Char Siew, Chinese Barbeque Pork |叉烧

Written by on in Classic Chinese Recipes & Malaysian Signature, Festival Recipes, Easy Home Cooking Recipes

This Char Siu Recipe produces juicy, tender, chewy meat and pork fat that melts in the mouth. The char siu in this recipe is not too sweet. So if you want very sweet char siu, you can marinate with more sugar. This char siu recipe is very easy to prepare with only 5 key ingredients plus salt. All you need is pork belly, sugar, honey, five spice, light soya sauce plus salt. Other recipes call for more ingredients such as red fermented bean curd or red colouring, shaoxing wine, hoisin sauce, oyster sauce etc. However, I prefer to use just a basic key ingredients and it taste great as well! You can also use pork shoulder but pork belly makes more juicy char siu. This method is also very easy as you do not need to turn the pork over a few times and brush extra sauce while baking in the oven. This recipe is so easy you just can’t wait to try it! The sauce in this recipe is optional as the char siu taste just as good on its own.

Char Siu is a Cantonese Chinese dish. In restaurants, it is made by using barbeque forks and barbequed over the fire pit. That is where the name comes from “Cha, 叉” which is “fork” and “Siu，烧” is “Cook over fire”. So its more aromatic when you eat Char Siu at the restaurants that still uses a barbeque pit as it has a smoky aroma.

Ingredients:

300 grams pork belly 五花肉 200 克
2 tablespoon sugar 白糖 2 汤匙
2 tablespoon soya sauce 生抽 2 汤匙
2 heaps tablespoon of honey 蜜糖 2 汤匙
1/4 teaspoon five spice 五香粉 1/4 茶匙
1 teaspoon salt 盐 1 茶匙

Method:

  1. Remove skin of pork belly.
  2. Cut into into 2 pieces about 4 cm thick (width)
  3. Marinate the pork belly with sugar, soya sauce, honey, five spice and salt
  4. Cover with plastic wrap and place in the chiller overnight or at least 3 hours at room temperature
  5. Before baking in the over, ensure that pork belly is at room temperature after removing from the fridge
  6. Preheat oven at 250degrees celcius using fan mode for 15 minutes
  7. Place pork onto a baking tray. Fat side on top
  8. Brush the top of the pork belly with another layer of honey
  9. Bake for 15 minutes at 250 °C (fan mode)
  10. Then after 15 minutes, reduce temperature to 160°C. Bake another 10-15 minutes
  11. Watch the pork after 10 minutes and remove once the top part is slightly charred.
  12. Remove the baking tray from oven. CAREFUL! the oven is very HOT when you open it.
  13. Let the pork belly rest for 30 minutes at room temperature. The pork will continue to slowly cook and tenderise the meat.
  14. Cut into thin slices and serve.

Char Siew Sauce (optional):

  • Use the remaining marinate sauce 使用剩下的腌制将
  • 1 teaspoon cornstarch 玉米粉 1 茶匙
  • 1 teaspoon cake flour 低筋粉 1 茶匙
  • 2 teaspoon dark soya sauce 老抽 2 茶匙
  • 200 ml water 水 200 毫升

Method for sauce:

  1. Pour the remaining marinate sauce, cornstarch, cake flour, dark soya sauce and water into a pan.
  2. Stir well
  3. Place on stove and bring to boil
  4. Then reduce to low heat and stir until thickens
  5. Remove from stove and pour sauce into a serving bowl

Full recipe video for Char Siew, Chinese Barbeque Pork |叉烧:

https://youtu.be/Zan-q0MCctQ