Chinese BBQ Pork

  

     A staple in Chinese cuisine, char siu is delicious, goes well in other dishes, such as won ton soup or BBQ pork fried rice, char siu cheung fan (rice noodle), BBQ pork buns or makes a great appetizer on its own.  The pork used in char siu depends on your personal tastes.  In Hong Kong BBQ shops pork belly is most often used because of its tenderness and fattiness, which is quite flavorful.  Personally, I prefer pork tenderloin, because it is tender, yet lean.

     My recipe for char siu will be a little different than my other recipes, because it is more of a “go by feel” recipe.  If the pork looks like it needs more or less of something, by all means add it.  I also use whatever is in my kitchen for the marinade.  I put in some guidelines for some ingredients that might be overkill if you use too much.  If you’re completely lost, contact me and I can give you some guidance.

Char siu

Marinade:

Pork, cut in long strips of roughly 1 ½” in diameter                                             

BBQ sauce

Hoisin sauce                                                                                                                       

Honey

5 spice powder (1 full tsp at the very most, it’s quite powerful)                   

Garlic powder

Soya sauce (around 1 tbsp)                                                                                         

Water

Red food coloring (you can buy the gel kind at bakery supply stores)

Glaze:

Hoisin sauce                       BBQ sauce                           Honey                   Red food coloring

·         Marinade the pork in the marinade sauce and refrigerate in a container overnight

·         Place a baking rack on a tinfoil pizza pan or cookie sheet with a lip.  You will need a lip on the pan in order to catch the fat and sauce drippings.

·         Set oven to 300F

·         Place the pork on the baking rack and put in the oven for about 45 minutes, or until the meat is cooked to 160F.

·         Every 10-15 minutes, take the pork out and brush with the glaze.  

The result should be sticky sweet BBQ pork.   When pork is cooled a bit, slice and enjoy, or store for future use.  We usually make a huge batch and freeze for later use.