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
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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!
Thank you so much for sharing this recipe. Having made it once, I can already tell that it is going to be a regular favourite in our house. I think this recipe is perfect, and I’m looking forward to making some more so I can make Char Siu Onigiri!
I just saw your recipe for Korokke – I’ll be able to pretend I’m at the conbini!
Love your recipes Nagi. Made this two days ago for dinner with Rice and some veggies for dinner and everyone was going back for seconds. The glaze is absolutely delicious. I too had issues with it not sticking at first. Then realized that you said to hold back some for basting. Well I had painted it on and poured the rest over the top. duh!! When I pulled it out of the oven to check on it I realized the problem. So I quickly whipped up another batch of the glaze and added a little bit at a time to the hot meat and it was absolutely perfect. The broiler made it nice and glossy and just the right amount of char. Soooo good! So, the yesterday I made your singapore noodles from your Chinese take out cookbook….
That’s so great to hear Nacho! Thank you for letting me know you enjoyed it! N x
I tracked down a few recipes for Char Siu and when I saw one of them was yours I decided on that. It was easy, though I found it tricky to get enough glaze to stick. I ended up heating the remaining marinade as I had seen on another recipe and allowing it to rest covered in that in tin foil. The result was amazing. I think next time I’ll do this earlier and baste with that because it will stick better. I served it with some other Chinese style recipes for guests and it was definitely the hero of the night. One of my guests said “It’s just like in a Chinese restaurant only better.” That’s a pretty good compliment. Thanks for the recipe, Nagi. That marinade is sensational.
Hi Nagi, thank you for your detailed recipe. Is it possible to make it on a barbecue?
Hi Anne! I did do that years ago and I remember it being great! I used a rotisserie but even on the grill should be fine. Baste lots! 🙂
This was delicious! I had boneless pork shoulder ready to make some char siu but realized I had run out of my go-to LKK Char Siu Sauce! I’m so glad I came across this recipe and tried it. Having eaten char siu throughout my childhood (I’m Canadian Chinese) and then moving to a city where there’s no Chinatown close by, I had resorted to using the LKK sauce to make my own char siu to satisfy my cravings but I’ll be using your recipe from now on. I used what I had on hand so had to use the kecap manis substitution and the five spice powder substitution and it was still delicous. I can’t wait to try this using the original recipe. Both my kids even asked for seconds! Thank you for saving tonight’s dinner plan!
Do you turn the pork at all during the roasting or grilling?
If the pork is on a rack then turning is not necessary.
delicious pork and recipe works exactly as described, wondered how the tenderloin would work out and was juicy and delicious, very easy to slice up.
perfect recipe
That’s terrific to hear Paul! Thanks for taking the time to let me know – N x
Excellent and so easy. Now family favourite. Also love the site I will be using it a lot. Thank you!
Love hearing that Ada! Thanks for letting me know you enjoyed it! N xx
Hi Nagi!
How would I go about braising the pork using this marinade?
Hi Eliza! Unfortunately I’m not sure how suitable this is for this, sorry!
What a treat, and so easy to make. We didnt have the 5 spice so followed your tip. Can’t wait to try it next time with all the recommended ingredients! What a hit with teenagers too – Thank you again for feeding my family and getting the apron on my husband!
I made this for the first time to use in our Fried Rice. I baked 2 small tenderloins. They were awesome and everybody loved them. Will definitely use this recipe again. Thank you for sharing!
That’s so terrific to hear Sue!!!! Thanks for taking the time to let me know – N x ❤️
OMG this was better than great! Thanks for another fabulous recipe!
I’m so pleased to hear you enjoyed this Rose!! Thanks for letting me know – N x
Hi Nagi
I have tried this recipe several times and each time it’s been perfect every time. In fact it’s better than some of the Restaurant’s in London’s China Town so well done to you and thank you.
That’s wonderful to hear Maria!! Thanks for sharing your feedback! N x ❤️
I’m just a 13 year old kid who loves cooking for my family and I was searching for some char siew recipe and this was the best one my parents really loved it thanks so muuuuuuuuuch for this awesome recipe even though it was quite hard finding the recipe in indonesia 🇮🇩 but thanks anyway ☺️☺️☺️☺️☺️😊😊😊
You rock “kid”!
Keep on trucking.
13 and you made this? YOU’RE AMAZING!
I’ve always wanted to make this dish to acompany the many other Chinese dishes I normally serve but I never knew what the glaze was made of. I use to work for a Chinese/Hawaiian family and I do remember that when they baked it, they would raise the oven rack to the highest level and hook the ribs and hang them off the rack with a tray at the bottom. I was told this was done to get an even coating of the sauce as well as an even roasting. Would this method work for this recipe?
Can’t rate what I have not tried but it does look delicious!
Hanging it from the oven racks and basting it with honey and soy-sauce is the way I learned to cook red pork, from Mrs. Chou’s cook book. That was in the early 60’s and she’s long passed away but her cook book is on Amazon but alas no copies for sale. Got to try it with a barbecue, have no electric turners but do have skewers.
About the technique obviously, not that she is no longer with us or that the cookbook is no longer available 🙁
Your recipe is very good and much easier. Will use yours from now on.
That’s so cool to know!
Gosh Steve, that’s an interesting idea! My oven isn’t high enough though. To do that, I’d increase the glaze by 50%, put something at the bottom to catch the drips and baste lots and lots. Actually, I would probably reduce the glaze too, to make it thicker because it will drip more. Hope that helps!
Thanks that would a smart idea so that it sticks to the pork. It also helped that they would marinate it overnight before baking it. I just remember how delicious it was and always wanted to learn how to make it.
I will use this in my pork fried rice
YUM yes!
I didn’t eat this, because I’m vegetarian, but I made it for my husband for sandwich and cocktail night at our house. I put it on long crusty rolls and made some sriracha lime mayo to put on the bread along with shredded lettuce, cabbage and carrots. He really liked it and said he would eat it again and again. Thanks for a great recipe! (Left out the red food colouring)
I’m so pleased to hear that Vivian! Thank you for trying my recipe! N xx ❤️
I made this last night. It turned out perfectly, and it was delicious!
That’s fantastic to hear Warren! Thanks for leaving a review! N x ❤️
I had to use a scotch roast, no loins available and I couldn’t wait another week to taste. The flavour profile is spot on and delicious to boot. Obviously not the right cut of meat but after a low and slow cook it’s made for a dish of pulled pork that goes beautifully with coleslaw in a crusty bread roll
That’s fantastic to hear Michael! Thanks for leaving a review! N x ❤️
Recipe looks great! Your thoughts in serving this with sesame flavored noodles?
Oooh – perfect with the Sesame Noodles!!