Kasia Polish Mom
Polish-born, Chicago-raised, feeding a family of six with babcia’s recipes and a global pantry. I grew up folding pierogi at my grandmother’s kitchen table and never stopped — 15+ years of cooking from scratch, one Sunday dinner at a time. Everything here is tested on four kids, a hungry husband, and the memory of a woman who never measured anything but always got it right.
Char Siu Pork — The Chinese BBQ That Rivals Any Smokehouse
The first time I made char siu, my neighbor knocked on the door and asked what smelled so good. I gave him a piece. We are now friends. Char siu — Chinese barbecue pork — has this power. The smell alone, as it roasts in the oven: sweet, caramelized, slightly smoky from the honey glaze, deeply savory from the soy and five spice. Neighbors will knock. It is not a theory.
Char siu (lit. “fork roast” in Cantonese) is the iconic Cantonese BBQ pork found hanging in the windows of Chinese BBQ shops worldwide. The characteristic red-lacquered appearance comes from the marinade and glaze — red fermented tofu, soy sauce, honey, and five spice — which caramelizes during roasting into a sticky, lacquered crust that is simultaneously sweet, savory, and complex. The interior is juicy and tender. The exterior is caramelized and slightly chewy. It is one of the great eating experiences in Chinese cuisine.
This recipe needs no special equipment beyond a standard oven. The result rivals any Chinese BBQ shop and the smell during cooking has now produced two neighbor-friendships in my building. I consider this a side benefit of good cooking and I encourage you to share accordingly.
The Char Siu Glaze
The glaze is applied in multiple thin coats during roasting rather than all at once. Each application caramelizes in the oven and builds up the characteristic lacquered coating. Three or four basting applications — at the beginning, midway, and near the end of cooking — produce the glossy, deeply caramelized crust that is the visual signature of good char siu. A single coat at the beginning produces a flat, less developed result.
Ingredients
For the Char Siu Pork
- 1 kg (2.2 lbs) pork shoulder, cut into strips 5cm wide and 3–4cm thick
For the Char Siu Marinade and Glaze
- 4 tbsp honey
- 3 tbsp soy sauce
- 2 tbsp hoisin sauce
- 1 tbsp Shaoxing rice wine
- 1 tbsp sesame oil
- 1 tbsp Chinese five spice powder
- 2 tbsp red fermented tofu (nam yu) — optional but authentic, provides color and depth
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tsp white pepper
- Red food coloring or extra red fermented tofu for the characteristic color (optional)
How to Make It
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1Marinate the Pork
Combine all marinade ingredients and mix well. Add the pork strips and coat thoroughly. Marinate for a minimum of 4 hours, ideally overnight in the refrigerator. Longer marination produces deeper flavor penetration and a better glaze. Before roasting, let the pork come to room temperature for 30 minutes and reserve the marinade for basting.
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2Set Up for Roasting
Preheat the oven to 220°C (430°F). Line a baking tray with foil and place a wire rack over it. Place the marinated pork strips on the rack. The rack allows heat circulation around the pork and the foil-lined tray catches the dripping glaze, making cleanup much easier. Put a pan of water in the bottom of the oven to add humidity — this prevents the exterior from drying out before the glaze caramelizes.
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3Roast and Baste
Roast at 220°C for 10 minutes. Reduce to 180°C. Baste with reserved marinade (add 2 tablespoons of honey to the reserved marinade for the glaze). Roast 15 minutes more, baste, roast 10 more minutes, baste. Total roasting time is approximately 35–40 minutes. The pork should be deeply caramelized and slightly charred at the edges — this char is correct and desirable, not a mistake.
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4Final Glaze and Rest
In the last 5 minutes, brush one final coat of the honey-marinade glaze and increase oven temperature to 240°C for a final caramelization blast. Watch carefully — the high sugar content means it can burn quickly at this point. Remove when the surface is deeply lacquered. Rest 5–10 minutes before slicing. Slice against the grain into 5mm pieces for serving.
Char Siu Tips
Overnight marination is not optional if you want the real thing. The longer the pork marinates, the more flavor penetrates the meat and the better the finished color of the glaze. 4 hours is the minimum. Overnight is what the BBQ shops do. Weekend char siu means marinating Friday night.
Pork shoulder, not pork loin. Pork shoulder has enough fat and connective tissue to stay moist through the high-heat roasting. Pork loin (which is leaner) dries out and produces a tough, stringy result. Char siu with pork loin is a common mistake. Shoulder is the traditional and correct cut.
The char is the goal. Slightly caramelized, slightly charred edges on char siu are correct and desired — this is what Chinese BBQ shops produce. Pulling the pork before it achieves this level of caramelization produces a less complex, less authentic result. Trust the process and let it get a little dark at the edges.
Let it rest before slicing. Five to ten minutes of resting after roasting allows the juices to redistribute. Sliced immediately, the juices run out and the pork is drier. Rested and sliced, the pork retains its moisture and the slices are juicy.
Serving Char Siu Pork
Sliced thin over steamed rice with the pan drippings as sauce. Also excellent in fried rice (the best fried rice ingredient), stuffed into lo mein, or in wonton soup. Char siu bao (BBQ pork buns) are made by enclosing finely chopped char siu in a soft, steamed bun dough — a dim sum classic. If you make char siu, make slightly extra specifically for fried rice. You will understand why immediately.
Variations Worth Trying
Char siu ribs. Apply the same marinade to spare ribs or baby back ribs and roast using the same technique. The caramelized glaze on ribs is extraordinary. Adjust cooking time to 50–60 minutes total, basting throughout, for ribs.
Char siu chicken. Bone-in chicken thighs marinated and roasted with the same glaze produce an excellent Chinese BBQ chicken. Less traditional but genuinely delicious and faster than pork shoulder since chicken thighs cook in 25–30 minutes at the same temperature.
Storage
Sliced char siu keeps in the refrigerator for 4–5 days and freezes very well for up to 3 months. Reheat in a hot oven (200°C) for 5–8 minutes or briefly in a skillet to restore the caramelized surface. Cold char siu directly from the refrigerator on plain rice is also an excellent snack and I consider this one of the better things in life.
FAQ
What is red fermented tofu and where do I find it?
Nam yu (red fermented tofu) is firm tofu that has been preserved in rice wine, spices, and red yeast rice, giving it a brick-red color, pungent fermented flavor, and the characteristic pink-red color it imparts to char siu. Find it in jars at any Asian grocery store — it is inexpensive and lasts refrigerated for months. If unavailable, skip it and add an extra tablespoon of hoisin sauce. The color will be less characteristic but the flavor will still be excellent.
Why is char siu red?
In authentic Chinese BBQ shops, the red color comes from red fermented tofu and, traditionally, from a small amount of red food coloring added to the marinade. The food coloring is optional but produces the iconic appearance. At home, the red fermented tofu provides color and the high-heat caramelization develops a natural mahogany-red glaze. The result is less neon-red than BBQ shop versions but more complex in color.
Kasia Polish Mom
Polish-born, Chicago-raised, feeding a family of six with babcia’s recipes and a global pantry. I grew up folding pierogi at my grandmother’s kitchen table and never stopped — 15+ years of cooking from scratch, one Sunday dinner at a time. Everything here is tested on four kids, a hungry husband, and the memory of a woman who never measured anything but always got it right.
