Scrambled Eggs, Cheese, and Avocado Tortilla Bowl Recipe
September 16, 2025
Char Siu Pork (Chinese BBQ Pork) Recipe
Sticky, crimson purple Char Siu Pork – identical to you get from the Chinese language Barbecue meat outlets! Additionally known as Chinese language BBQ Pork, it’s finger licking good and also you’re going to be shocked how simple it’s to make the Char Siu sauce that’s used to marinade the pork.
No journey to Chinatown is full with out taking residence a container of Chinese language BBQ pork. And I’m but to handle the drive all the best way residence with out sneaking in just a little style check (or two…or three).
The darn visitors lights! In the event that they had been GREEN all the best way residence, then I wouldn’t have an opportunity to try this!
OK, that’s a blatant lie. The place there’s a will, there’s a approach, and we each know I’d be hooning over the Harbour Bridge, holding the steering wheel with one hand and rummaging round within the plastic carry bag with the opposite, blindly attempting to really feel my solution to the barbecue pork container.😂
There are two issues on this recipe that I do in a different way to conventional Char Siu to make this simpler however nonetheless yield a superb finish outcome that tastes like retailer purchased:
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Cooked within the oven as an alternative of over coals; and
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Purple meals colouring to stain the pork purple.
Genuine Char Siu will get the purple color from a speciality ingredient known as fermented purple bean curds which is purple. It’s requires a visit to the Asian retailer and also you’ll need to hunt deep into the darkish corners to search out it
Whereas it makes the pork purple, the small quantity used doesn’t add any flavour. And since I’ve no different use for purple bean curds, I began making it utilizing purple meals colouring as an alternative and located the tip outcome was precisely the identical each in flavour and visible.
So I caught with it!
Right here’s what you want for the Char Siu Sauce which is used to marinade the pork – all issues you may get from on a regular basis grocery shops:
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Pork – one of the best pork for Char Siu is pork scotch fillet. See subsequent part for extra info;
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Sugar – brown sugar is greatest for beautiful caramel flavours within the marinade. However even white sugar is ok;
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Soy sauces – I like to make use of mild and all goal soy sauce for one of the best flavour steadiness, however you may simply use simply certainly one of these. Don’t use darkish soy sauce, it’s approach too sturdy. Learn extra about completely different soy sauces right here;
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Chinese language 5 spice – pre combined retailer purchased mix, quite common nowadays. Bought within the spice part fo on a regular basis supermarkets and doesn’t value anymore than different spices;
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Hoisin – frequent Chinese language sauce, discovered within the Asian part. It’s candy, savoury and has a touch of 5 Spice Powder;
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Purple meals colouring – as mentioned above, that is used to stain the pork purple; and
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Honey – that is added to the marinade to show it right into a basting sauce. It makes the pork additional shiny and caramelised which is precisely what we would like!
I lastly managed to get a Chinese language barbecue store to inform me what minimize of meat they use. Pork scotch fillet!! Often known as Pork Neck, Pork Collar or Pork Neck Collar, this is a wonderful minimize of pork which is good for each fast cooking (equivalent to pan seared pork chops) and gradual cooking (equivalent to this Sluggish Roasted Brown Sugar Garlic Butter Pork).
Char Siu Pork can be terrific made with pork shoulder – I’d say simply nearly as good. Some folks prefer to make it with pork stomach however I discover it too fatty for my style.
I used to make use of pork tenderloin which is far leaner so that you do must be cautious about overcooking, while nonetheless reaching that caramelisation – prepare dinner occasions for this minimize are within the recipe notes.
Scotch fillet and shoulder are a lot simpler to prepare dinner with – they require longer prepare dinner time to make the meat juicy which suggests unbelievable caramelisation which is what we WANT!
That sight makes me weak within the knees, each. Single. Time. 😂
Char Siu is straightforward to make, it simply requires endurance to let the pork marinade to infuse with flavour and make the pork stained purple! Not less than 24 hours, however 48 hours is even higher.
Make sure to baste generously, slathering / dabbing the marinade on – it’s the important thing to get a extremely nice sticky floor!
As for how one can serve it, right here’s a really typical meal set served at Chinese language BBQ outlets: slices of pork over rice with a facet of steamed greens with sauce (this Steamed Chinese language Greens with Oyster Sauce is comparable), as pictured above. This can be a Chinese language BBQ Store takeout favorite – “BBQ Pork Lunch!”
Char Siu Pork can be utilized in a handful of Chinese language dishes, equivalent to
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Chinese language Steamed Pork Buns – massive fluffy white buns full of BBQ pork
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Singapore Noodles
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Fried Rice – Char Siu is usually in “particular fried rice” rather than Chinese language sausage or bacon
As well as, generally you see it as a protein choice for Chinese language Noodle Soup (slices of Char Siu are positioned on prime) and I’ve additionally seen it in Banh Mi (Vietnamese sandwich) – it’s AMAZING!!
This Char Siu Pork recipe makes rather a lot as a result of the usual dimension of pork scotch fillet roasts is round 1.2 – 1.5kg/2.4-3lb.
However you’ll thank me. Only one chunk, and also you’ll be thanking me profusely for making this a big-batch recipe. 😜 – Johnsat xx
Ingredients
- 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)
- 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
- 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).
- 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!
Notes
1. Soy Sauce – The light soy sauce adds a touch more salt to the marinade, the balance I like. But it’s fine to use all light soy sauce, or all ordinary soy sauce. Do not use dark soy sauce (flavour is too intense). More on different soy sauces here, and when you can substitute, when you can’t.
2. Chinese five spice powder (a mix of spices) – find it in the herb and spice section of supermarkets and it isn’t any more expensive than other spices, very common nowadays. You can substitute the Chinese five spice powder with 1 tbsp extra hoisin sauce BUT you should reduce the sugar to 1 tsp, otherwise it will be too sweet.
3. Oil – Or other neutral flavoured oil.
4. Red food colouring – to make the pork red, like you get at the Chinese barbecue shop. This is optional. Authentic Char Siu uses red bean curd for colouring and a touch of flavour – it can be found at Asian stores, use about 2 tbsp of the liquid and no red food colouring.
I use the marinade in this recipe more frequently than the authentic version because I can get all the ingredients at the supermarket and it has a slightly more intense flavour – makes up for absence of charcoal in this home version.
5. Pork – I used to make this with pork tenderloin (Note 6) but I’ve moved to scotch fillet roast (pictured in post) and pork shoulder because they are ideal for longer cooking to get amazing caramelisation and the pork is incredibly juicy inside. Scotch fillet is also known as Pork Neck, Pork Collar or Pork Neck Collar. This is what Chinese BBQ shops in Australia use.
Pork shoulder is also ideal – beautifully juicy. If using pork shoulder, using boneless, skinless and trim off most of the thick layer of fat on the surface. Then cut into long thin pieces, like pictured in post with the scotch fillet. The meat will buckle and twist more when cooked because the meat is more sinewy. Flavour is excellent!
Some people also make this using pork belly but I find that too oily for my taste for this particular recipe.
Cutting pork – doesn’t really matter which way you cut it, horizontal or straight down the middle (see in post for photos). If you have a thick piece of pork, cut in half horizontally to make two long, flat, thin pieces. If it’s not that thick, just cut it straight down the middle
6. PORK TENDERLOIN cooking directions (photo here of how it looks): Roast at 180C/350F for 25 minutes or until the internal temperature is 145 – 160F/ 65 – 70C. Around halfway through roasting, baste generously with the reserved Marinade. Sort of dab it on so you get as much Marinade on the pork as possible – this is key for getting the thick, glossy glaze. Then flick to broiler/grill on high and broil for a few minutes until surface is charred and glossy, basting once or twice.
7. Leftovers – I continue to eat it for days, but also freeze excess. Char Siu is also used in Singapore Noodles, Chinese Fried Rice (also see Egg Fried Rice) and is also terrific served on Chinese Noodle Soup.
8. Nutrition per serving assuming 6 servings. This is overstated because it doesn’t take into account the fat that is rendered out when cooking.
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