The Secret to Juicy and Delicious Char Siu Roast Pork
This post may contain affiliate links.Char Siu Roast Pork or Chinese BBQ Roast Pork is is a Cantonese dish known for its sweet, savory, and smoky flavor! Marinated in a mix of honey, soy sauce, and five-spice powder, it’s slow-roasted to a tender, juicy meat with a caramelized, glossy look.
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Char Siu Roast Pork – Chinese BBQ
Char Siu (叉燒 cha shao) is a Chinese dish of pork strips marinated in a sweet and savory sauce, then roasted. Originating from Guangdong, its name means ‘fork roasted,’ referencing the traditional roasting method.
The pork is marinated overnight in five spice powder, honey, and cooking wine and then roasted to create a honey-glazed, tender dish loved by many.
In my opinion, good char siu can be rare, possibly because of the mixture in the marinade or the meat selection. A great char siu has deep, balanced flavors that seep into the tender, juicy meat with the perfect mix of sweet and salty flavor.
I have tried so many recipes for char siu pork so many times, and I ended up with this recipe. My family loves it so much! We always have this during Chinese New Year dinner. It is one of the many Chinese New Year dishes.
Why You Will Love This Recipe
Recipe Ingredients
Ingredient Notes
Pork – The ideal meat for char siu is the shoulder or neck part. Neck part tends to be fattier than the shoulder part. Some people prefer pork loin which is lean meat.
Five spice powder – Buy five spice powder from grocery store or you can make it on your own.
Chinese white cooking wine – Chinese rice wine is the most suitable choice to be able to get the authentic taste. But if you only have white wine, it is okay.
Chinese red cooking wine – The red cooking wine is to balance the overall taste. It has a bit of sweetness in it, so use only a little.
Red yeast rice – Crush the red yeast rice as finely as possible. This is one important ingredients to give the roast pork its authentic taste.
Sesame oil – Sesame oil will give the roast pork a wonderful fragrance.
Five spice powder – Five spice powder gives a wonderful authentic fragrance to the char siu pork even though it is only so little.
Be sure to check out the full recipe and ingredient list below
Substitutions & Variations
Other than pork shoulder or pork neck, you can use pork belly, chicken thigh or even turkey. For a leaner option, sometimes people choose pork loin. Remember that pork loin can be less juicy if roasted too long.
You may also use Hoisin sauce combined with soy sauce and five spice powder. Fermented bean curd and rice wine adds more flavor. I have tried fermented bean curd once, I don’t really like the bitter aftertaste.
Maltose can be used to substitute honey when brushing after roasting.
If you don’t have oven, you can pan-fry this marinated pork. Cover the lid to keep the meat juicy. Cook for 20 minutes and torch the meat after for some charred effect.
How To Make
- Combine red rice yeast, sugar, honey, soy sauce, pepper, rice wine, red cooking wine, sesame oil. Add crushed garlic into the sauce (image 1, 2). Mix well.
- Add red food coloring if you like (image 3). If not, the red rice yeast will give out brown red color to the meat.
- Cut the pork neck into long strips about 5 cm wide (image 4). Put the meat inside a zip lock bag. Pour the marinade sauce into the bag (image 5). Zip it tightly. Press the meat inside the bag to make sure all the meat is covered with the sauce (image 6).
- Transfer the bag into the chiller afterwards. Refrigerate overnight to two nights or for at least 8 hours before roasting. I usually roast the meat after 2 days in the chiller to let the sauce seep into the meat completely.
- The next day or on the day you want to roast, take out the bag. Prepare a baking pan, you may line it with aluminium foil, so the charred sauce will not stain the pan. (image 7)
- Bake in a preheated oven 180°C for 20 minutes (image 8). Keep checking once in a while. Reduce the oven temperature if the meat looks burning.
- After 20 minutes of roasting, take out the meat from the oven. Brush with some honey or maltose (image 9). Roast for another 5 minutes.
- Take it out again, flip the meat, brush the other part and roast again for the final 5 minutes.
- The total roasting time is now 30 minutes. The meat should be roasted enough with some charred part and caramelized top.
- Leave it to cool for 10 minutes. Slice the meat according to your liking (image 10).
- Serve with steamed rice, ramen egg, or tomato stir-fry egg, blanched pok choy and some sambal or chili oil. Enjoy!
Pro Tips
- Put the pan in the middle rack in the oven so the top is not too close to the upper heat.
- Cover with aluminium foil when roasting so the meat is still juicy.
- Torch the meat after roasting if you want more charred look.
- Choose pork shoulder or pork neck for juicier version. You may choose pork loin for leaner version, but be careful while roasting. If you choose pork neck, ask the butcher to cut it lengthwise and ask for less fat.
- If you use maltose instead of honey for brushing the roasted pork, heat it to reduce the viscosity. This way you can brush the meat easily.
What to Serve with Char Siu Pork
Honey roasted bbq pork is a very versatile dish. It can be paired with noodles, rice, or steamed bun. This recipe will surely capture your family’s heart, plus it is so easy to make!
A few slices of honey roasted bbq pork served with stir-fried bok choy, ramen egg, crispy pork belly and steamed white rice is a great choice for family dinner. It can be served with tomato egg stir-fry, or omelette with shrimp.
Storage
Keep the roasted pork wrapped in aluminium foil in a closed container in the fridge. This should stay fresh for up to 2 weeks. You can reheat in an oven or microwave or air-fry.
Char Siu BBQ Roast Pork
Ingredients
- 500 gr pork cut into long strips or pork shoulder or chicken thigh fillet
Marinade
- 1 tbsp red yeast rice
- 1 tsp five spice powder
- 3 tbsp sugar
- 3 tbsp honey
- 3 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tsp pepper
- 3 tbsp white wine Chinese
- 1 tbsp red wine Chinese
- 1 tbsp sesame oil
- 4 garlic crushed
Instructions
- Combine red rice yeast, sugar, honey, soy sauce, pepper, rice wine, red cooking wine, sesame oil. Add crushed garlic into the sauce. Mix well.
- Add red food coloring if you like. If not, the red rice yeast will give out brown red color to the meat.
- Cut the pork neck into long strips about 5 cm wide. Put the meat inside a zip lock bag. Pour the marinade sauce into the bag. Zip it tightly. Press the meat inside the bag to make sure all the meat is covered with the sauce.
- The next day or on the day you want to roast, take out the bag. Prepare a baking pan, you may line it with aluminium foil, so the charred sauce will not stain the pan.
- Bake in a preheated oven 180°C for 20 minutes. Keep checking once in a while. Reduce the oven temperature if the meat looks burning.
- After 20 minutes of roasting, take out the meat from the oven. Brush with some honey or maltose. Roast for another 5 minutes.
- Take it out again, flip the meat, brush the other part and roast again for the final 5 minutes.
- The total roasting time is now 30 minutes. The meat should be roasted enough with some charred part and caramelized top.
- Leave it to cool for 10 minutes. Slice the meat according to your liking.
Video
Notes
- Put the pan in the middle rack in the oven so the top is not too close to the upper heat.
- Cover with aluminium foil when roasting so the meat is still juicy.
- Torch the meat after roasting if you want more charred look.
- Choose pork shoulder or pork neck for juicier version. You may choose pork loin for leaner version, but be careful while roasting. If you choose pork neck, ask the butcher to cut it lengthwise and ask for less fat.
- If you use maltose instead of honey for brushing the roasted pork, heat it to reduce the viscosity. This way you can brush the meat easily.
This is an authentic Char siu roast pork recipe that is so easy to make and prepare! I have got this recipe from my grandmother who got it from her grandmother! Try it, you won’t regret it!