Homemade Char Siu (Chinese BBQ Pork)

Char Siu or Chinese BBQ Pork is one of the best Cantonese-style bbq meats, and one I love to make at home! After multiple rounds of testing, I finally perfected the best, most accessible version of this recipe. In this blog post, get all the tips and tricks you’ll need including how to make the pork red, how to prevent the meat from becoming too dry, and how to maximize the flavor.

One of the restaurants I grew up going to was Sam Woo in the San Fernando Valley. Not only is the food affordable, it also has the best Chinese BBQ in the world. I’ve been to Hong Kong, NYC, and various other places and this place is still the best. When I’m there, I always get either the crispy roast pork or the char siu (Chinese bbq pork or pork made with char siu sauce). You can’t go wrong with either. Nowadays, I don’t live very close to this place, so I knew I had to take matters into my own hands and make them at home. This simple char siu recipe is the first of many Chinese bbq recipes I will be making going forward. Look out for other char siu recipes using this amazing char siu sauce including char siu chicken and char siu pork ribs!

How I developed my Char Siu recipe

I tested this Chinese pork recipe 3 times, mostly testing the marinade and the cooking method. I first put together a marinade that utilized five spice powder, soy sauce, hoison sauce, honey, light brown sugar, garlic, Shaoxing wine, and a few other ingredients. My first pork shoulder came out pretty good. I passed along some to my mom, and she said that it needed more soy sauce and honey, so I added a little more of both.

With my second test, I tested my new marinade and cooking method. In my first test, I forgot to the score the meat with a fork which is probably what led to it lacking some flavor. Thankfully, I remembered the fork method in my second test. I also reserved some of the marinade for basting instead of using the leftover marinade after the meat has been sitting in it. My second test was a success flavor-wise. It was just so good! The only issue I had was the reserved marinade ran out halfway through the cooking process, so I just decided to go back to my original method. And it worked perfectly in my third test.

Why I chose to use red food coloring

Traditionally, Char Siu is made red with goji (red yeasted rice) or fermented red bean curd. In more modern recipes, people usually just use red food coloring since it’s more accessible. This is what I chose to use since it’s just so much easier than using and acquiring the other ingredients.

Some details about key ingredients

• Pork shoulder – Traditionally, this char siu pork is made with pork shoulder. Technically, you can use any cut of pork you want, but the results won’t be the same. I found through testing that the fat content of pork shoulder results in juicier char siu. A good substitute for pork shoulder is pork butt which has similar fat content.
• Sesame oil – Adds more flavor to the marinade. This ingredient is not always used, but in testing this recipe, I found that sesame oil is a great addition of flavor. It gives the marinade that extra flavor boost. If you can’t find sesame oil, it doesn’t need to be included, but I would highly recommend it if you can.
• Honey – Honey is what makes this dish sweet and sticky. Honey is used in the marinade and in the basting sauce. It adds sweetness to the pork, and helps it brown on the outside. I actually found that the amount of honey enhances the flavor of the pork immensely. As mentioned while testing, my mom recommended I use more honey to improve the flavor of the pork after she tasted a test batch.
• Red food coloring – This is how I add the red color to the pork. I use it in the marinade and in the basting sauce. Traditionally, goji berries or fermented red bean curd is used. Feel free to use those options if you want a more natural option. Personally, I’d choose the fermented red bean curd because it’ll be easier to use.
• Water – The additional of hot water to the baking sheet creates steam in the oven, preventing the pork from getting too dry. During one of my tests, I forgot to add water to the pan which resulted in a much dryer pork.

How to make char siu at home

You can get the simplified version of the recipe in the recipe card. The below instructions are a more detailed guide on how to make Char Siu including tips and tricks to get consistent results.

Step 1: Marinate the pork

1. First, cut 3 pounds of pork shoulder into 1 inch thick pieces.
   • The thinner the pork, the better the pork will absorb the marinade. I find 1 inch thick pieces to have the best flavor. Thicker pieces will absorb less marinade and take longer to cook.
2. Score with a fork to help the marinade penetrate the meat. (Poke shallow holes in the meat.) Place the pork shoulder in a large Ziploc bag.
   • Scoring allows the marinade to better penetrate the meat, creating a better flavor. This can be done with a small knife as well.
3. Combine 1/4 cup of light brown sugar, 1 tsp of five spice powder, 1 tbsp of salt, 1/2 tsp of sesame oil, 1 tbsp of Shaoxing wine, 2 tbsp of soy sauce, 1 tbsp of hoison sauce, 3 tbsp of honey, 2 drops of red food coloring, and 3 cloves of minced garlic in a bowl. Mix together. 
4. Pour the marinade into the Ziploc bag. Close the bag and marinate for 6 hours or overnight in the fridge. I recommend overnight for the best flavor. Make sure the pork shoulder is coated with the marinade.
   • I would not recommend going over 24 hours because the marinade will start to break down the meat which will result in a mushier texture.

Step 2: Bake the pork

1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F (218 degrees C). Cover a baking sheet with aluminum foil and then top with a baking rack. Place the pork on top of the baking rack. (Reserve the marinade for later.)
2. Pour 1/4 cup of water onto the baking sheet. Bake for 15 minutes. Brush both sides of the pork with the reserved marinade and bake for another 15 minutes.
   • The water creates steam in the oven which prevents the pork from going dry.
3. Brush again with the reserved marinade and bake for 10 minutes. Increase the oven temperature to 450 degrees F (232 degrees C).
   • Make sure the oven reaches 450 degrees F before putting the pork back in the oven. The higher oven temperature helps create that nice char on the outside. I forgot to do this one time, and the outside of my pork did not get that nice char.
4. Mix together 3 tbsp of honey, 3 tsp of water, and 1 drop of red food coloring.  Brush both sides of the pork with the honey water mixture. Bake for 5 minutes.
5. Take the pork out and brush with the honey water mixture one last time. Cool for 5 minutes before cutting into the pork.
   • When meat cooks, it tenses up, so cutting into it right away will cause all the juices to release all at once, leaving your meat dry. Allowing the meat to rest allows that liquid to redistribute through the meat, and allows it to retain it better.

How do you eat Char Siu?

This dish is typically eaten with white rice (learn how to properly cook rice with my rice cooking guide) and some sort of Chinese vegetable like sautéed Chinese broccoli. Personally, I like to eat it with rice and raw cucumbers. It can also be used as an ingredient in dishes like Hu Tieu Kho, Hu Tieu My Tho, or Char Siu Bao. My mom likes to saute Char Siu with pickled mustard greens and tomatoes to create a super yummy dish (recipe for that is in the blog post for my mustard greens recipe).

Did you make this dish?

If you made this dish, I would love to see!

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