Sticky, crimson red Char Siu Pork – just like you get from the Chinese Barbecue meat shops! Also called Chinese BBQ Pork, it’s finger licking good and you’re going to be shocked how easy it is to make the Char Siu sauce that’s used to marinade the pork.
Char Siu Pork – Chinese BBQ Pork
No trip to Chinatown is complete without taking home a container of Chinese BBQ pork. And I am yet to manage the drive all the way home without sneaking in a little taste test (or two…or three).
The darn traffic lights! If they were GREEN all the way home, then I wouldn’t have a chance to do that!
OK, that’s a blatant lie. Where there’s a will, there’s a way, and we both know I would be hooning over the Harbour Bridge, holding the steering wheel with one hand and rummaging around in the plastic carry bag with the other, blindly trying to feel my way to the barbecue pork container.😂
An Authentic Char Siu Pork recipe
There are two things in this recipe that I do differently to traditional Char Siu to make this easier but still yield an excellent end result that tastes like store bought:
Cooked in the oven instead of over coals; and
Red food colouring to stain the pork red.
Authentic Char Siu gets the red colour from a speciality ingredient called fermented red bean curds which is red. It’s calls for a trip to the Asian store and you’ll have to hunt deep into the dark corners to find it
While it makes the pork red, the small amount used doesn’t add any flavour. And because I have no other use for red bean curds, I started making it using red food colouring instead and found the end result was exactly the same both in flavour and visual.
So I stuck with it!
What goes in Char Siu Sauce
Here’s what you need for the Char Siu Sauce which is used to marinade the pork – all things you can get from everyday grocery stores:
Pork – the best pork for Char Siu is pork scotch fillet. See next section for more information;
Sugar – brown sugar is best for lovely caramel flavours in the marinade. But even white sugar is fine;
Soy sauces – I like to use light and all purpose soy sauce for the best flavour balance, but you can just use just one of these. Do not use dark soy sauce, it’s way too strong. Read more about different soy sauces here;
Chinese five spice – pre mixed store bought blend, very common these days. Sold in the spice section fo everyday supermarkets and doesn’t cost anymore than other spices;
Hoisin – common Chinese sauce, found in the Asian section. It’s sweet, savoury and has a hint of Five Spice Powder;
Red food colouring – as discussed above, this is used to stain the pork red; and
Honey – this is added to the marinade to turn it into a basting sauce. It makes the pork extra shiny and caramelised which is exactly what we want!
Best pork for Char Siu
I finally managed to get a Chinese barbecue shop to tell me what cut of meat they use. Pork scotch fillet!! Also known as Pork Neck, Pork Collar or Pork Neck Collar, this is an excellent cut of pork which is ideal for both quick cooking (such as pan seared pork chops) and slow cooking (such as this Slow Roasted Brown Sugar Garlic Butter Pork).
Char Siu Pork is also terrific made with pork shoulder – I’d say just as good. Some people like to make it with pork belly but I find it too fatty for my taste.
I used to use pork tenderloin which is much leaner so you do need to be careful about overcooking, whilst still achieving that caramelisation – cook times for this cut are in the recipe notes.
Scotch fillet and shoulder are much easier to cook with – they require longer cook time to make the meat juicy which means incredible caramelisation which is what we WANT!
That sight makes me weak in the knees, every. Single. Time. 😂
How to make Char Siu Pork
Char Siu is simple to make, it just calls for patience to let the pork marinade to infuse with flavour and make the pork stained red! At least 24 hours, but 48 hours is even better.
Be sure to baste generously, slathering / dabbing the marinade on – it’s the key to get a really great sticky surface!
How to serve Chinese BBQ Pork
As for how to serve it, here’s a very typical meal set served at Chinese BBQ shops: slices of pork over rice with a side of steamed greens with sauce (this Steamed Chinese Greens with Oyster Sauce is similar), as pictured above. This is a Chinese BBQ Shop takeout favourite – “BBQ Pork Lunch!”
Dishes made using Chinese BBQ Pork
Char Siu Pork is also used in a handful of Chinese dishes, such as
Chinese Steamed Pork Buns – big fluffy white buns filled with BBQ pork
Fried Rice – Char Siu is often in “special fried rice” in place of Chinese sausage or bacon
In addition, sometimes you see it as a protein option for Chinese Noodle Soup (slices of Char Siu are placed on top) and I’ve also seen it in Banh Mi (Vietnamese sandwich) – it’s AMAZING!!
This Char Siu Pork recipe makes quite a lot because the standard size of pork scotch fillet roasts is around 1.2 – 1.5kg/2.4-3lb.
But you’ll thank me. Just one bite, and you’ll be thanking me profusely for making this a big-batch recipe. 😜 – Nagi xx
Watch how to make it
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Char Siu Pork – Chinese BBQ Pork
Ingredients
Marinade
- 1 1/2 tbsp brown sugar (white also ok)
- 1/4 cup honey
- 1/4 cup hoisin sauce
- 2 tbsp light soy sauce , or all purpose soy (Note 1)
- 1 tbsp soy sauce , just all purpose (or more light soy) (Note 1)
- 1 tsp Chinese five spice powder (Note 2)
- 1 tbsp oil (vegetable or canola) (Note 3)
- 2 tsp red food colouring , optional (Note 4)
Cooking:
- 1.2 – 1.5kg / 2.4 – 3lb pork scotch fillet (aka collar neck, pork neck) OR pork shoulder (Note 5)
- 2 tbsp Extra Honey
Instructions
Marinade pork:
- Cut pork in half to make two long strips. (Note 5)
- Mix Marinade ingredients in a bowl.
- Place the pork and Marinade in a stain proof container or ziplock bag. Marinate 24 to 48 hours in the fridge (3 hours is the bare minimum).
To Roast:
- Preheat oven to 160C/320F.
- Line a tray with foil and place a rack on top (recommended but not critical).
- Remove pork from the marinade, save Marinade. Place pork on rack.
- Roast for 30 minutes.
- Meanwhile, pour reserved marinade in a saucepan. Mix Extra Honey into marinade. Bring to simmer over medium high and cook for 2 minutes until syrupy. Remove from heat.
- Remove pork from oven. Dab marinade all over, then turn. Baste then roast for a further 30 minutes.
- Remove pork from oven. Brush with marinade again, then turn, brush with marinade and roast for a further 20 minutes. If charring too quickly, cover with foil.
- Baste again on surface then bake for a further 10 minutes until caramelised and sticky. Meat should be tender but not falling apart, like with pulled pork. Allow to rest for 10 minutes before slicing.
- Serve with rice and steamed Chinese greens. See notes for more uses!
Recipe Notes:
Nutrition Information:
Originally published in May 2019. Updated November 2020 with a sparkling new video and brand new photos! No change to recipe – I wouldn’t dare!
Other iconic Chinese recipes
Crispy Chinese Pork Belly – the other Chinese BBQ Meat Shop favourite!
Potstickers – steamed dumplings with crispy golden undersides
Spring Rolls – better than Egg Rolls!
Browse all Chinese Recipes and Asian Takeout copycat recipes
Life of Dozer
This Dozer update was from when I originally published this post in 2018 – when he tore his ACL and had to go in for knee surgery followed by months of recovery – happy to report he recovered 100% perfectly!
Dozer went in for his ACL surgery this morning. He has to stay overnight, so this afternoon I headed over to the vet to drop off his favourite toy and a whole bunch of food for the wonderful team at Mona Vale Veterinary Clinic. #Shameless
And look!!! Not 30 minutes ago, the vet called to assure me he’s doing just fine and sent me this photo. ❤ Post surgery sleepy!
Hi Nagi,
Your char siu was soooo good, tasted like the one from Chinese Restaurant! I tried a Japanese char siu recipe before, and I prefer urs better. My husband loved it, too. I cooked 900g of pork shoulder and we ate them all by the following day.
This time, I bought over 2kg pork shoulder ( estimating about 1.5kg after removing skin and excess fat ), so hopefully we will have some extras for ramen toppings and fried rice, yummy.
Thank you for another easy yet tasty recipe!
I’m so glad you loved it! I always make a big batch to store in the freezer for fried rice – it’s the best! N x
Forgot to mention, have u tried to eat with Karashi? We enjoyed a bit of karashi on char siu, goes well.
I love, love, LOVE this recipe. I double, sometimes, triple the recipe, make a Five Spice dry rub, and use it on a whole slab of pork spare ribs that I carve at home into its various parts. Nagi, I noticed you mentioned lack of smoky flavor. I’m not sure if it’d be available in your part of the world, but in the States we have a product called Liquid Smoke (which is…surprise…a smoke flavored marinade) which I add to the sauce. I’m a recipe experimenter and generally change a recipe to the point that it doesn’t resemble the original, but yours has remained largely intact! I do add minced ginger and garlic to the sauce and add two tablespoons of ketchup when cooking the marinade down into a baste. For those trying the recipe for the first time, I definitely suggest using the five spice and red bean curd…those two ingredients definitely make the recipe so much better!
Hi Nagi,
What’s the best way to store and reheat leftovers to ensure it doesn’t dry out?
YUUUM!! N x
Gave this recipe for hubby to try – it turned out amazingly authentic tasting. Thank you for your wonderful recipes!
Tonight’s dinner (minus the food coloring) DELICIOUS!!! Only problem is I have to much pork. Ha! Ha! Missed the note that said feeds 6-8ppl….served it for 2 1/2 people….THANK YOU
Hi Tami – you can never have too much!!! Store it in portions in the freezer and chop to add to your fried rice in future! N x
Hi Nagi, I’m able to get both red bean curd and red bean curd sauce from an Asian grocer, would you recommend one over the other for this recipe please?
Made this recipe for my Malay friends and they said it was perfect! They drive miles to go to places in Malaysia and Singapore that have this same flavour!
Made this last night, didn´t have the food colouring so didn´t quite look the same but tasted amazing, served it with rice with spring onions and spring rolls. Had left overs and didn´t know what to do with it, then I thought, I bet Nagi has made some suggestions, I was right, you don´t miss a trick do you lass? So now I´ve just printed out the recepi for Singapore noodles and nipping to the shop for what I need for that, so excited (not for shopping, for the food) x
Fantastic and delicious! I have never tried to cook pork this way and I have tried it again and again and it works every time. I cook it in my oven and no one would never know its not take away. After cooking I freeze into portions and re-heat later, it still tastes great. I serve this with your Chinese Broccoli with Oyster Sauce and its fabulous. I can’t wait till lockdown is over and I can share this with my family.
Hi Nagi
Don’t like the idea of using red food colouring. How will it turn out if this omitted?
Also, I found you a few months ago and have been blown away by the recipes. My family has enjoyed everything I’ve made from your selection.. Much gratitude and love.
Matt
Ahh, thank you for always making my all-time favorite foods! Your drunken noodle recipe has changed my life! Can’t wait to try this one, but a question — what can I use here instead of honey? I’m allergic.
Hi! Can I use allspice instead of five spice powder or Char Siu??
Thank you, I will try to make it own 🙂
Hi Kiyomi, it’s not quite the same but you can always make your own five spice – here is a recipe: https://www.thespruceeats.com/how-to-make-five-spice-powder-4065302 N x
I only had time to marinate pork tenderloin for 4-5 hours, but it was fantastic. Next time, I’ll do it 24 hrs for sure. Thanks for the great recipe.
Absolutely delicious with a Capital D. Thank you Nagi. I’m super excited that I can add this to my recipe repertoire. Hope our little patient Dozer is recovering well and no doubt is being pampered.
hello, how long do to cook in the oven and temperature. thanks =)
Hi Pong – all the steps are noted in the directions under “to roast”. I hope you love it! N x
We made this and have to say it is seriously the biz! Used the scotch -> yummo. Did the chinese broccoli with it for first ever rave reviews of chinese greens from the 3 offspring. Everyone wants it again. Happy days, thanks.
This recipe is amazing. I used pork shoulder because I couldn’t get scotch fillet. In this pandemic world I am staying isolated and seriously missing Chinese take out. I used the pork for lo mein and it was great. Really I could probably just eat it all as is, delicious! Thank you Nagi!
This turned out better than I expected, I did use 2 tenderloin & it was so good. I added the red food colouring, it made it look more authentic & my daughter thought I had got it from our local chinese. Thanks again for another easy to follow recipe Nagi.
Hi Nagi from your favoite follower ! Question about differences and uses: rice wine vinegar; rice vinegar; rice wine. Can’t find rice wine vinegar in U.S. grocery store. Can you tutor us about the uses, please? Thank you!
All of your tips makes life so much easier and the questions and answers are great because they are what I always forget to ask.
love you, give dozer a pat for me, Bev
I made this on the grill using pork shoulder. Set temp to 300 -350 direct heat for aboutv2 hours. Used a large foil pan lined with parchment. Turned and basted a few times. Watched closely once it started to caramelize. YUM.
Did you do this on the Weber Q? Tossing up between weber using a convection tray and trivet and the oven
Also isnt the roastng temp around 190-230c on the grill?
Can you make this in the grill if you monitor the temp closely?
100% Kendall! N x