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Char Siu
You are here: Home / Blog / Char Siu – Chinese BBQ Recipe

Char Siu – Chinese BBQ Recipe

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Char Siu

The post below contains some affiliate links

I realize I’ve been posting a lot of dessert dishes. Since I don’t want you to think I only feed my family desserts (although my kids would love it), I thought I’d share a recipe for char siu or chinese BBQ. Char siu is a Cantonese way of preparing pork and literally means to “fork-roast”. Have you ever been to a Chinese restaurant and seen those delicious looking red colored strips of pork hanging up? That’s char siu and it’s prepared on those hooks and is “fork-roasted” over fire or in a large wood burning oven.

If you’ve never had char siu, it has a sweet and savory flavor. It’s one of my favorite ways to prepare pork.ย Traditional char siu is made with ย pork belly or pork butt – the more fatty cuts of pork. However, if you want to use a leaner cut of pork, you can use pork tenderloin. Keep in mind though, tenderloin ย isn’t as succulent as the fattier cuts of pork, but it works fine if you’re watching your figure. I use tenderloin because I have enough lumps and bumps as it is and I don’t need to add anymore ๐Ÿ™‚

Okay, so you’re ready to make char siu, but you don’t have a large wood burning oven. No problem. You don’t have a lot of Asian condiments ย in your cabinet. No problem. The recipe can be simplified and it will still give you a nice char siu flavor. All the ingredients that are “optional” do not have to be included in the marinade if you can’t find it. I also opted not to use red food coloring, but you can add 1/2 tsp to the marinade if you want the red color.ย ย Just follow along below and you’ll be on your way to making some yummy char siu at home!

How to Make Char Siu in the Oven

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Cut your tenderloin into long 1 inch wide strips. *I doubled the recipe in this photo*

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Add in all of the sauce ingredients and massage it into the meat. Cover and place into the refrigerator for 4 – 6 hours to marinate.

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Line a pan with foil to make clean up easier (I forgot to line mine). Place a wire rack into the pan ย and fill with just enough water to cover the bottom of the pan. Then, place the pork strips onto the wire rack, reserving the marinade. ย Place the pan into a 350F degree oven for 10 minutes.

After 10 minutes, baste the meat with the reserved marinade and return to the oven for another 10 minutes.

*If your pieces are slightly larger than 1 inch around, you may have to cook it a little longer. You want the internal temperature of the meat to reach 160F degrees.*

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While the meat is cooking, ย place soy sauce, honey, and cornstarch in a pot. Bring to a boil and keep stirring until it becomes glossy and thick.

IMG_0098

Ways to finish the Char Siu

There are three ways to finish off theย meat:

  • ย If you want a slightly crispy outside, remove the pan from the oven and baste the meat with the soy/honey mixture. ย Place the pan under the broiler for 2-3 minutes. You want to broil it just long enough to see some charring. ย This is the method in the directions below.
  • If you do not want a crispy outside, baste the meat with the soy/honey mixture and return to the oven for 5 minutes. I use this method if I am making char siu bao.
  • If you prefer a more savory meat, skip the glaze and baste once more with the marinade and return the pork to the oven for 5 minutes.

**Most char siu recipes will use maltose for the glaze, but it’s hard to find if you don’t have access to a good Asian store. My glaze is a modified form so you can get a good thick glaze without maltose**

Once done, let the meat rest for 10 minutes before slicing and serving.

Char Siu

Char Siu Recipe

Ingredients

Marinade

  • 1 1/2 – 2 lbs pork tenderloin cut into 1 inch strips
  • 1/3 cup soy sauce
  • 2T dark soy sauce (optional)
  • 1/2 cup sugar (If you prefer a salty over sweet flavor, reduce this amount)
  • 2T sherry or Chinese rose wine (I use sherry)
  • 2T bean paste (optional)
  • 2T hoisin
  • 3-4 cloves of chopped garlic
  • 1 tsp Chinese 5 spice powder (If marinating overnight, I suggest using 3/4 tsp. because this is a very strong seasoning)
  • 1 tsp pepper

Glaze (optional)

  • 1/2 cup leftover marinade or soy sauce
  • 1/2 cup honey
  • 2 tsp cornstarch

Directions

  1. Cut pork into long 1 inch strips.
  2. Place into a container and add all of the marinade ingredients. Massage all the ingredients onto the pork.
  3. Cover the container and place it into the refrigerator for 4-6 hours. *You can leave this overnight*
  4. Heat oven to 350F degrees.
  5. Line a pan with foil and place a rack inside of the pan.ย Put just enough water in the pan to cover the bottom of the pan.
  6. Place pork strips onto the rack, reserving the marinade.
  7. Put the pan into the oven for 10 minutes.
  8. After 10 minutes, baste the pork strips with the reserved marinade. Place back into the oven for another 10 minutes.
  9. If you have a seperate broiler, turn it on now.
  10. Start the glaze. Place all the glaze ingredients into a pot. Cook on medium high and constantly stir the glaze until it is glossy and thick. Set aside.
  11. When the 10 minutes are up, take the pork strips out of the oven and brush the glaze over the pork.
  12. Place under the broiler for 2-3 minutes or until you see some charring.
  13. Remove from broiler and let the meat rest for 10 minutes.
  14. Slice strips and serve with rice or in a bowl of ramen (noodles).

Although this recipe is pretty flexible, if you would still like to use some of the “optional” ingredients, here are a few that are available on Amazon


More good eats…

Pork and Peas one pan meal

Manapua

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Comments

  1. Diane Balch says

    May 9, 2014 at 5:33 AM

    Just wanted you to know that your recipe is being featured on Foodie Friday today.

    Reply
  2. Annamaria @ Bakewell Junction says

    May 3, 2014 at 6:08 PM

    This recipe looks delicious and I’d love for you to link up at #GetHimFed Fridays. The party is open until Sunday night. Hope to see you there.
    Annamaria
    Annamaria @ Bakewell Junction recently posted…Man Food Linky Party #GetHimFed Fridays No. 33My Profile

    Reply
  3. Kimberly says

    April 26, 2014 at 7:36 AM

    This looks amazing! Pinned! Thanks for adding us to your list! See you next week. Lou Lou Girls
    Kimberly recently posted…Four Ways To Get To Know Yourself BetterMy Profile

    Reply
  4. Sandra - The Foodie Affair says

    April 22, 2014 at 9:02 PM

    This looks fantastic! Saw this at Lou Lou Girls party and had to check out the recipe!

    Reply
  5. Tanya says

    April 20, 2014 at 5:23 PM

    This is making my mouth water! Thanks for linking up to #throwbackthursdaylinkup!

    Reply
  6. maria @ close to home says

    April 18, 2014 at 10:28 AM

    I have never heard of this but it looks simple enough Thanks for linking to FRIDAYFRENZY this week.

    Reply
    • Erlene at My Pinterventures says

      April 19, 2014 at 9:19 AM

      My kids love this stuff. It’s pretty easy…just takes a bit of time.

      Reply
  7. Laura@Baking In Pyjamas says

    March 23, 2014 at 10:24 AM

    I love char sui, I’ve made it several times before myself. This looks delicious. Thanks for linking up to Sweet and Savoury Sunday, stop by and link up with us again this weekend, Iโ€™d love to see you there Have a great weekend!

    Reply
  8. ctrochelman says

    March 21, 2014 at 6:33 PM

    I always have that feeling when I’ve only been posting desserts! Like I hope people don’t think that’s ALL I make! This dish looks amazing….different than anything I’ve had and so flavorful!

    Reply
  9. Deanna Michaels (@DeannaMichaels) says

    March 17, 2014 at 8:30 AM

    This looks fabulous. I need to go buy some Chinese 5 Spice Powder.

    Reply
  10. creativekkids says

    March 16, 2014 at 6:09 PM

    That looks great. I will definitely try this as I love Chinese. I love how you display all the places you linked up as well. Is that a plugiin? Thanks for linking up with the Tasty Tuesday’s Link-up. I have pinned your post to the Tasty’s Tuesday’s Pinterest Board!

    Reply
    • Erlene at My Pinterventures says

      March 16, 2014 at 8:09 PM

      Thanks, I hope you try it and let me know how you like it. The display is just a table that is place into the post and then I add the media into it. It’s really easy and I learned it from momsmakemoney blog, but I think you can use the inlinkz to make this too.

      Reply
  11. Katherines Corner says

    March 15, 2014 at 6:29 PM

    Thank you for sharing at the hop my friend xo

    Reply
  12. Miz Helen says

    March 15, 2014 at 11:03 AM

    Your Char Siu looks fantastic, such delicious flavor! Happy St. Patrickโ€™s Day to Ya and thanks so much for sharing your awesome post with Full Plate Thursday!
    Come Back Soon,
    Miz Helen

    Reply
  13. Nicole says

    March 14, 2014 at 10:32 AM

    That looks absolutely wonderful!

    Reply
  14. jugglingrealfoodandreallife says

    March 14, 2014 at 10:20 AM

    Hi Erlene! I’m stopping in from Let’s Get Real today. Char Siu is one of my favorites. I felt as though I had to give it up for the most part since changing to a healthier way of eating. You have shown here I can make one of my favorites in a healthy way. Thanks so much for leaving out the food dye! I can’t wait to try this.

    Reply
  15. Gaye @CalmHealthySexy says

    March 13, 2014 at 6:44 PM

    Thanks for sharing with the Let’s Get Real party, Erlene.

    Reply
  16. Kathleen @ Fearlessly Creative Mammas says

    March 13, 2014 at 5:19 PM

    This looks really good. I’m always looking for a tasty way to cook meat. Thanks for linking up to Tips and Tricks.

    Reply
  17. dishofdailylife says

    March 13, 2014 at 2:20 PM

    This looks awesome! My kids love Chinese food but we rarely go out…I’m definitely trying this!

    Reply
  18. Stephanie says

    March 13, 2014 at 9:59 AM

    Saw this on the gingerly made link up and this looks amazing!

    Reply
  19. Cheryl at Snaps of Ginger says

    March 13, 2014 at 8:12 AM

    Oh goodness, this looks so good!! I’m pinning this for the weekend!!

    I hopped over from the link up at Put a Bird on It.

    ~Cheryl
    http://snaps-of-ginger.blogspot.com/

    Reply
    • Erlene at My Pinterventures says

      March 13, 2014 at 12:15 PM

      Thanks for visiting. Hopped over to your blog and started following you on some of your social media sites. Love your DIY knockoff crafts.

      Reply
  20. Debra @ Worth Cooking says

    March 12, 2014 at 8:15 PM

    Yum! I will be pinning this.

    Reply
    • Erlene at My Pinterventures says

      March 12, 2014 at 10:48 PM

      Thanks so much for visiting and PINNING! Greatly appreciate it.

      Reply
      • Nicky says

        November 3, 2016 at 5:07 PM

        Can you tell me what part of the pork you used. Clearly the pic is different to pork strips

        Reply
        • Erlene at My Pinterventures says

          November 4, 2016 at 12:16 AM

          It is a pork loin that is cut into strips.

          Reply
  21. Faye Wilkerson says

    March 12, 2014 at 11:42 AM

    My husband loves Chinese food, but good Chinese food is not available where we live. Will have to make your Char Siu for him. First will have to find the bean paste and spices.

    Reply
    • Erlene at My Pinterventures says

      March 12, 2014 at 12:15 PM

      Hi Faye. So glad you stopped by. You can still make this without the bean paste. I’ve done it before. The only spice I wouldn’t recommend going without is the 5 spice. You can probably still get a good flavor with just soy sauce, sugar, hoisin (in most supermarkets in the Asian section), sherry, and 5 spice (many supermarkets have this in the spice section).

      Reply
  22. Heidi Olson says

    March 12, 2014 at 7:03 AM

    Yum! I’ve seen this in pork fried rice I’ve ordered but never knew the name for it!

    Reply
    • Erlene at My Pinterventures says

      March 12, 2014 at 12:16 PM

      Hi Heidi. Yes, it’s delicious in fried rice. Too bad my kids eat it up before I get a chance to use it in friend rice…lol. Thanks for stopping by.

      Reply
  23. 1929charmer says

    March 11, 2014 at 7:47 PM

    This looks so good I pinned it! So when you worked at AT did you get any “free” clothes? thanks for stopping by and letting me know you liked my AT lampshade!

    Reply
    • Erlene at My Pinterventures says

      March 11, 2014 at 11:17 PM

      Thanks. I hope you try it. Yes we did get free clothes if we won contests. I’ve even won a Cartier watch from a contest. It was a great company when I was there many many years ago.

      Reply
  24. Judy | Bebe Love Okazu says

    March 11, 2014 at 7:42 PM

    You have a lovely blog! Our family enjoys char siu on a regular basis but I’ve never tried to make it at home. Yours looks amazing!

    Reply
    • Erlene at My Pinterventures says

      March 11, 2014 at 11:01 PM

      Thanks. I probably would’ve never started making it myself if we hadn’t moved away from Hawaii. It’s hard to get Chinese food where we live and I was “forced” to make my own…lol. Hope you try it.

      Reply
  25. heartbeatssoulstains says

    March 11, 2014 at 4:28 PM

    Our family loves char siu anything (chicken, pork). Your recipe looks super yummy. Thank you for sharing your wonderful recipe at The MaMade Blog Hop. Have a great week ๐Ÿ™‚

    Reply
    • Erlene at My Pinterventures says

      March 11, 2014 at 11:08 PM

      Chicken! I totally forgot about chicken…my sons will love you for that ๐Ÿ™‚ Thanks for stopping by always hosting such a great linkup

      Reply

Trackbacks

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