China · Meat Dishes
Char Siu (Cantonese BBQ Pork)
A jewel of Cantonese cuisine — pork neck marinated overnight in honey, soy sauce, oyster sauce, hoisin, and Chinese five-spice, then roasted until deeply caramelized with charred edges and a lacquered glaze. 'Char'…
Ingredients
- pork neck or shoulder700 g
- honey2 tbsp
- soy sauce2 tbsp
- oyster sauce1 tbsp
- Chinese rice wine or dry sherry1 tbsp
- hoisin sauce1 tbsp
- sugar1 tsp
- sesame oil1 tsp
- Chinese five-spice powder1 tsp
- garlic clove, minced1
- scallions, thinly sliced, for garnish2
Method
- 1Cut pork along the grain into long strips 3–4 cm thick.
- 2Mix all marinade ingredients in a bowl. Set aside about 4 tablespoons of the marinade in a separate container for basting later — it must never touch the raw meat. Marinate the pork in the remaining marinade in a bag or container for at least 8 hours, overnight is best.
- 3Preheat oven to 200°C (top-bottom heat or convection).
- 4Place the meat on a rack set over a tray of water. Roast for 25–30 minutes, basting every 10 minutes with the marinade reserved in step 2 (not the marinade the raw meat sat in).
- 55 minutes before the end, raise the temperature to 220°C to caramelize the glaze. The pork is done when the edges are deeply caramelized and a thermometer reads 63–68°C at the thickest part.
- 6Take the pork out and let it rest on a board for at least 3 minutes before cutting — at 63°C that rest is part of making it safe, and it also keeps the juices in. Then slice across the grain. Serve with rice or noodles, garnished with green onion.