Take a stroll through any Chinatown in the world and you're bound to see restaurants with strips of red Char Siu hanging from hooks in the windows. Char Siu literally means "fork burned" which is a reference to the traditional preparation, skewered and barbecued over a fire. While you may not have had a chance to try it over rice or in noodle soup, you've probably had it chopped up in pork buns (Char Siu bao) at one point or other.
At its best, Char Siu is moist and flavorful on the inside, and caramelized and slightly chewy on the outside, with a sweet aroma redolent of five-spice and garlic. Unfortunately, at many establishments (in the NY Chinatown), it's overly sweet, grisly, artificially-colored meat that's been hanging under a heat lamp for hours.
In an effort to right the injustice done to this dish at many places, I set out to make my own Char Siu at home. Not some vaguely Char-Siu-like impostor, but a moist flavorful hunk of meat with the trademark deep mahogany color. I also wanted to do it without the addition of any weird additives like food coloring, msg, or ketchup.
I started by making my own 5 spice powder last week. Then I let my first batch marinate for 3 days and did a 2 temperature roast with the skin still on. This was a good start, but despite the very long soak, it wasn't as well-seasoned as I would have liked, and the glaze wasn't quite sweet enough. The skin also started burning before it has a chance to crisp, so I decided it needed a second pass before I posted. I fixed it on the second attempt by removing the skin, adding more soy sauce and maltose, and roasting at a lower temperature before raising the temperature to char the edges.
Here are a few notes/tips on the ingredients:
- For the pork belly, try to get pork belly that's leaner that what you'd get for braising. Ideally you'll have thick layers of very marbled meat with thin strips of fat in between. You could also use pork shoulder, but I prefer pork belly for the extra fat content. Whatever you do, please don't make this a pork loin (you'll end up with pork jerky).
- Shaoxing is a dark brown cooking wine you can pick up in most asian groceries, but if you can't find it, sherry makes a pretty good substitute.
- I'll admit that Thai chili sauce isn't exactly authentic, but I like the mild, sweet, garlicky heat it provides.
- Chinese dark soy sauce is actually a key component (I used Pearl River Bridge brand). It is much darker than the more common Japanese dark soy sauce and is more viscous. I'm fairly certain that this is were the red color comes from, so it's probably not a good idea to substitute in something else if you can find it.
- Maltose is a malt sugar that's made from barley. It is extremely viscous and sticky with a smooth texture like very cold honey. It's not as sweet as honey, but because of its viscosity it helps make the marinade stick to the pork and imparts a malty flavour. You can usually find it in asian groceries, and I love just sticking a clean chopstick into the jar, twirling it around until I have a little lollipop of maltose and sucking on it.
📖 Recipe
Units
Ingredients
- 700 grams skinless pork belly
for marinade
- ½ teaspoon five spice powder
- 2 tablespoons maltose (or honey)
- 2 tablespoons Shaoxing wine
- 1 tablespoon hoisin sauce
- 1 tablespoon Thai sweet chili sauce
- 1 tablespoon Chinese dark soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon kiwi (pureed)
- 2 teaspoons oyster sauce
- 2 cloves garlic (grated)
Instructions
- Mix the ingredients for the marinade together in a bag with a zip closure. The maltose is a little tough to incorporate, but it's okay if there are some lumps as these will eventually dissolve. Just make sure there are no big clumps.
- If your pork belly has skin, use a sharp knife to remove it. Add the pork belly to the marinade and push out as much air as possible so the meat is completely surrounded by marinade. Let it sit in the fridge for at least 2 days, flipping the bag over every once in a while to ensure it's evenly marinated.
- To roast your char siu, preheat the oven to 275 degrees F and move the rack to the upper middle position. Set an elevated wire rack on a rimmed baking sheet and lay the marinated pork belly on the rack, saving the marinade for later. Put the pan in the oven and let it roast for 1 hour, or until the meat reaches an internal temperature of 160 degrees F. Remove the pan from the oven, then move the oven rack to the top position and turn the heat up to "broil".
- Baste the pork with the reserved marinade, then broil it until dark and glossy with the edges just slightly charred. Flip the meat over and baste again, allowing the second side to color and char as well.
- Slice your finished char siu and serve with rice or noodles.
krstie says
how would you make this in a pork bun would you need to make more of the sauce or stay the same?
Marc Matsumoto says
After the pork is done, chop it up, and saute it with a bit of leftover marinade. You can find the recipe and method for making the buns here: https://norecipes.com/blog/nikuman-baozi-recipe/
Marc Brevoort says
I like how you use a spoon of pureed kiwi. Hardly an authentic addition, but it won't change the flavour by much and the enzymes in there will help tenderize the meat.
Alvin Eng says
This is very similar to a recipe my Mother got from one of the Seattle restaurants years ago. The real secret to the Red color is NOT any added Red Dye! Our recipe contained just 1/4 tsp of saltpeter (Potassium Nitrite) or Curing Salt which is also used in Corned Beef to give it its Red color, too! Using saltpeter will keep the pork red instead of browning as it cooks!
Marc Matsumoto says
Hi Alvin, thanks for the comment. Saltpeter will indeed make the meat pinkish red, but I try not to use it as its a known carcinogen. In that sense it's probably better for you to use red food coloring than to add saltpeter.
Jessica Jann says
I Loved this post! Thanks so much for sharing! Its one of my favorite dishes!
Carmichael says
Would pork loin work well for this recipe?
Marc Matsumoto says
Pork loin is too lean. You could use the marinade but would have to change the cooking method or you'll end up with tough dry meat.
LMM says
Just made the marinade without the kiwi. Marinaded pork chops, then pan fried them. Excellent. Had extra and put some on left over chicken, also excellent.
LMM says
Just made the marinade without the kiwi. Marinaded pork chops, then pan fried them. Excellent. Had extra and put some on left over chicken, also excellent.
John Wallace says
Great recipe, taste reminds me of how Char Siu tasted when I was a kid in Portland, Using Mark's recipe, I adapted it to grilling on a Weber. If interested, the pictures and technique are here: https://bbq4dummies.com/2013/09/char-siu-chinese-barbecued-pork-authentic-and-delicious-on-a-charcoal-or-gas-grill/
Motherhen says
Just tried this recipe. Meat marinated for 24 hours. Meat came out looking unappealingly brown/black not red like your picture and not because of burnt. Did not taste like Chinese char siu at all.
Kai says
Thanks a lot Marc for this great recipe! Mine is though a little brownish, but that's not at a problem at all since it is tasting exactly like Char Siu in Guangzhou (China). After my leave from Guangzhou i missed this soo much, and this is exactly what I needed!
The only difference is that I used instead of the chili sauce mostly "bean and garlic paste" and a bit of the chili sauce (because my thai chili sauce was extremely spicy). Worked out perfectly. Again I can't thank you enough. You made my day!
Samson says
Kiwi is originally a Chinese fruit, cultivated through new zealand, who named the fruit after the kiwi bird. It could very well have been a traditional and authentic addition.
kh says
try using red fermented bean curd in the marinade--that's the secret ingredient and adds a subtle complexity...
Mah says
Lol you didn't even read the instructions and you still complain... Try actually making it to the recipe
ML says
I "cheated' a bit and used Lee Kum Kee's Chair Siu sauce (in a jar) and added your suggested Chinese cooking wine
Christina says
Hi Marc:
The red colour actually comes from red Chinese fermented red bean curd ( or rose bean curd, in Chinese 玫瑰腐乳). More on fermented bean curd https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fermented_bean_curd
Marc Matsumoto says
Hi Christina, thanks for the info, this was one of my first posts from back in 2008, before I knew about doufu ru. It's now part of my marinade, but I haven't had a chance to repost this yet.
Christina says
No worries Marc. Thanks for replying.
It is not an ingredient that is easy to get for those living in smaller cities with no Asian grocery stores.
Was gifted with some homemade char siu pork and thought I might look up your recipe to make some myself.
Marc Matsumoto says
Hi Christina, I still use mostly the same recipe except I use the Doufu Ru in place of the oyster sauce now when I have it. 1 or 2 cubes depending on the size.
Christina says
Thanks Marc. Luckily I live in a big city where I can easily obtain the Doufu Ru. Hmm another bottle that will take up my overcrowded fridge door real estate space. LOL