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
Hungry for more? Subscribe to my newsletter and follow along on Facebook, Pinterest and Instagram for all of the latest updates.
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!
Wai says
5 Star !! 🙂
Wai says
Love your char siew recipe, made this numbers of time and it never fail!! Thank you for sharing this wonderful recipe!! 🙂
Nagi says
I’m so glad you love it!
Denise Darneille says
Made this tonight with pork tenderloin and it was very good.
Nagi says
I’m glad you liked it Denise! N x
Gustavo says
I did use the dar soy, but added more honey, tastes pretty good… right now is in the fridge later tonight it will be in the oven, i will let you know how it came out. Thnak you for the recipe!
Nagi says
You’re so welcome Gustavo, let me know what you think!
aksel astrup hansen says
why do you use food coloring?
Nagi Maehashi says
To give it that authentic colour – or you can just omit it if you prefer!
Malena says
I’m falling soooo in love with your recipes!
They turn out PERFECT! and so yummy that it’s difficult to think about leftovers!!!!!
Nagi Maehashi says
Thanks so much Malena!!
Ray says
do you have to cut the pock tender loin in half it is about 2 inches thick Ray
Nagi says
Hi Ray! Yes I would, you want maximum caramelised surface to flesh ratio 🙂 If you slice in half then like I do in the video then they will take about 40 minutes to roast 🙂 N x
Nancy E Pearson says
Hi Nagi, I hope Dozer is doing great! You’re a good Momma!
I marinated a pork shoulder from Monday night and made it last night. I guess I made the marinade wrong or something because it was watery when I marinated it and it wasn’t syrupy like you described and when I added the honey to make a the thicker glaze to brush it on the pork while it was cooking. Was I supposed to cut up the shoulder or leave just cut it like you did. What’d I do wrong? It tasted good, but wasn’t juicy like in your photos. Oh, and I asked the butcher in my local supermarket if he had pork collar and he looked at me and said “I’ve never heard of that.” HA!
Nagi says
Hi Nancy! So was the marinade thickness different to what you see in the video?? And yes shoulder needs to be cut up like I show in post. How was your shoulder cut?? N x
Steve H says
Hi Nags, could I also use fermented curd?
Steve H says
Hi Nagi, can this be cooked in any webber, if so how long for?
Nagi says
Hi Steve! I’ve done it using a rotisserie over my BBQ but haven’t tried a webber. Concerned there’s too much sugar in this and it will burn too quickly 🙂 N x
Nagi says
Sure can! See note 4 🙂 N x
JENNY Patrick says
I am doing some at the moment, as I do quite every month ! We use charsiu in lots of meals here, bianbian noodles, soups, fried rice, and so on…
Wai says
Excellent !! I made it last night and it was a hit with my daughters and husband!! Thank you for sharing this great recipe!!
Rachael says
Just made this with chicken thigh. Reduced cook time to 20-10-10-10 and it was pretty good. If I made with chicken again would reduce to 10-10-10-10.
Delicious. Great recipe.
Thank you so much!!! <3
john rodgers says
I followed your recipe with pork loin and cooked it until the internal temp was 147 F which turned out perfect. Thanks!! But now I was able to get the scotch fillet and was wondering if I should go to the same internal temp as the pork loin?
Nagi says
Hi John! Scotch can go further than tenderloin so cook it per the recipe directions 🙂
Kyle says
Skipped the red die, used less brown sugar and added grenadine for color and sweetness
Marilyn Jacobs says
I made this with a pork tenderloin and this time I am going to use pork shoulder which I think is similar to the pork scotch fillet. I could not find the pork scotch where I live in US.
I was wondering if you ever substitute maltose for the honey. If so, how does it effect the taste.
Thanks.
Stephanie Thompson says
Would a pork sirloin roast be alright in this recipes?
Nagi says
Hi Stephanie – if you cut it into strips shaped like pork tenderloin then cook it per the directions for tenderloin, then yes 🙂
John Carrita says
Hi you mentioned the authentic char siu recipe ingredients in the notes section.
Can you tell me the authentic ingrediebts/recipe please?
Thanks
Nicole says
OMG THANK YOU ! my daughter hates pork but she will eat chinese pork, and bacon…..we never knew what this was called or how to make it ! I am so happy !!!!!!!!!!!!! <3
Nagi says
Hope she loves it Nicole!
Pam Soward says
If doing the pork tenderloin, would I be turning it like the other cuts? It doesn’t mention doing that.
Thanks!
Nagi says
I would turn it at least once Pam 🙂 N x
Nagi says
HI Pam! Yes, follow recipe except for the cook time 🙂 N x
Natasha says
Can you do this in the slow cooker? I’m thinking on low for about 8 hours?