One of my must-haves at Chinese restaurants is Char Siu, also known as Chinese Barbecued Pork. Appealingly red in colour with slightly charred edges and a promisingly sweet glaze over their entire exterior, Char Siu possesses a rich, meaty flavour that just begs to be savoured.
The key to excellent Char Siu lies in the marinade used. A mixture of honey/sugar, shallot juice, dark soy sauce and five-spice powder, among other ingredients, the marinade is slathered generously onto the pork meat and left for a few hours to allow them to penetrate deep into the meat and impart their beautiful flavours into the pork. The red and pink tinges on the meat is actually due to a small amount of food colouring used, but if you do not want them in your cooking, you can try substituting them with some beet root powder. The cut of meat used is also important when it comes to this dish. Choose cuts with fats such as pork shoulder or pork belly as their fat content help to keep the meat moist and juicy while they are roasting, allowing them to obtain a tender texture. Lean cuts don’t go too well with this style of cooking-they result in dry and rather unappetising strips of meat.
The rich, brown colour of the barbecued meat is a result of the Maillard reaction. This is a chemical reaction occurring between sugar and protein, and it is similar to caramelisation. It occurs at about 170°C onwards, where the sugar starts to melt and turns brown. This intensifies the meaty flavours in the pork meat, converting them into something very rich in flavour, especially the surface. When the meat is cooked, the outside of the meat reaches a higher temperature than the insides, triggering the Maillard reaction. This is why the strongest flavours lies on the surface of the meat.
Char Siu is usually served as a side dish along with some steamed rice or noodles. But if you wish to do justice to the exceptional flavours this dish possesses, I suggest you serve them as a main dish. One that no one will be able to resist, no doubt.
Preparation time: 20 minutes + 6 hour marinading time
Cooking time: 1 1/2 hour
Serves 6-8 people
2 strips of pork belly (about 1 inch wide), skin of pork removed
2 tablespoon cooking wine
2 tablespoon honey
2 tablespoon brown sugar
2 tablespoon thick, dark soy sauce
15 shallots, minced and juiced, pulp discarded
1. Mix together honey, brown sugar, dark soy sauce, and pork belly together in a large zip lock bag. Marinade overnight or for 6 hours
2. Preheat oven to 260 degrees Celcius for 20 minutes
3. Meanwhile, set an elevated wire rack on a baking tray. Lay pieces of marinaded pork belly on the rack, leaving the marinade for use later.
4. Put pork in the middle of the oven and lower temperature to 120 degrees Celcius. Roast for 1 hour
5. Remove pork from oven and brush pork thoroughly with the extra marinade before putting it back into the oven
6. Roast for further 30 minutes at 180 degrees Celcius
7. Remove from oven and let pork stand for 30-40 minutes before slicing it
8. Slice and serve with rice, noodles or as finger food
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