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Char Siu
Cantonese barbecue pork, lacquered in honey and maltose
Marbled pork strips under a glassy honey-maltose lacquer, roasted to deep mahogany with sticky, charred tips and sliced thin to a rosy interior ringed in caramel.
Per serving ≈ 408 cal · 30g protein · 24g fat · 18g carbs
The strips hanging red-gold in every Chinatown window, sold by the pound off a cleaver. I cook it for the crowd nights when people wander through the kitchen and pick at the cutting board before I've finished slicing — the charred, sticky ends never make it to the plate. It rewards patience at the marinade and vigilance at the fire.
Cooking around dairy, gluten, wine, meat…? tap to adjust
The Tools
- Sharp chef's knife + board
- Large mixing bowl or zip bag (marinate)
- Small whisk or fork
- Small saucepan (warm the lacquer)
- Pastry brush (basting)
- Rimmed sheet pan + wire rack (water in the pan catches drips)
- Instant-read thermometer (optional)
- Aluminum foil
- Metal tongs
✚ ends up in the sink · essentials unless marked optional
The Pork & Marinade
Why this works Char siu lives or dies on the cut. Pull well-marbled shoulder or butt — the ribbons of intramuscular fat baste the meat from inside and keep the strips juicy through a hot roast. Lean cuts (loin, tenderloin) go dry and stringy and no amount of glaze rescues them. Slicing into long strips 1.5–2 inches thick maximizes surface for char while keeping enough mass to stay moist. The marinade is a balance act: hoisin and bean curd for savory-funky depth, honey and sugar for sweet, five-spice for fragrance, Shaoxing for roundness, garlic and ginger for lift. PORK SAFETY: cook whole-muscle pork to at least 145°F, but shoulder eats best pulled at 160–165°F, where the collagen and fat have softened — carryover and the sugary crust make this the target here, not a compromise. FOOD SAFETY: marinate in the refrigerator, never on the counter; discard any marinade the raw pork sat in unless you boil it hard first.
- 2.5 lb (1130g), cut into strips 1.5–2" thick Pork shoulder or butt, well-marbled 1130 g — Boneless; leave the fat on. Marbled beats lean every time.
- 1/4 cup (60g) Hoisin sauce — The backbone of the sauce — sweet, savory, faintly five-spiced.
- 2 tbsp (30ml) Light soy sauce
- 1 cube (~15g) plus 1 tsp of its brine, mashed Fermented red bean curd (nam yu) 15 g — Optional but classic — adds savory funk and the traditional red tint.
- 2 tbsp (42g) Honey 42 g — Sweetness plus browning sugars for the marinade phase.
- 2 tbsp (25g) Granulated or brown sugar 25 g
- 2 tbsp (30ml) Shaoxing wine — Chinese rice wine — nutty, faintly sweet, rounds the marinade.
- 2 tsp (10ml) Toasted sesame oil
- 3 cloves, grated Garlic
- 1 tbsp, grated Fresh ginger
- 1/2 tsp Chinese five-spice
- 1/4 tsp White pepper
- 1/2 tsp Kosher salt
- 2–3 drops, optional Red food coloring or a pinch of red yeast rice powder — The window-display red. Purely cosmetic — the flavor is identical without it.
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Cut the strips 12 min hands-on
Trim any silverskin but leave the fat. Cut the shoulder with the grain into long strips 1.5–2 inches thick, so each strip has visible marbling running through it.
Look for Even strips, each showing streaks of fat — uniform thickness cooks evenly.
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Build the marinade 8 min hands-on
Whisk hoisin, soy, mashed bean curd, honey, sugar, Shaoxing, sesame oil, garlic, ginger, five-spice, white pepper, salt, and optional color in a bowl until smooth.
Look for Glossy, pourable, deep russet — thick enough to coat a spoon.
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Marinate 5 min hands-on · 8 h wait
Reserve 3 tablespoons of marinade in the fridge for the lacquer (keep it away from the raw pork). Coat the pork in the rest, bag or cover, and refrigerate 8–24 hours, turning once.
Look for Pork stained deep red-brown throughout after resting.
When it goes wrong
| Problem | Cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| Meat dry and stringy after roasting | Lean cut, or strips cut too thin | Use marbled shoulder/butt, cut 1.5–2" thick; nothing rescues a lean cut here |
| Flavor shallow | Marinated too briefly | Give it a full 12–24 hours; the funk and fragrance need time to penetrate |
| Marinade too thin to cling | Watery hoisin or too much wine | Whisk in 1 more tsp honey and a spoon of hoisin to rebuild body |
Honey-Maltose Lacquer
Why this works The glossy, glassy sheen that separates char siu from ordinary roast pork is maltose — a thick, taffy-like malt sugar that coats in a way honey alone cannot and browns to a deep mahogany lacquer. It is stiff and stubborn cold; warming it with honey and a splash of the reserved marinade loosens it into a brushable syrup. Painting it on in thin coats between blasts of heat builds the layered, sticky, semi-translucent surface. FOOD SAFETY: because the reserved marinade touched no raw pork, it is safe to build the lacquer with; never repurpose the marinade the pork sat in unless you boil it hard for a full minute first.
- 3 tbsp (60g) Maltose 60 g — The signature. Scoop with an oiled spoon — it clings to everything.
- 2 tbsp (42g) Honey 42 g — Loosens the maltose and adds its own browning.
- 3 tbsp (from the marinade component) Reserved marinade — Carries hoisin/soy/wheat — covered by that component's substitutions.
- 1–2 tsp, as needed to thin Hot water
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Warm and loosen 5 min hands-on
Combine maltose, honey, and reserved marinade in a small saucepan over low heat. Stir until the maltose fully dissolves and the mix is smooth and pourable, thinning with a few drops of hot water if it stays stiff.
Look for Uniform, glossy syrup that ribbons off the spoon — no undissolved lumps of maltose.
Take care Kept over heat too long it seizes into candy. Warm it just to fluid, then pull it off the burner.
When it goes wrong
| Problem | Cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| Maltose won't dissolve | Heat too low or mix too dry | Add 1 tsp hot water and keep stirring over gentle heat |
| Lacquer hardens on the brush | It cooled and set | Set the saucepan over the lowest heat or a bowl of hot water to keep it fluid while you baste |
Roasting & Lacquering
Why this works Char siu is roasted hot and finished under a broiler blast so the sugars caramelize and the edges char without drying the interior. Water poured into the sheet pan under the rack does two jobs: it catches the sugary drips before they scorch into acrid smoke, and it keeps the oven air humid so the surface doesn't set too fast. The lacquer goes on in thin coats, each one flashed under heat until it grips and darkens, building the glossy, sticky, blackened-at-the-tips crust. The last minutes under the broiler are where the dish is won or lost — sugar goes from mahogany to acrid in seconds, so you stand at the door and watch. Rest before slicing so the juices redistribute, then cut ACROSS the grain into thin slices for tenderness; slicing with the grain gives you chewy ropes.
- all, from the first component Marinated pork strips
- all, warm and fluid Honey-maltose lacquer
- 1 tsp, to oil the rack Neutral oil
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Preheat with steam 5 min hands-on · 15 min wait
Set an oven rack in the upper-middle position and heat the oven to 425°F. Line a rimmed sheet pan with foil, set an oiled wire rack over it, and pour about a cup of hot water into the pan under the rack.
Take care Sugary drips on a dry pan scorch and smoke out the kitchen. Keep a shallow layer of water under the rack for the whole roast — top it up when you flip. -
First roast 3 min hands-on · 20 min wait
Lift the strips from the marinade, letting excess drip off, and lay them on the rack with space between. Roast 20 minutes.
Look for Surface set and matte, edges beginning to color.
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Flip and baste 3 min hands-on · 15 min wait
Turn each strip, brush the up-facing side generously with the warm lacquer, and roast 15 minutes more.
Look for Glaze darkening and starting to tighten into a sheen.
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Lacquer under the broiler 8 min hands-on · 8 min wait
Switch to broil. Brush a thin coat of lacquer, broil 2–3 minutes until it bubbles and darkens, then pull, flip, brush again, and repeat — two to three rounds per side until the edges char and the surface is glossy and sticky.
Look for Deep mahogany with blackened, caramelized tips — glassy sheen, not wet.
Take care Sugar burns from browned to bitter-black in seconds under a broiler. Stand at the oven and watch every round; if a spot races ahead, pull the pan immediately, turn that piece away from the element, and finish it on residual heat. Do not walk away. -
Check temperature 1 min hands-on
Probe the thickest strip. Pull the pork at 160–165°F.
Look for Juices run clear-amber, not pink.
Take care PORK SAFETY: 145°F is the safe minimum for whole-muscle pork, but 160–165°F is the target here — below it the shoulder's fat and collagen stay tough. Under 155°F, finish in a 375°F oven, not under the broiler — more broiler time burns the lacquer before the center catches up. -
Rest, then slice across the grain 5 min hands-on · 10 min wait
Rest the strips 10 minutes, tented loosely with foil. Slice thin across the grain on a slight bias.
Look for Rosy-brown interior ringed by a lacquered, charred edge; slices hold together but pull apart tender.
When it goes wrong
| Problem | Cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| Glaze charred bitter before the meat cooked through | Broiler too close or unattended | Lower the rack a notch, shorten each broil round, and lacquer only in the final passes — the interior should be nearly done before the sugar goes on hard |
| Surface pale and wet, no lacquer | Not enough heat, or too few glaze coats | Commit to the broiler and add another coat or two; each thin layer must flash and grip before the next |
| Meat cooked but tough | Sliced with the grain, or lean cut | Always slice across the grain; use marbled shoulder next time |
To the Table
Fan the sliced pork across warm rice or under steamed greens, charred edges up.
Spoon any lacquer left in the pan over the slices for extra gloss.
Scatter thin scallion or a few sesame seeds if you like; serve while the edges are still sticky-warm.
For the Cook Who Wants More
The Honest Ledger
| Serves | 6 |
|---|---|
| Shopping | 55 min |
| Hands-on (new to this) | 1 h 28 min |
| Hands-on (comfortable) | 1 h 9 min |
| Hands-on (experienced) | 55 min |
| Waiting (same for everyone) | 9 h 8 min |
| True total | 10 h 58 min |
| You will dirty | 7 dishes |
Fatty cut carrying a sweet glaze — the marbling is the point, not a flaw to trim. Most of the marinade sugar is discarded or burned off at the surface; the lacquer is where the carbs land. Serve it sliced thin over rice or greens so one portion of pork feeds the table.
Words We Used
- Char siu
- Cantonese barbecue pork: marbled pork strips marinated in a sweet-savory sauce and roasted with a honey-maltose lacquer until the edges char. Literally 'fork-roast,' for the way it was traditionally skewered over fire.
- Maltose
- A thick, taffy-like malt sugar that gives char siu its signature glassy, deep-browning lacquer — stickier and less sweet than honey, and stubbornly stiff until warmed. Traditionally drawn from malted barley, so it carries gluten; rice- and corn-based versions exist — check the label.
- Hoisin
- A thick, sweet-savory Chinese sauce built on fermented soybeans (with wheat), five-spice, garlic, and sugar — the backbone of the char siu marinade.
- Shaoxing wine
- Amber Chinese rice wine from Shaoxing, nutty and faintly sweet, used to round and deepen marinades and braises. Carries alcohol.
- Fermented bean curd (nam yu)
- Cubes of tofu fermented in brine; the red 'nam yu' version is tinted and flavored with red yeast rice, lending savory funk and color. Soy-based.
- Five-spice
- Chinese spice blend — typically star anise, cloves, cinnamon, Sichuan pepper, and fennel — warm, sweet, and aromatic.