat will absorb more flavor from the marinade.

    🍳 Step By Step Instructions

    The most important part of this recipe is the Chinese barbecue pork marinade.

    So, what goes into a Chinese pork marinade?

    This char siu marinade is made from a combination of light and dark soy sauce, rice wine, hoisin sauce, oyster sauce, sesame oil, brown sugar, Chinese five spice powder, minced ginger, white pepper, minced garlic, honey, and maltose.

    These can all be placed into a large zip lock bag along with the meat which then can be left to marinate in the fridge overnight or for up to two days before cooking.

    How to make char siu. Pork in marinade in a zip lock bag.

    How To Cook BBQ Pork

    Cooking the Chinese BBQ pork is easy enough. All you need to do is turn and baste the meat a few times with the left-over marinade sauce in a hot oven.

    As it cooks some of the marinade and juices will dribble into the tray, these will caramelize and burn which can be difficult to clean. To make cleaning up easier, line the tray with baking paper or foil and oil the cake rack before adding the meat.

    It is important to baste the meat several times during cooking, it will help keep the meat moist, increase the flavor, and will give the char siu a nice golden color.

    Uncooked marinated pork pieces on a baking tray.

    💭 Recipe Tips

    • A few things to consider when making the marinade:
    • Don’t go overboard with the garlic 1-2 cloves is sufficient, using more will affect the taste.
    • Also, the type of honey you use will affect the taste. So, if you make this recipe and find that the flavor is not quite right it could be the honey, try using a different brand of honey next time.
    • Don’t skip the maltose, this clear, thick and sticky liquid gives the Chinese barbecue pork it’s shine. It is very thick and can be difficult to get out of the container at room temperature. However, when warmed in the microwave oven in short bursts, it softens and can then be easily spooned out.
    Cooke char siu pork.

    👪 Serving Size

    Serves 6 as part of a main meal.

    🍬 Calories Per Serve

    One serving of char siu is about 275 calories.

    🥗 Serving Suggestions

    • Serve thin slices of char siu on white rice with steamed bok choy or other Asian greens.
    • Char siu can be eaten on its own as a snack.
    • Use it in stir-fries or add it to fried rice.
    • Mix it into Asian-style noodles.
    • Use it as a filling for char siu bao
    • It's also nice in white bread with butter.

    🌡️ Storage

    If you have any leftover char siu it can be frozen, It does lose a little flavor when frozen but is good to have on hand for cutting up and putting into dishes like fried rice and stir-fries.

    🍲 More Easy Recipes

    • Easy pork mince stir fry with noodles
    • Balti chicken thigh curry
    • Slow cooker beef and pork ragu
    Slices of barbeque pork on a white plate.

    I do hope that you try this recipe for How to Make Char Siu. If you do, please come back and leave a comment below because I would love to know how you went.


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    📋 Recipe Card

    Homemade Chinese BBQ pork on a white plate.

    How To Make Char Siu

    Chinese BBQ pork can be used in so many different dishes including: dry and wet noodle dishes, soups, as a side to rice dishes, used to make steamed buns and so much more. 
    Print Recipe
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    Prep Time : 15 mins
    Cook Time : 50 mins
    Total Time : 1 hr 5 mins
    Cuisine: : Chinese
    Course : Mains
    Servings : 6
    Calories : 275 : kcal
    Estimated Cost (AUD) : $14 or $2.33 a serve
    Author : Harriet

    INGREDIENTS

    • 700 grams (1.5 pounds) pork shoulder – cut into 5cm (2 inch wide) and 12 cm (5 inch) long pieces

    Marinade

    • 2 tablespoons honey
    • 1 tablespoon maltose
    • 1 tablespoon dark soy sauce
    • 1 tablespoon light soy sauce
    • 1 tablespoon rice wine
    • 1 tablespoons hoisin sauce
    • 1 tablespoon oyster sauce
    • 1 teaspoon sesame oil
    • 1 teaspoon fresh ginger - minced
    • 3 tablespoons soft brown sugar
    • 1 teaspoon five spice powder
    • 1 teaspoon white pepper powder
    • 1 clove garlic – finely chopped or minced
    • 1 ½ teaspoons salt
    Tap button to prevent your screen from going dark while cooking.

    INSTRUCTIONS

    • PREPARE THE PORK
      Use a fork and poke holes into the pork meat pieces.
    • MAKE THE MARINADE
      - Place all the marinade ingredients into a large zip lock bag. Mix well.
      - Add the pieces of meat to the marinade sauce, and “massage” the meat into the sauce until completely covered. Press out any air from the bag and seal.
      - Allow the meat to marinate in the fridge for at least 8 hours or more (it can be left to marinate for as long as two days).
    • COOK THE PORK
      Preheat the oven to 180°C (356°F)
      - Line a tray with baking paper or foil, place a well-oiled cake rack on top.
      - Place the pork meat pieces on the oiled cake rack and keep the left-over marinade (this will be used for basting).
      - Place the pork into the hot oven and cook for 20 minutes, then:
      • Flip the meat over and use a small brush to baste the meat with the marinade sauce, cook for another 15 minutes.
      • Flip the meat over and baste with the sauce, cook for 10 minutes.
      • Turn the meat over, baste again, cook for another 5 minutes (the meat should be dark golden brown and slightly charred at this stage, if not cook for a few minutes longer).
    • ALLOW TO REST
      - Remove from the oven and allow it to rest for 5 minutes before cutting.

    Notes

    A few things to consider when making the marinade:
    • Don’t go overboard with the garlic 1-2 cloves is sufficient, using more will affect the taste.
    • Also, the type of honey you use will affect the taste. So, if you make this recipe and find that the flavour is not quite right it could be the honey, try using a different brand of honey next time.
    • Don’t skip the maltose, this clear, thick and sticky liquid gives the Chinese barbecue pork it’s shine. It is very thick and can be difficult to get out of the container at room temperature. However, when warmed in the microwave oven in short bursts, it softens and can then be easily spooned out.
     
    Nutrition Facts
    How To Make Char Siu
    Serving Size
     
    1 serving
    Amount per Serving
    Calories
    275
    % Daily Value*
    Fat
     
    9
    g
    14
    %
    Saturated Fat
     
    3
    g
    19
    %
    Cholesterol
     
    72
    mg
    24
    %
    Sodium
     
    1650
    mg
    72
    %
    Potassium
     
    409
    mg
    12
    %
    Carbohydrates
     
    25
    g
    8
    %
    Fiber
     
    1
    g
    4
    %
    Sugar
     
    23
    g
    26
    %
    Protein
     
    22
    g
    44
    %
    Vitamin C
     
    1
    mg
    1
    %
    Calcium
     
    29
    mg
    3
    %
    Iron
     
    2
    mg
    11
    %
    * Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
    Nutrition Disclosure

    This recipe was first published on May 9, 2018, updated with new content, and published under the new title of How to Make Char Siu on January 28, 2022.

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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Claire says

      January 28, 2022 at 4:13 pm

      5 stars
      I love char siu and this recipe looks easy.

      Reply

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    Hi, I'm Harriet! The face and photographer behind Recipe Pocket. I am a mother of two who is a cook by day and blogger by night.

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