A good, authentic char siu recipe creates one of the tastiest pork dishes you can imagine. Slightly salty, sweet, and seasoned with Chinese spices, moist and crispy slices of pork are served as the main star, or as an ingredient for other Asian dishes.
When I say char siu is tasty, I mean that it literally tastes like little pieces of pork candy. Famous for its deep red hue and glistening, sweet glaze, pork char siu is layered in flavors and textures. While incredibly good all by itself, this Chinese BBQ pork is typically served with a carb like rice, noodles, or inside various buns.
Char siu is great as a meal with some rice and greens but is also a shining star in other recipes like pork fried rice, char siu bao buns, pineapple buns, or simply stir-fry it with some vegetables and noodles. This char siu recipe makes plenty, but feel free to double or triple the recipe and freeze some to make the other mentioned dishes whenever you like.
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📜 What is Char Siu?
Char Siu (叉燒), also written as chā sīu, is from Cantonese cuisine from the Guangdong province of southern China. The name literally means “fork roasted” and comes from the traditional method of cooking the long strips of pork on long forked tools in a large oven or over a fire.
It is considered a type of “siu mei”, which is basically a Cantonese term for barbecued meats and is popular in many Chinese areas and in Hong Kong. There are numerous other foods in this classification, but char siu is probably the most popular and well-known of Chinese BBQ pork dishes out there.
Known for its characteristic red hue, cha siu is commonly marinated with red food dye as an ingredient in many modern places and recipes. The traditional method for getting that red coloring though comes from red yeast rice. This fermented rice can be ground into a powder and added for coloring, though you can also get the shade from utilizing fermented red bean curd, which uses red yeast rice in its ingredients.
🥘 Ingredients for Char Siu
The following list of ingredients is for as authentic a Chinese char siu as I can make at home. Most of the ingredients are readily available, though some may require a trip to an international or Asian market or ordering online. Where available, I’ll give alternatives as well.
Pork – The most used cut of pork for char siu is pork neck, or pork butt (pork shoulder). Boneless cuts are the easiest to use, but you can also buy a large pork butt and remove the bone yourself if doubling this recipe.
Char Siu Marinade
Sauces & Oils – Most of the liquid ingredients will come from soy sauce, hoisin sauce, and toasted sesame oil. You can omit the sesame oil if you want or replace it with sesame paste. You can also replace the hoisin sauce with half the amount of molasses instead for a slightly different taste.
Cooking Wine – If you can find it, mei kwei lu (or mei kuei lu), is best for this dish. This is a rose cooking wine made from sorghum liquor infused with roses. This can be quite difficult to find though, even online. If you can’t get it, use Shaoxing cooking wine, which is much more readily available.
Vegetables – Use grated ginger and garlic in the marinade. Fresh is best, but a smaller amount of powder can be used instead. Ginger is optional, but I prefer it.
Seasoning – The main seasoning for char siu comes from Chinese five spice. Because it is so strong, you only need a little bit. I also add some ground white pepper, but that is optional. I don’t add salt however, because the soy sauce and hoisin are both salty enough for the marinade.
Sweetener – Use some white granulated sugar for the marinade. You can also use honey instead if you wish.
Red Bean Curd – As mentioned before, the red coloring char siu is famous for comes from red fermented bean curd. Use both some of the bean curd cubes and some of the liquid its packed in. Be sure to check the ingredients though, because some fermented bean curd looks red because it’s mixed with chiles. The true red fermented version should list red yeast rice in the ingredients like the image below.
Red Yeast Rice – I used a bit of red yeast rice powder for more coloring here, but this is completely optional. This ingredient can also be a bit more difficult to find, but if you find the rice itself, you can grind it into a powder, or just skip this altogether. I mainly show it here, so people know what it is.
Red Food Dye – I do NOT use red food coloring in this recipe. However, if you cannot find the bean curd or rice powder, you can use about ½ teaspoon or so of red food gel or 2-3 teaspoons of red food coloring. Not using the red fermented bean curd will alter the flavor some, but relying on red food dye is only an aesthetic choice and not necessary unless you want the coloring.
Cha Siu Glaze
Marinade – The above marinade should make more than 1 ¼ cups worth, so reserve about ½ cup for the glaze later. It can be kept refrigerated for a few days if needed.
Maltose – Without getting into the science of it, maltose is a natural sweetener that is less sweet than granulated sugar or honey and has a neutral flavor. Made from fermented grains like rice, barley, and malt, it is incredibly viscous at room temperature and is like working with taffy. This is the traditional ingredient for char siu glaze because of the sweetness and gloss it adds.
This is another ingredient that can be harder to find, so you can swap it out with honey instead. Keep in mind this will make the glaze a bit sweeter and give it slightly floral notes. To work with maltose, heat it in the microwave in short bursts until it’s more like honey than taffy.
🐖 Best Cuts of Pork for Char Siu
There’s plenty of options when choosing from different cuts of pork for this Chinese BBQ recipe. Other than the following list, you can also make char siu ribs, char siu chicken, and while not as popular, char siu beef recipes among others.
- Pork Neck – Also called collar and pork scotch, this fatty and well marbled cut is from the neck and part of the shoulder. It’s a traditional choice, but harder to find cut in the average grocery store in America.
- Pork Shoulder – Also known as pork butt or Boston butt, this is a great choice for making char siu. Fatty and marbled, it provides both good flavor and retains moisture when cooked for this recipe and is what I call for here.
- Pork Loin – You can make char siu with pork loin or even tenderloin if you don’t like fattier cuts. Both are much leaner cuts compared to the others.
- Pork Belly – Very rich and fatty, pork belly also makes great, juicy char siu. This cut works well but is even fattier than the neck and shoulder choices.
Whatever cut you prefer to use, keep in mind that this recipe is written for pork shoulder. You should be able to use pork neck as well, but for other cuts or different meats, you will need to adjust both oven temperatures and cooking times.
🔪 How to Make Authentic Char Siu
There’s a couple of ways to make char siu, and this recipe utilizes a home oven. A note about the following photos: I cooked a few batches in different ways, and found I liked finishing smaller pieces under the broiler, so ignore the size and color of the first few cooking images.
Marinading Char Siu
Starting with the pork shoulder, slice it into thick cuts about 1 ½ - 2 inches wide. If the slices are more than 2-3 inches in width when turned on their side, cut them in half lengthwise. You should end up with thick strips of pork shoulder.
In a mixing bowl, or in a large glass measuring cup, add the bean curd and liquid and smash with a fork or whisk until it resembles a paste. Add the rest of the marinade ingredients and stir/whisk until everything is well mixed together.
Once mixed, reserve a half cup of the marinade in an airtight container and keep refrigerated until needed.
Place the pork into a large zipper loc bag or use a large enough container that they can all fit in easily. Pour the marinade over the pork and mix it so that every surface is coated well with the marinade. Refrigerate the pork slices at least eight hours or overnight is even better. Rotate the pork once or twice during the marinading time.
Cooking & Glazing Char Siu
Remove the pork and allow it to sit at room temperature while you preheat your oven. Preheat the oven to 400°F / 210°C. Line a baking sheet with foil and set a cooking rack on top of that. Place the pork on top of the rack with a bit of space between each slice and pour enough water into the pan so that it’s not touching the pork. This helps keep the pork moist while also keeping dripping fat and marinade from burning and smoking in the oven.
Cook the pork for about 25 minutes, flipping halfway through. While the pork is cooking, prepare the glaze. Microwave the maltose for about 20 seconds, and then in 10 second increments if it’s still too thick. Add to a small saucepan with the boiling water and stir until loosened up and then add the reserved marinade. Heat over medium low heat, stirring occasionally, until slightly thickened and then hold it at a low temperature.
When the pork has cooked, remove it from the oven and turn the broiler on high. No need to move the oven rack higher. Brush the glaze over the pork on both sides and place back into the oven. Broil for 2-4 minutes, remove and brush with more glaze and repeat. You should glaze and broil a total of 3-4 times.
Remove from the oven and add an optional final glaze, then allow to rest at least 10-15 minutes. Slice the pork into thin strips and serve immediately.
🥗 What to Serve with Pork Char Siu
As pictured in this recipe, I served this char siu with jasmine rice and sauteed Bok choy. While typically served with a carb and a green vegetable, you can easily eat it with whatever you like or use it as an ingredient in completely different dishes.
Rice – Jasmine rice or sticky rice go well with the fatty and sweet char siu slices. You could also turn it into a pork fried dish as a meal on its own.
Noodles – Not as typical as a side dish, but almost any noodle can work with char siu. Make a char siu version of Lo Mein or Chow Mein or toss with noodles in a stir-fry dish.
Vegetables – Popular choices are broccoli, stir-fried green beans, sauteed Bok choy or baby Bok choy, choy sum, and gai lan (Chinese broccoli). Simply blanched, they can help cut some of the fatty richness from the pork, or they can be stir-fried or sauteed.
💭 Frequently Asked Questions
Although some recipes and restaurants use red food coloring, the traditional ingredient that contributes to the red hue is red yeast rice. Not always used directly, the color typically comes from red fermented bean curd which includes the fermented rice as an ingredient.
Fattier and well-marbled cuts of pork tend to make the best, most flavorful and juicy choices for char siu. Pork shoulder is one of the most popular choices, along with pork neck and pork belly.
Char siu, or cha siu, is typically served with a carb and a green veggie. Rice is a popular carb, whether jasmine or sticky rice, or using the pork in a fried rice recipe. Stir-fried with noodles and vegetables is also popular. Using char siu in bao buns is great too.
❄️ Storing & Freezing Char Siu
Once cooked and cooled, you can store char siu in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4-5 days. Before storing, I prefer to slice all the cooked pieces and add any leftover glaze to the same container. This makes it easier when you’re ready to reheat since it will be ready to go.
You can also freeze cooked char siu for up to 3 months. When I make a large batch, I like to pre-cut the char siu for what I plan on using it for, such as fried rice or bao buns, and portion and label it for those recipes.
Using the microwave to reheat char siu is fine as well and keeps it moist. You can also reheat slices in a 350°F oven for 10-15 minutes until heated through.
📋 Recipe
Authentic Char Siu (Chinese BBQ Pork)
Ingredients
- 4-4.5 pound boneless pork shoulder
Char Siu Marinade:
- 2 cubes red fermented bean curd
- 2 tablespoons red bean curd liquid
- ½ cup soy sauce
- ¼ cup hoisin sauce
- 2 tablespoons Shaoxing cooking wine, or rose cooking wine
- 2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon ginger, grated, optional
- 4-5 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 teaspoon Chinese five spice powder
- ½ teaspoon ground white pepper, optional
- 1 teaspoon red yeast rice powder, optional
Char Siu Glaze:
- ½ cup reserved marinade
- ¼ cup maltose, or honey
- 1 tablespoon boiling water
Directions
- Starting with the 4 - 4 ½ pound boneless pork shoulder, slice it into thick cuts about 1 ½ - 2 inches wide. If the slices are more than 2-3 inches in width when turned on their side, cut them in half lengthwise. You should end up with thick strips of pork shoulder.
- In a mixing bowl, or in a large glass measuring cup, add two cubes of red fermented bean curd cubes and 2 tablespoons of the liquid and smash with a fork or whisk until it resembles a paste. Add ½ cup soy sauce, ¼ cup hoisin sauce, 2 tablespoons Shaoxing cooking wine, 2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil, ¼ cup granulated sugar, 1 tablespoon grated ginger, 4-5 cloves minced garlic, 1 teaspoon Chinese five spice powder, and ½ teaspoon ground white pepper and stir/whisk until everything is well mixed together.
- Once mixed, reserve a half cup of the marinade in an airtight container and keep refrigerated until needed.
- Place the pork into a large zipper loc bag or use a large enough container that they can all fit in easily. Pour the marinade over the pork and mix it so that every surface is coated well with the marinade. Refrigerate the pork slices at least eight hours or overnight is even better. Rotate the pork once or twice during the marinading time.
- Remove the pork and allow it to sit at room temperature while you preheat your oven. Preheat the oven to 400°F / 210°C. Line a baking sheet with foil and set a cooking rack on top of that. Place the pork on top of the rack with a bit of space between each slice and pour enough water into the pan so that it’s not touching the pork. This helps keep the pork moist while also keeping dripping fat and marinade from burning and smoking in the oven.
- Cook the pork for about 25 minutes, flipping halfway through. While the pork is cooking, prepare the glaze. Microwave the maltose for about 20 seconds, and then in 10 second increments if it’s still too thick. Add ¼ cup maltose into a small saucepan with 1 tablespoon or so of boiling water and stir until loosened up and then add the reserved marinade. Heat over medium low heat, stirring occasionally, until slightly thickened and then hold it at a low temperature.
- When the pork has cooked, remove it from the oven and turn the broiler on high. No need to move the oven rack higher. Brush the glaze over the pork on both sides and place back into the oven. Broil for 2-4 minutes, remove and brush with more glaze and repeat. You should glaze and broil a total of 3-4 times.
- Remove from the oven and add an optional final glaze, then allow to rest at least 10-15 minutes. Slice the pork into thin strips and serve immediately.
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