Char Siu Pork is a Cantonese preparation of pork. The key is to marinate the fatty pork overnight before roasting it on a barbeque or in the oven. During the roasting bast the meat with a sweet basting liquid. The marination provides an umami eastern taste to the pork and the basting ensures the surface becomes crispy.

Char siu pork is used in buns (char siu bao), sliced in many noodle (Singapore noodles) and rice dishes and diced in fried rice dishes. It is used in noodle soups and rice noodle rolls.

The art of making char siu pork

For the choice of meat, take a piece with some fat. So use pork shoulder, pork neck or even pork belly. Marination and basting is key! The marinade composition is proprietary, but often it is a combination of salt, sugar, garlic, fermented soybean, five spices powder, oyster sauce, soy sauce and some shaoxing wine. Roasting takes place over a water bath, to keep the meat moist and to collect the dripping fat.  The red color on the surface comes from fermented red beans. However sometimes one uses food approved red colorants. We are not using that.

Special equipment

oven

heat proof sauce pan containing water or deep oven tray

rack

tongs

Char siu pork @ Nel Brouwer-van den Bergh

Char Siu Pork

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Prep Time 6 minutes
Cook Time 50 minutes
Total Time 56 minutes
Servings: 12
Course: Staple ingredient
Cuisine: Cantonese
Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients
  

Marinade
  • 2 tsp salt
  • 1/3 cup sugar
  • 2 tbsp oyster sauce
  • 2 tbsp soy sauce
  • 2 tbsp red fermented soybean paste Hoising sauce can be used
  • 2 tbsp shaoxing wine can be replaced by dry sherry
  • 2 tsp five spice powder
  • 1/2 tsp black pepper
  • 1 tsp sesame oil
  • 4 tsp honey or molasses
  • 6 cloves garlic finely minced
Pork meat
  • 2.2 lb (1 kg) pork shoulder or -belly or -neck
For basting
  • 2 tbsp honey
  • 1 tbsp water
  • 2 tbsp of the original marinade (see above)

Method
 

Making the marinade and marinating the meat
  1. Measure and mix all ingredients. Make sure the sugar dissolves completely
  2. Reserve 2 tbsp of the marinade and store in the refrigerator for use in the basting liquid
Marinating the meat
  1. Place the meat in the marinade and turn it several times. so that all sides have been exposed.
  2. Then leave it covered in the fridge overnight. Instead of using a bowl, you can also use a zip lock bag. Push as much air out as you can or immerse it to the rim in a bucket of water and then close the bag.
Roasting the meat
  1. After a night of marination, bring an oven to 480 F (250 C) and prepare a rack on an oven tray that is covered by aluminum foil and that can contain water in the upper third of the oven
  2. Boil water separately
  3. When the oven has reached its temperature, pour the boiled water in the tray. Be careful, it may splash!
  4. Then, using tongs, carefully place the marinated meat on the tray and position the meat over the water containing tray of pan
  5. After 15 minutes bring the temperature down to 380 F (190-200 C) and continue to roast for another 10 minutes
  6. Then flip the meat on the roasting tray using tongs and heat for another 15 min
  7. After this, bast the meat on top and roast for another 10 minutes
  8. Thereafter take the meat out of the oven and bast it outside the oven for the last time and let it rest and cool a bit
  9. Perhaps better not to taste, as you may eat too much!

Notes

Method: oven roasting
Food allergy & intolerance information: small amount of fermented soy
The marination time is not included in the total time

Remarks

1. Marinate overnight. Excessive marination, may negatively affect the meat tenderness. Salt, sugar and acid (from the wine) work on the collagen and too long action may cause the surface to become mushy.

2. Every oven is different, so check regularly that the meat is not getting charred. The ‘cha(r)’ in ‘char siu pork’ is Cantonese for fork (fork roasted) and not for burn!

3. Make sufficient and keep a portion in the freezer compartment.

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