Char Siu Pork is a type of Cantonese roast meat and it gets its name from the traditional cooking method. It’s definitely a fan favourite because of its sweet and spicy signature char siu sauce!
Prep Time10minutes mins
Cook Time15minutes mins
Marinating Time1day d
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Chinese
Keyword: cantonese, char siu, char siu pork, chinese, pork
Servings: 8
Ingredients
- 3 lbs boneless pork shoulder
- ¼ cup granulated white sugar
- 2 tsp salt
- ½ tsp five-spice powder
- ¼ tsp white pepper
- 1 tbsp Shaoxing rice wine
- ½ tsp sesame oil
- 1 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tbsp hoisin sauce
- 2 tsp molasses
- ⅛ tsp red food colouring optional
- 3 cloves garlic
- 2 tbsp honey
- 1 tbsp water
Instructions
- Prep your pork by cutting it into long strips or chunks about 3 inches thick. Don’t worry about trimming off excess fat as it will render off and add flavour to your char siu pork.
- Mince the cloves of garlic finely to add to the marinade in the next step.
- To make the marinade combine the sugar, salt, five-spice powder, white pepper, sesame oil, rice wine, soy sauce, hoisin sauce, molasses, food colouring (if using), and garlic in a bowl.
- Save about 2 tablespoons of the marinade for later. Rub the slices of with the rest of the marinade in a large bowl. Then cover and refrigerate overnight or for at least 8 hours. Cover and store the reserved marinade in the fridge as well.Tip: The longer your marinate your pork, the better your char siu will turn out! The recommended marinating time is 24 to 48 hours.
Roasting
- After the pork has marinated for 24 hours, get your oven ready by preheating it to the highest temperature. This should be about 475 °F to 550°F.
- Line a sheet pan with foil and place a metal rack on top. Using a metal rack will keep the pork off the pan and help it cook more evenly. Pour 1 ½ cups water into the pan below the rack to prevent any drippings from burning or smoking.
- Once the oven reaches the desired temperature, place the pork on the top rack and roast for 25 minutes. Flip and turn the pan 180 degrees before roasting for another 15 minutes. If the bottom of the pan is dry, add another cup of water.
- While the pork is still roasting, combine the reserved marinade with the honey and 1 tablespoon of hot water. This will be the sauce you’ll use for basting the pork.
- Once the pork has been roasting for a total time of 40 minutes, baste it, flip and baste the other side as well. Roast for a final 10 minutes.
- When the entire 50 minutes are up, check to see if the pork is cooked through and caramelized on top. If it’s not caramelized to your liking, place it back in for a couple more minutes. Make sure to keep an eye on it since the sweet char siu BBQ sauce can burn if left unattended.
- Remove from the oven and baste with the last bit of reserved BBQ sauce. Let the meat rest for 10 minutes before slicing. Plate and enjoy!
