If you love a juicy, sweet & sticky char siu (Chinese BBQ Pork), give this easy recipe a try! Delicious char siu is achievable at home! Updated to include instructions on how to make char siu in the oven so this can be made in the oven or the grill depending on the season.
Update 12/11/18 : Added instructions on how to cook this in the oven! Woohoo! So now this can be made in the oven or on the grill depending on the season!
Every time I look up a recipe for char siu, I used a different one every time, with different results every time. So I decided to actually spend the time and create one to my liking! I like my char siu very sweet and sticky and I don’t like using food coloring in my foods (because I don’t feel like it really adds anything to it except color) so I wanted to get the color as natural as possible by using red fermented bean curd and ta da! A recipe is born.
There’s a lot to cover for char siu this recipe, so let’s get started!
INGREDIENTS
For this Char Siu recipe, most of the ingredients can be found at your local grocery store, however red fermented tofu, Korean red pepper flakes may be harder to find and you may have to find them at an Asian grocery store but this ingredient is optional.
If you decide to use the optional ingredient, Korean red pepper flakes then the red will still be there and you will have a bit of a spiciness to it as well. (mild spicy) It will also give the char siu a earthier flavour. So if you don’t want this – skip it! 🙂
For the molasses, we used fancy/cooking molasses which is different from blackstrap molasses. Fancy molasses has a higher sugar content and blackstrap molasses is black in color and actually bitter.
Red Fermented Tofu & Substitutions
Traditionally, char siu is always red. I prefer not to use dye so I used red fermented tofu (aka red bean curd) for the color and the salt. The red fermented tofu also adds another dimension of flavour similar to what the cooking wine provides as well.
Red fermented tofu/red bean curd might be difficult to find if you do not have a local Asian grocery store nearby. You can substitute this with 3 tablespoons of oyster sauce OR 3-4 tablespoons of soy sauce. As always, substitution may not produce the exact flavour but it will be somewhat close. 🙂
In this recipe, the red fermented tofu (aka red bean curd) is used as a source of sodium and color, so if you substitute it out, you will lose a the red color that char siu is known for.
CUTS OF MEAT
Let’s talk meat.
The cut of pork you will make the char siu with will be a personal preference. I prefer a more fatty and juicy char siu so I went with a pork shoulder (you can also use pork butt as well). Some may prefer a more leaner char siu, for that I’d say use a pork tenderloin. The recipe here will be for a pork shoulder, so you may need to adjust how long you cook it for.
I highly suggest using a meat thermometer because it takes the guessing work out of cooking meat and that is a glorious thing. One less thing to worry about in the kitchen. I have eaten my fair share of raw chicken, and believe me, a meat thermometer is a very good investment in the kitchen if you cook a lot of meat. I prefer the digital ones, not because I’m fancy but because the digital ones use a long wire prong which I can leave in the meat in the BBQ/oven. This allows me to read the temperature without ever opening the oven or BBQ.
Cut the pork up in long thin chunks. It cooks faster, and you get more surface area for sauce. Mmmm! The sauce is the best part of this, you know it! 😛
Experiment: I added Korean red pepper flakes. Why? 2 reasons, because I thought it might give it a nice red as well — which it did! and because I like things a bit spicy so I thought it’d also give it a little kick. It gave it a small spicy kick, not a big one so this is an optional ingredient on the actual recipe. Adding this in will also change the flavour a bit to a more earthier flavour.
CHAR SIU’S SIGNATURE SWEET GLAZE
Next let’s talk sweeteners!
Char siu’s trademark is it’s sweet and stickiness.
I like to used molasses for this recipe. Fancy molasses, not blackstrap molasses – blackstrap molasses is bitter. It has a dark earthy kind of sweetness, that’s not too sweet, but still sweet enough to have a sweet glaze. For convenience, I usually will use honey when I don’t have molasses at home.
I also recommend using barley malt syrup and maltose as well but these are a bit harder to find so if you do choose to hunt for the odd ingredients, you can usually find maltose in an Asian grocery store and the barley malt syrup in a health food store. 🙂
After you are done marinating the meat, we will re-use the marinating sauce as the glazing sauce. This is when you will add additional honey to it. The honey will sweeten up the glaze and thicken it up to give us that nice sticky thick layer 🙂 Alternatively, you can also remake the glaze and then add the honey in if you do not want to re-use the marinade.
HEAT
Lastly, let’s talk heat. We can make this over the grill or in the oven. Both turn out fantastic, but I found that char siu cooked a lot faster in on the grill than in the oven – with more char as well.
Grilling Instructions for Char Siu
I used a charcoal BBQ for this, with indirect heat from hot charcoals off to the side. I haven’t tested this in the oven but I will on my next batch of char siu, but for now if you decide to experiment in the oven let me know how it turns out! 🙂
On the BBQ, we had the temperature steady at 325F (162C). We had the meat for 15 mins on one side, then flipped it and cooked it for another 10 mins. At this point, the meat was at a internal temperature of 145F (62C). We did 4-5 layers of glaze, flipping the meat every minute to prevent burning. When it looked red and sticky and a little burnt we pulled it out and gobbled it right up!
Oven Instructions for Char Siu
To make this in the oven, it will take slightly longer than grilling it since it is using indirect heat compared to the direct heat from the BBQ.
When you are setting up the meat on the tray or roasting rack, set it on a rack so there is air flow below the meat. I like it line it with foil before setting down a rack for a easier clean up. If you don’t have a rack, you can take foil and crunch them up into foil balls and rest the meat on that.
I set the oven to 400F (204C) and cook it for 20 minutes a side for a total of 40 minutes. Then for the last 20 minutes I flip and glaze the meat with the glaze every 3-5 minutes until the glaze is all brushed on.
The burnt sugar is another trademark flavour of char siu! So don’t worry too much if it seems a little burnt. 🙂
Let us know if you made this and how it turned out with #pupswithchopsticks! We’d love to see how this turns out for everyone that’s tried it!
Happy Cha Siu’ing! 🙂
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If you love a juicy, sweet & sticky char siu (Chinese BBQ Pork), try this easy recipe! Delicious char siu is achievable at home in an oven or on a grill!
Ingredients
Marinade
- 2 tablespoons honey (or maltose or barley malt syrup or fancy molasses (not blackstrap molasses)
- 1–2 cubes red fermented tofu (and 4 teaspoons of the sauce, mashed together) – this is also known as red bean curd
- 2 tablespoons hoisin sauce
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 2 cloves garlic (roughly chopped, approximately 1 1/2 tablespoons)
- 4 slices of ginger (roughly chopped, approximately 2–3 tablespoons)
- 2 teaspoons Chinese five spice powder
- 2 tablespoons Chinese rice cooking wine (or dry sherry)
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- (optional) 1 tablespoon Korean pepper flakes (for additional color and a mild spiciness. It will also give it a earthier flavor)
Meat
- 2–3 lbs pork shoulder (cut into long 3 inch thin strips)
Glaze
- 2 tablespoons honey
- leftover marinade
Instructions
Cutting and Marinating the Meat
- Cut the pork shoulder into thin 3 inch thick strips. (Cooks faster and absorbs marinade more evenly)
- Combine the ingredients in the marinade section into a ziplock or a big bowl and combine it with the pork.
- Marinate it in the fridge for 24 hours.
Preparing the Glaze
- Remove the meat from the marinade and let it sit for an hour in room temperature.
- Add the marinade to a small pot and remove the chunks of garlic and ginger
- Add 2 tablespoons of honey into the marinade and mix well.
- Cook it on low heat on a stove for 5 minutes or when the sauce starts to boil.
- Set it aside for later, we will use this for glazing at the end of grilling
(Option 1) Grilling the Pork on the BBQ
- Heat up BBQ to 325F (162C)
- Cook the char siu for 15 mins on one side, then flip it for another 10 mins. Check the meat thermometer. The temperature should be around 145F (62C). If it’s not, keep the meat on longer until it reaches that internal temperature.
- Once it hits an internal temperature of 145F (62C), we glazed 4-5 times, flipping the meat every minute to prevent burning
- When the meat looks red, sticky and slightly burnt, remove it from the BBQ and let it rest for 20 mins on a plate before cutting into it.
- Once the meat has rested, cut it up and enjoy!! ?
(Option 2) Cooking the Char Siu in the Oven
- Set up the meat on the tray or roasting rack and use a rack so there is air flow below the meat. I like it to line it with foil before setting down a rack for an easier cleanup. If you don’t have a rack, you can take foil and crunch them up into loose foil balls and rest the meat on that.
- Pre-heat the oven to 400F (204C).
- Once the oven has reached 400F (204C) bake the pork for 20 minutes.
- Flip the pork and cook for another 20 minutes
- For the next 20 minutes, flip and glaze the meat every 3-5 minutes until all the glaze is brushed on. Don’t worry if there are charred sections, it’s a trademark of char siu as well! 🙂
- Once the meat is done (when it reaches an internal temperature of 145F (62C)), let it rest for 10-15 minutes, cut it up and enjoy! 🙂
Notes
- Cutting the pork up in long thin chunks allows it to cooks faster, and you get more surface area for the glaze.
- Depending on your oven, the heat may vary. If you notice that you are not getting much of a char on your char siu, set the oven to broil and broil each side for 5 minutes (10 minutes in total) at the very end when the meat has finished cooking. Make sure you don’t leave the area and watch the oven while it is broiling so it doesn’t burn too much.
- The glaze is essentially made with the leftover marinade and additional honey. The additional honey will sweeten up the glaze and thicken it up to give us that nice sticky thick layer
- Use fancy/cooking molasses and not blackstrap molasses as that is bitter.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 Serving
- Calories: 706 kcal
- Sugar: 17 g
- Sodium: 546 mg
- Fat: 44 g
- Carbohydrates: 21 g
- Protein: 59 g
Keywords: char siu, chinese bbq pork, cha siu
Disclaimer: As with most of my posts, I provide affiliate links to make items easier to find if you cannot purchase this locally. I would never recommend anything I don’t own myself or highly recommend, but I would prefer you buy your items locally to support your stores (and chances are they are cheaper locally!) ?
Nile Dee says
06.07.2019 atPassing on a hack which I learnt off another site (sorry can’t remember where to properly credit the course).
If you unbend a paper clip into an S-shaped hook and place the oven rack on the highest shelf, you can hook the marinated straps on the hook and hang it off the rack to roast. Just remember to place a tray underneath to catch all the drippings.
Delish!
★★★★★
Joyce says
06.11.2019 atHi Nile,
That is a FANTASTIC tip! Thank you so much for this! I will definitely be doing this in my future oven char siu! 😀
Joyce
hermsoven says
05.26.2019 atQuite tasty. Marinated the pork for only an hour and a half. The red bean curd did not impart a very strong hue. but the color after roasting was fine. I found that after 42 minutes in the oven at 400°F, the pork internally was at 145°. I removed it from the oven. After it cooled down, the meat was juicy and nicely done. I couldn’t help eating all of one of the 6 pieces I prepared but I will reduce the five spices by half next time. It can be overpowering and it pays to be sparing with it. Thanks for posting this nice recipe.
★★★★★
Joyce says
05.27.2019 atYay!! So happy you liked this! I’m always happy to share!
I find that depending on what type of red bean curd you use, it gives different shades of reds. I usually use Koon Yick Wah Kee brand of ‘lam yu’ style fermented tofu which is a lot saucier. It’s easier to find locally – I tried to find it online to recommend it for the recipe but couldn’t find a good reputable source.
It’s quite addictive isn’t it? If you have extra, you can also freeze it! I like to sometimes make big batches so I can always have some leftovers to freeze for when I am craving it with a bit of rice heehee.
Phil says
05.05.2019 atSince ginger doesnt all grow the same, what is the actual quantity needed? 2-3tbsp?
Joyce says
05.06.2019 atHi Phil,
Yup, it is approximately 2-3 tablespoons of ginger once it has been roughly chopped up. Keep the ginger pieces in larger chunks since you want to be able to remove them before cooking the pork.
Hope this helps! I will update the instructions.
Joyce
Nicky says
04.10.2019 atFor cooking in the oven , is it an additional 20 minutes flipping and brushing after the initial time or the last 20 minutes of the initial 50-60 minutes? Thank you!
Joyce says
04.10.2019 atHi Nicky,
Thanks for pointing this out!
It’s the last 20 minutes of the initial 50-60 minutes. I have updated the instructions so it’s less confusing to follow 🙂
Let me know if you have any more questions!
Ms cox says
03.23.2019 atWould this work with pork butt burnt ends?
Joyce says
03.23.2019 atHi Ms Cox,
I have never tried this with pork butt burnt ends but I don’t see why it wouldn’t work! 🙂 I am assuming you mean raw pork butt ends? If the pork butt burnt ends are already cooked, then this recipe wouldn’t work with it because it would overcook the already cooked pieces of burnt ends and it would be very dry and tough.
If you are using raw pork butt ends, I think the main difference would be that the burn ends might take less time to cook, and you might want to cook it at a lower temperature for less time as well since the pieces are smaller and then do a quick 1-minute broil or char on the bbq at the very end with high heat but I have never tried it, but this is what I would do if I was to do it. 🙂
Also, keep in mind, pork burnt ends are usually less fatty and in smaller pieces, they might also be a lot tougher and drier as well when it is done.
Hope this helps! 🙂
Neftal Burcham says
02.22.2019 atHi, Making for large group would like to do chicken and tofu along with the pork. What do you think? Would it work using the same marinade? There are vegan, and no pork folks in the group.
Joyce says
02.22.2019 atHi Neftal,
That is a brilliant idea! I have made this recipe using chicken and it is amazing. The cooking time will change a bit with chicken since you don’t want to cook it at such high temperatures because you want the chicken to be cooked all the way through without burning on the outside. So if you are doing this with chicken, definitely bake it at a lower temperature like 350F and for longer as well.
I haven’t used it for tofu but I can imagine that it would taste fantastic with it! Are you using the firm tofu? Some tofu might be more absorbent than others so you may not need to marinade it as long but I would still marinade it for at least 6 hours in the fridge.
The same marinade would definitely work for both chicken and tofu.
Hope this helps! 🙂 and I hope everyone enjoys this! Let me know how it turns out!
Mohit Batra says
01.29.2019 atI’m so glad I tried it. The pork was juicy and delicious. Thank you for the recipe.
★★★★★
Joyce says
01.29.2019 atHi Mohit!
I’m so happy you tried this and liked it! I’m always happy to share. 🙂
Emily says
01.27.2019 atHey Joyce should i use black pepper.
★★★★★
Joyce says
01.27.2019 atHi Emily,
Nope, I wouldn’t use black pepper for this recipe. Black pepper is a very strong flavor and would conflict with the sweetness and the flavor of the sauce. 🙂
Hope this helps!
Becca says
12.13.2018 atThis looks awesome! Definitely will try it.
Joyce says
12.13.2018 atWoohoo! Hope you like it Becca! 😀
superstan says
11.26.2018 atvery delicious
★★★★★
Joyce says
11.26.2018 atThank you Stan! 🙂 I’m happy you liked it! 😀