Char siu is either the marinade itself or the roast barbecue pork that is the most common char siu dish. As a sauce, char siu has endless variations. Also spelled cha siew or chashao.
Ingredients
- Pork butt, boneless -- 2 to 3 pounds
- Hoisin sauce -- 3/4 cup
- Soy sauce -- 1/2 cup
- Rice wine or dry sherry -- 1/2 cup
- Honey -- 1/3 cup
- Sugar -- 1 tablespoon
Direction
- Slice pork butt into strips about 2 inches wide and 5 inches long.
- In a large bowl, mix together the hoisin, soy sauce, rice wine or sherry, honey and sugar. Add the pork strips and marinate for at least 2 hours, preferably overnight.
- Preheat oven to 220°C. Add a rack to a roasting pan and fill the pan with water to come just below the rack. Wipe any excess marinade from the pork and line the strips up neatly in the roasting pan.
- Place the pan in the oven and roast for 10 minutes. Reduce heat to 160°C and roast for another 30-40 minutes, turning and basting frequently with the remaining marinade or with peanut or sesame oil.
- Cut it into bite-sized pieces and serve.
Variations
- Marinade Variations and Additions:
- Add 1 tablespoon minced garlic and/or 1 tablespoon minced ginger.
- Add 2 teaspoons of Chinese 5-spice powder.
- Substitute 1/2 cup pineapple juice for the hoisin sauce.
- Substitute wet bean curd for the hoisin sauce (can be found in Asian markets).
- Add 1 tablespoon of toasted sesame oil.
- Add 1 tablespoon hot bean paste for a spicier marinade.
- Substitute Japanese mirin (sweetened rice wine) for the sherry.
- Many recipes add up to 2 tablespoons of red food coloring to give a deep red color. This is generally unnessary.
- Instead of pork butt, use pork spareribs and grill over a charcoal fire.
- Marinate a whole pork loin, and roast as you normally would a whole pork loin.
- If you like, baste with honey during last 10 minutes to give the meat an attractive glaze.