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!
Nagi, I am very interested in trying this recipe and I live in the U.S. Am I the only one who can’t understand the measurements such as .17 C? I tried a conversion chart, but that didn’t work, either. Help!
Hi Janet – what ingredient are you referring to?? N x
Hi, Nagi! Thanks so much for responding. I am talking about the ingredients that make up the sauce for the Char Siu Pork. They are not in ounces or cups and I can’t understand how much of each ingredient I need. I very much want to make your Char Siu pork.
Delicious and pretty easy! I cut up a bone-in pork butt. I smoked it on my pellet smoker at 220F for about 5.5 hours. I sauced them for only the last 30 min. It was perfect- moist and very flavorful. Thank you for a great new way to smoke pork butt!
Wow. This came out great. My wife said it’s better than what she gets in Chinatown. I kicked it up to 475 for the last five minutes to caramelize, but otherwise followed the recipe. A real showstopper and not very labor intensive. Thank you so much for.the recipe!
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YUMMY!
I’m a little sad this recipe is sooo good, as it’s hard to find pork in the states that hasn’t been fed ractopamine, but! When i do, I stock up and treat the family to this recipe, which quickly became a favorite. Thank you so much for sharing it! The gang here all thanks you. 🙂
This was soooo good. Absolulety delish on its own or in fried rice. Hubby thought i bought it from chinatown lol.
Hi Nagi! So happy to hear your sweet boy is doing well. We are getting a foster baby from Golden Bond Rescue on Weds. A great way to celebrate this wonky Thanksgiving.
I just made your Char Siu bbq pork. It’s beyond delicious! I eat meat…just don’t like it…about 3 times a year. I literally couldn’t quit nibbling! I used tenderloin which turned out insanely good per your notes. I will reduce the marinade before putting the pork in the oven next time so when the quicker cooking loin is ready it will be sticky and delicious for basting. I intended to use the leftover pork, rice, and garlic green beans in a stir fry tomorrow but I don’t think there will be enough! Thank you for another perfect recipe!!
This looks really good. I was wondering if there is anyway to make this in a crockpot? Or is it cooked best in the oven?
Made this tonight. I used tenderloins because I had them. Cooked for about 45 minutes. Very tender. I actually sliced it very thin and placed the pork on a buttered, toasted sesame seed bun with some extra sharp cheddar. Yum!
Hi, I’m looking forward to making this! As it happens I have some fermented red bean curd (bought it for another recipe, used about 1% of it!) – can I use this in place of the red colouring, and should I use about 2 tsp same as the colouring? If anyone knows I’d be grateful!
sorry just realised this question is already answered in the notes!!
Absolutely love your recipes! I have made this one previously but I could only get hold of boneless pork leg will this work?
Just made this & wow it was sooo good! Used small pork tenderloins because I couldn’t find pork shoulder. Doubled the marinade. They were about 1.7 lb each & roasted for 45 min, basting every 15 min, finished with broiling. I thought the taste of the Chinese 5 spice was a little strong so will probably use less next time. Going to use it in the fried rice recipe:) This my new favorite recipe site!
This was incredible! My wife and daughter deemed this worthy, and that is particularly high praise 😉
Follow every step of the directions. It will come out perfectly. Thank you Nagi, for another killer recipe!
Yet another fantastic recipe by Nagi! I was a bit skeptical of how the pork shoulder would turn out, as I do not have a great track record with large chunks of meat… but it was indeed super moist, juicy, and the sauce tasted just like something which comes hanging in the front window of a Chinese restaurant! Will definitely make again!
Hi, can you use pork chops? Will it taste as good?
Oh. My. God. It was incredible. Served with stir fried egg noodles with carrot and spring onion. Thank you once again!
Hi there, made this last night and it tasted like even better today! I’m Chinese and this is soooo close to the ones we get at the shops and according to my husband tasted better than the ones at the shop. Only complaint was not making enough. Will make double the next time round 🙂 thank you for the awesome recipe.
I’m going to cook this on my pellet grill but using some large fillets. Can’t wait to try it!
You’ll love it Jenelle!!! N x
It was brilliant Nagi!
Char Sui goodness!!!!
This is another regular recipe of ours (well before covid and not being able to get to the market for the pork 😔)
Randomly found this nearly 2years ago after searching what yo do with pork neck and it was an instant hit!
So easy once again (that’s what I love about your recipes) and so yummy! Just like the ones in the restaurants!
I do have a giggle every time at how the meat looks in the red marinade in the plastic zip bag in your fridge… Bit morbid but funny! Lol!
Another fave of ours! Thanks again.
I’m so glad you love it Angela – and yes the marinading meat looks like something from a crime scene (but so much more delicious) 😂 N x
I was skeptical about making BBQ pork myself and was torn over what recipe to try but this REALLY does taste like real BBQ pork! I was so impressed. I omitted the food colouring so while mine wasn’t red, it was a gorgeous deep glossy brown, Lovely and sticky. I used a pork shoulder roast and trimmed off the skin for some pork crackling. I keep the drippings to make gravy that I will add to the sauce for my BBQ pork buns 🙂
Perfect Sara! I’m so glad you gave it a go! N x
Hi Nagi, this looks amazing! I have pork scotch steaks and was thinking of cooking this on my Weber Q instead of the oven. Do you think that would work, if I still baste as it cooks? Love your site thanks (fresh off the success of your mapo tofu!)
Yes definitely, just don’t overcook them or they will become dry and tough 🙂 N x
Yummm, we made this last night to pop in your Banh Mi rolls.
So easy but delicious!
YUM! Great idea Jasmine! N x