The most incredible Char Siu recipe has perfectly char siu pork and delicious char siu sauce from Cantonese. This is an authentic Cantonese restaurant recipe!
Char Siu, or Chinese barbecued pork, is a popular pork dish in Cantonese cuisine.
If you’ve ever visited Chinatown, you’ve probably noticed gleaming and flawlessly roasted meats like Chinese roast pig (siu yuk), chicken, and duck hanging in front of Chinese BBQ restaurants.
Char siu pig belly barbecue is the pinnacle of Cantonese barbecue. They are usually sliced thinly and served with steaming white rice and a side of vegetables.
Occasionally written char sui or char siew, the pork is always properly charred, succulent, and soft, oozing with a sticky, sweet, and aromatic sauce.
When cooked properly, this is one of the most delectable pork dishes in the world!
This recipe instructed you to create the greatest char siu from scratch, with a flavor that surpasses the best Cantonese restaurants in Chinatown!
How do you prepare char siu? The recipe is divided into two halves.
The first step is to choose the finest cut of pork. The second section involves preparing the char siu sauce, which serves as the marinade.
It is better if the pork belly is marinated overnight. To grill, roast for 15 minutes at 400F.
Preheat oven to broil and broil the pork belly on all sides until it chars beautifully. Before serving, thinly slice the chicken.
Before marinating the pork belly, prepare the Char Siu Sauce.
The following is a list of ingredients:
- “Nam yue” is a Chinese term for fermented red bean curd. This ingredient is optional if you do not have it, but it imparts the pork with characteristic subtlety and scents.
- Maltose or honey (recommended).
- Soy sauce.
- Sauce oyster
- Powdered five spices.
- White pepper, ground
These ingredients combine to create the most incredibly sweet, savory, sticky marinade for the pork belly before roasting in the oven. Make a couple of servings and store them in the refrigerator.
I have another recipe for Chinese BBQ Pork, but this is the most extraordinary and genuine dish I’ve ever encountered!
This recipe’s flavor reminds me of the greatest chicken rice I’ve ever had in Malaysia at one of the numerous chicken rice vendors there.
Here are some of my cooking tips:
Make use of pork belly. Choose a fatty pork belly with an even coating of flesh and fat. The fat to meat ratio should be 50:50.
If pork belly is unavailable, fatty pig shoulder or pork butt is substituted.
Remove the skin off the meat before marinating.
Marinate for at least 24 hours to develop the flavors.
In an oven, roast and grill the pork. Then grill over an open flame (using an outdoor BBQ grill or over the stovetop).
Additionally, you may broil it in your oven. The trick is to brown all sides of the pork belly evenly.
Pork tenderloin is used for char siu. While pork tenderloin is less fatty than pork loin, it results in a leaner, healthier version of this recipe.
You may refrigerate any leftovers for a few days, but I do not advocate freezing. This recipe has a low-calorie count of 361 calories per serving.
INGREDIENTS:
- 1 pound (450 g) skinless pork belly, divided into two long strips
- 2 tbsp. garlic, coarsely chopped
SAUCE CHAR SIU:
- 2 tbsp. Chinese fermented red bean curd (see Notes)
- 1 tbsp maltose or 1 tbsp honey
- 1 tbsp Shaoxing wine from China
- 1 tsp soy sauce
- 1 tbsp sauce oyster
- 1 teaspoon soy sauce, black and thick
- 1 teaspoon powdered five-spice
- 1/4 teaspoon powdered white pepper
- 3 1/2 oz (100 g or 8 1/2 tbsp) sugar
INSTRUCTIONS:
- In a large mixing bowl, combine all of the ingredients for the Char Siu Sauce, add the garlic and pork belly (marinate overnight in the refrigerator).
- The next day, preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C).
- Arrange the pork belly on a wire rack or an aluminum foil-lined baking sheet. 15 minutes roasting
- Remove from oven and flip the pork belly over; slather the meat with the remaining Char Siu Sauce. Continue roasting for a further 15 minutes.
- Preheat oven to broil and broil each side of the pork belly for approximately 1 minute, or until beautifully browned. It is common for the char siu to seem black.
- Return the remaining Char Siu Sauce to low heat and bring to a simmer. Place aside.
- Slice the char siu into thin, bite-size pieces and immediately serve the remaining Char Siu Sauce and steaming white rice.