For all those times you’ve gazed longingly at the sticky, crimson red Char Siu hanging from hooks in the window of Chinese barbecue meat shops…… Chinese Barbecue Pork is finger licking’ good and you will be shocked how easy is it to make it at home!
Made with a simple yet flavour loaded Char Siu sauce, pork is marinated to infuse with flavour then roasted until caramelised. Baste your Chinese BBQ Pork frequently for best results!
Char Siu – Chinese BBQ Pork
No trip to Chinatown here in Sydney 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 damn 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 recipe
I first tried Char Siu Pork at home perhaps 10 years ago and the recipe I use has evolved over the years. Little tweaks to make it as close as I can to my favourite Chinese barbecue shop without having to make a trek to the Asian store to hunt down hard to find ingredients.
I am not exactly sure where I sourced the original recipe from – probably Gourmet Traveller magazine.
The real deal Chinese barbecue pork is cooked over charcoals, with the meat hanging on hooks. But for us ordinary folks, you can still make Chinese barbecue pork at home that tastes just like store bought, it just has less smokey flavour.
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.
It’s 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.
As in – THIS:
That sight makes me weak in the knees, every time. ?
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).
This 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
Save some Char Siu for….
- Chinese Steamed Pork Buns – big fluffy white buns filled with BBQ pork
- Singapore Noodles, Chinese Fried Rice
- Fried Rice – Char Siu is often in “special fried rice” in place of Chinese sausage or bacon
- Chinese Noodle Soup – slices of Char Siu is often served on top of noodle soups
- Banh Mi ! (Vietnamese sandwich) – it’s AMAZING!!
Don’t miss these other iconic Chinese recipes!
- Crispy Chinese Pork Belly – the other Chinese BBQ Meat Shop favourite!
- Char Siu Chicken – the chicken version of Char Siu Pork
- Potstickers – steamed dumplings with crispy golden undersides
- Spring Rolls – better than Egg Rolls!
- Fried Rice – Chinese takeout standard (no false promises)
- Browse all Chinese Recipes and Asian Takeout copycat recipes
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Char Siu - Chinese Barbecue 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 (Note 1)
- 1 tbsp soy sauce (Note 1)
- 1 tsp 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 (collar neck, pork neck) OR pork shoulder (Note 5)
- 2 tbsp Extra Honey
Instructions
- Mix Marinade ingredients in a bowl.
- Cut pork in half horizontally to make two long, flat, thin pieces (better flavour penetration).
- 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:
Originally published April 2015, updated May 2018. Major change is to change pork cut from tenderloin to scotch fillet/shoulder - this is a recipe improvement.Nutrition Information:
WATCH HOW TO MAKE IT
LIFE OF DOZER
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. ❤
Hi Nagi,
Can I not use the Hoison sauce,since I couldn’t find it in the shop?or is there a Substitution?
Thank you
Hi Nagi,
Can I not use the Hoison sauce,since I couldn’t find it in the shop?
Thank you
Hi Nagi thanks so much for the awesome recipie. You’ve saved my ABC (Australian born Chinese) bacon yet again. I can cook Chinese food now!
I stumbled across this recipe while I was looking for an easy but genuinely authentic tasting char siu recipe and… WOW!! I could literally eat this every day (and my whole family adores it) – absolutely delicious and very straight forward to follow. Thank you so much! I am now working my way through lots of your recipes and every single one bowls me over – you have become my go-to chef, whatever i have in the fridge. You are an absolute star!
Hi Nagi, thank you so much for sharing this recipe.
I made twice now and my husband and friends love it😊😊
Wahoo, I’m so glad it’s a hit Dessy! N x
It was so juicy and delicious and the whole family loved it. I plan to make it again for my extended family. So easy too, just had to remember to marinate it in advance. The only things I left out were the food colouring and the oil. The food colouring, because I didn’t really feel the need for it to be red, and the oil because I wanted to see if it could do without. Thanks again, Nagi.
I have been on a Nagi cooking festival this last few days. Just did the Char Siu last night and it was great. I used a pork fillet which I knew wouldn’t be the best cut to use but it still turned out lovely. Not bad for an Aussie wife cooking for her Chinese Husband. Thanks Nagi
Your directions were spot on and the recipe was delicious. Thank you for sharing. Will use this many times again.
That’s great to hear – thanks so much Anna!! N x
My family love it and I cook this during Chinese New Year..Thanks for sharing this recipe.
You’re so welcome Joyce!!
As a culinary teacher I’m always looking for new recipes when I’m teaching my cooking methods. I tried this last week at home with pork butt and It was incredible. I’ll never buy it at the chinese restaurant again. I’m at school right now typing up the recipe for my students to use for our roasting lesson. Of course, I’ll credit you on the top of the page.
That’s awesome Eva!! They will love it!
Nagi, omg, SO good!! Have always looked longingly at this recipe and today got brave. Unbelievably easy and tasty!! Why did I leave it so long?
Thanx so much xx
You wont look back now!!
Nagi, omg, SO good!! Have always looked longingly at this recipe abd today got brave. Unbelievably easy and tasty!!
Thanx so much xx
This turned out really well. My husband thinks it’s better than from a Chinese restaurant.. and he is hard to get a compliment out of! I made a noodle soup to go with it and it was excellent.
Thanks! really enjoying your recipes.
That’s awesome Maddie! Perfect to make a big batch and freeze as well 🙂
So easy!!! So delicious!!! I have cooked this for my husband and the guys working for him through harvest here in NZ and Im now making it for the second time in a week! My son loves it too – everybody!! Thank you for a brilliant foolproof recipe. Last 2 times i used shoulder but am experimenting with lean belly as my son loves it. I recently bought an air roaster as its great for a quick cook for my son, and its PERFECT for cooking a batch of char siu. 10 out of 10 and everybody thinks Im an amazing chef – very happy!
So easy and delicious! My picky husband devoured it and kept saying it’s delicious and juicy 😊
I used pink colouring lol because that’s what I had, but I only used a little bit so I think it didn’t really make a difference.
I’m so glad he loved it Steph!
Good luck Dozer! 🥰 🐶 🤞🏻