Oven Baked Char Siu Recipe {Chinese BBQ Pork} -Butter Your Biscuit (2024)

FAQs

Is char siu pork the same as BBQ pork? ›

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.

Pork is literally just “the meat of a pig” in the most general sense. Char siu is the anglicized rendering of the name of a Cantonese style of roasted pork (usually belly, back, loin, or neck), flavored with Chinese 5 spice and glazed with honey and red rice yeast that produces a rich, red color.

Char siu originally comes from Cantonese cuisine, and the word chā sīu 叉烧 literally means “fork roasted,” which is a nod to the traditional cooking method of skewering seasoned pork with long forks, and placing them in an oven or over a fire.

Char siu is barbecued roast pork, whereas siu yuk is roasted crispy pork belly. Not only do they use different parts of the pig — my dad likes to use pork butt for char siu and pork belly for siu yuk — but they're also prepared differently and have varying flavor profiles and textures.

An alternative version of the steamed char siu bao is a baked version. While the dough is very similar, the baked char siu bao is more similar to a baked bun with the same char siu filling. It is often coated with an egg and sugar wash before baking, resulting in a slightly sweeter, more bready char siu bao.

While different cuts of pork can be used to make char siu, from lean boneless pork loin to fattier cuts, those fatty cuts like pork shoulder/pork butt really are best suited to making a tasty Chinese BBQ pork char siu.

Char siu pork is probably most easily recognized by its vibrant red color & shiny glaze. Traditional recipes use red bean curd or ground red yeast powder in the marinade, giving the roasted pork a natural red hue. Red food coloring is often used as a quick shortcut in homemade versions, this recipe included.

Japanese cuisine

Unlike its Chinese variant, it is prepared by rolling the meat into a log and then braising it at a low temperature. The Japanese adaptation is typically seasoned with soy sauce, sake, mirin and sugar or other sweetener, without the red food colouring, nor five-spice powder.

The red hue on the pork comes from the sticky, crave-able barbecue sauce in which it's marinaded before roasting. Often, this deep crimson hue comes from a combination of Hoisin sauce, ketchup, soy sauce, and fermented red bean curd (aka fermented tofu, bean cheese, or tofu cheese).

This Char Siu Pork recipe from 2014 Masterchef winner Ping Coombes is a Chinatown favourite. Traditionally, this dish would be served up sliced over rice with a side of steamed greens, but you can also serve with noodles or in steamed buns.

What is char siu seasoning? ›

Char Siu Ingredients

The wonderfully sweet and savory flavor of this Chinese dish comes from a unique blend of pantry ingredients. Soy sauce, honey, ketchup, and brown sugar create the base of the luscious marinade, while hoisin sauce and red bean curd add depth.

No they are not the same. Hoisin sauce is made from fermented soybeans mixed with garlic, chilli, sesame, Chinese spices and vinegar. Char siu sauce is a condiment made from hoisin sauce, sugar, Chinese five spice powder, Chinese cooking wine, soy sauce, garlic and often also food colouring.

Char Siu is essentially a type of Cantonese Roast Meat. For the best Char Siu Pork, we recommend using a good quality Pork Loin, and ideally leaving it to marinate overnight in our Char Siu Sauce, so the meat can take in all those rich, sweet bbq flavours.

Char Siu pork is a versatile base product. It's used in other dishes, e.g. finely diced in fried rice, as filling in Char Siu Bao 叉燒包 (white steamed rolls), stir-fries, and also served plain, warm or cold, cut into thin slices alongside some vegetables on rice.

Char siu doesn't refer to a sauce particularly, but the final product after this "Chinese barbecue sauce" is applied to pork that is hung onto fork skewers and roasted.

Pork butt is an ideal choice for barbecue pulled pork, but it also lends itself to braising and stewing, which tenderizes the meat and melts the fat. Use pork butt in any recipe where you're looking for fall-apart-tender meat and a rich, porky flavor, such as pulled pork, carnitas or stew.

The name 'char siu' literally means 'fork roasted' after the traditional cooking method, where long thin pieces of the marinated meat are threaded onto special forks or skewers, then slow-cooked in a covered oven or over fire. Fatty, boneless cuts of pork are best – loin, belly, shoulder and neck, for example.

Char siu, called yakibuta in Japanese (in Japan it's called by both names チャーシュー or 焼豚）is used in many everyday dishes. It is very rich, so it's usually used in small quantities, not eaten as a hunk o' meat. Here are just a few ways you can use it: top off a bowl of ramen with one or two thin slices.