Char siu or barbecue pork, the sweet/savoury strips of marinated pork, have long been associated with red food colouring and Bain Marie’s at Chinese restaurants. The real deal, however, is beloved by many as a homely childhood favourite, adorning the tops of many other classic Chinese dishes still. If you’ve been dreaming about making those glossy strips of pork hanging at Chinese barbecue shops at home, you’ve come to the right place!
Here are five key tips on how to make the best barbecue pork at home.
1. It's all about the surface area
Source: Remko Tanis/via Flickr
If you marinade too much, don't worry. Leftovers are great in . Just chop up the leftover pork into a fine dice - you'll have the perfect sauce to meat ratio. Yum!
BAO NOW
Steamed barbecued pork buns
2. Booze it up
随着经济增长，中国酒精消费也连年增高。 Source: Getty Images/Ivan
The rice wine really shines especially when the marinade is also used as a sauce, like in this recipe for . Fluffy buns sandwiching luscious pork drizzled in a glossy sauce. What’s not to love?
GET IN MY BELLY
Barbecue pork belly steamed buns (bao)
3. Sugar is not just a glaze
It might be tempting to lower the sugar amounts in a char siu pork recipe. However, both sugar and salt are essential to help the marinade penetrate the meat, and for that sticky glazed finish, resulting in a melt-in-your-mouth tender bite filled with flavour.
If you’re less of a fan of the sweet taste, the best way to enjoy your char siu is in something like a , where the sticky glazed coating on the pork is tempered by the hot soup, letting you enjoy all the tenderness of the pork, without the extra sweetness.
SOUP IT UP
Hawaiian noodle soup (saimin)
4. Fat is flavour
Whether you choose to use pork belly or neck, be sure to tell your butcher to pick you pieces of pork that have a good amount of fat on them. This helps protect the lean protein, and renders slightly as it roasts, giving you a luscious finish and better eating experience.
You can see this come into play with the char siu’ s , where pork belly is rolled and braised, before being thinly sliced into meltingly rich and tender pieces.
ROAST ON LOW
Five spice roast pork belly
5. Low and slow is the way to go
Char siu pork Source: Benito Martin
This means that your tender and delicate pork can also be used in the second round of flash cooking, like in fried rice. Just be sure to only leave the pork cooking for long enough to warm up and impart flavour, and you’ll have the best of both worlds!
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