I can’t get enough of char siu. There is something about the stickiness and tenderness of the pork. I thought I would try my hand at making my own char sui.

I wouldn’t say this was an easy task. There are a lot of ingredients and time that is needed to make it. My aunt swears by the pre-made sauce but if you have all the stuff in your pantry, why not.

Begin by mixing all the ingredients for the marinade. You will need:

• 3 tbsp hoisin sauce
• 1 tbsp oyster sauce
• 5 tbsp honey
• 1 tbsp soy sauce
• 1/2 tbsp dark soy sauce
• 2 tbsp brown sugar
• 1 tsp Chinese five spice powder
• 1 tsp sesame oil
• 2 tbsp vegetable oil
• red food colouring

The next step is to prepare the pork. I do recommend having pork that is a bit on the fatty side. Pork shoulder or pork collar work the best but you can use pork tenderloin. You just won’t get the nice tender char sui. It will be a bit on the drier side. Cut the pork into long thin strips. This will help the pork marinade and get all the char sui flavourings.

Marinade the pork in the sauce for about 1-3 days. I left mine for 3 days and you get a wonderful dark crust. You can marinade for a minimum of 3 hours but it just won’t be the same. My tip is to put it in a ziplock bag and push out all the air. This way you don’t have to make sure the meat is in the sauce. I did flip the bag every day just to make sure I got every last corner covered.

After 3 days, the pork should have gotten nice and dark. Save the marinade. Preheat the oven to 320F degrees. Place the pork on a rack (if you have one) or just on an aluminum foil, like I did. Roast the pork for about 30 minutes.

On the stove top, take the leftover marinade and mix 2 tbsp extra honey to the sauce. This will be the basting sauce. Cook the basting sauce until it because thicker and sticky. You might not want to use all the marinade if you have a lot. you only need about 1/4 cup or even less.

When the basting sauce is ready, dab it over the char sui and roast for another 20 minutes. Flip and baste it again. Bake for about 10 minutes. The char sui should be nice and sticky. Rest for about 10 minutes before slicing it.

I like to make a lot of the char sui. Freezing the leftover is a perfect way to save some for using at a later time. Enjoy!!

Ingredients

• 2 pieces of pork shoulder or pork tenderloin or pork neck/collar
• 3 tbsp hoisin sauce
• 1 tbsp oyster sauce
• 5 tbsp honey
• 1 tbsp soy sauce
• 1/2 tbsp dark soy sauce
• 2 tbsp brown sugar
• 1 tsp Chinese five spice powder
• 1 tsp sesame oil
• 2 tbsp vegetable oil
• red food colouring

If you enjoyed this recipe, try out the other ones on our blog.