叉燒) - Chinese BBQ Por

Char Siu

A time-tested recipe for perfect, juicy, tender char siu, a classic Cantonese favorite!

Prep Time Total Time Yields

20 min 80 min 6 servings

Ingredients

Main Ingredients
3 lb pork shoulder (or a fatty cut, more on this later)

Char Siu Sauce Ingredients

 1.5 tbsp garlic salt
6 tbsp brown sugar
3 tbsp oyster sauce (Amazon​)
3 tbsp light soy sauce (Amazon​)
1.5 tbsp hoisin sauce
3 tbsp red wine
1.5 tbsp Shaoxing wine
1.5 cube red fermented bean curd
1.5 tsp five spice powder
Basting Ingredients
3 tbsp honey
3 tsp water
0.38 tsp red food coloring (optional, see our comparison)

Instructions

Step 1: Prepare pork

Cut the pork shoulder (3 lb) into long slices, roughly about 1 inch thick. We'll aim to cut
each slice with uniform thickness so they cook at the same rate.

Afterwards, we'll repeatedly poke each side of each slice with a fork to help the pork
absorb our marinade more effectively.

Step 2: Prepare marinade

To a bowl, we'll add:

garlic salt (1.5 tbsp)​
brown sugar (6 tbsp)​
oyster sauce (3 tbsp)​
light soy sauce (3 tbsp)​
hoisin sauce (1.5 tbsp)​
red wine (3 tbsp)
Shaoxing wine (1.5 tbsp)
red fermented bean curd (1.5 cube)
five spice powder (1.5 tsp)
This amount can be adjusted based on the amount of pork you'll be making.

Mix the marinade until it's evenly distributed and smooth.

If you'd like a more rich, red color, you can add a few drops of red food coloring (0.38 tsp).

Step 3: Marinate pork

Place the meat into a zip-top bag, pour the sauce in, and massage the pork for about 2
minutes so that the sauce is able to finesse its way into the meat. Afterwards, we’ll push
all the air out of the bag and seal it.

Place the bag in the refrigerator, and let the pork marinate overnight, or at least for around
6 to 8 hours.

Chef’s Tip: My dad says to not let it marinate for over 24 hours, or else it will affect the
tenderness of the meat. If you refrigerate the pork, let it sit for about 1 hour to bring it to
room temperature before starting to cook it.

Step 4: Prepare char siu for oven

Preheat the oven to 425° F or 218° C.

Set up the baking pan by lining the bottom with aluminum foil (so it's easier to clean!),
and place the baking rack on top of the foil.
Using tongs, start laying out the pork on the baking rack and pan.

Add 1 to 2 tbsp of water to the bottom of the pan to help generate some steam as the char
siu cooks, and to help prevent the drippings from burning and smoking.

Carefully place it in the oven.

Step 5: Roast and baste char siu

Now, we’ll be removing the char siu periodically to baste it again with either our leftover
pork marinade, or honey (3 tbsp) diluted with water (3 tsp).

Here’s how my dad split up the cooking time:

Cook for 15 minutes and baste both sides with the pork marinade
Cook for another 15 minutes and baste both sides with pork marinade again
Cook for 10 minutes and baste both sides with the diluted honey
And finally, we’ll turn the heat up to 450° F, cook for another 5 minutes, baste both sides with honey,
and let it cool for a few minutes before cutting into it.
In total, this is about 50 minutes in the oven.

Step 6: Final touches, let cool, cut and enjoy!

Once the char siu has finished its last cycle in the oven, we'll baste each side with our
diluted honey.

Let the char siu cool for about 5 minutes before cutting into it.

And finally... enjoy!