Tender roasted pork marinated in a sweet and savory five spice sauce and topped with a sweet soy glaze. The easiest, better-than-takeout recipe you'll ever need.
Chinese barbecue roast pork, also known as "char siu" has always been a staple of mine growing up. My mom would marinate pork overnight using this renowned spice package and added some extra sauces and spices to make the most flavorful pork ever and we used to gobble it up with rice and greens.
While using the spice package is convenient as it contains all of the necessary flavoring to achieve the iconic roast pork in Chinese restaurants (color as well), this recipe still achieves the same flavor, only without the artificial red coloring.
Ingredients
2 lbs of boneless pork shoulder, cut into long thick strips (about 3 in wide)
Select a piece with some fat on it
Marinade:
2 tbsp light soy sauce
2 tbsp oyster sauce
2 tbsp brown sugar
1 tbsp dark soy sauce
1 tbsp honey
1 tbsp shaoxing wine
1 tsp five spice powder
1 tsp white pepper powder
1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1/2 tsp kosher salt
4 cloves garlic, minced
Barbecue sauce:
1 1/2 tbsp hoisin sauce
1 tbsp honey
1 tsp soy sauce
1 tsp sesame oil
Visual Instructions
Prepare marinade and trim off any excess fat from the pork. Optional: Slice the pork into long, thin strips if you prefer to have smaller cuts of roasted pork.
In a small bowl, mix salt, peppers, brown sugar and Chinese five spice powder. Combine with soy sauces, oyster sauce, honey, shaoxing wine and minced garlic to make the marinade.
*Optional: add a few drops of red food coloring to the marinade for the signature red roast pork as seen in restaurants.
Coat the pork evenly and generously and cover to marinate pork for a minimum of 6 hours or overnight in the fridge.
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees, line a baking sheet with foil and place a wire baking rack on top. Lightly coat the baking rack with oil to avoid sticking and pour a cup of water on the sheet to keep the marinade drippings from burning in the oven. Place the pork on the rack and roast in the preheated oven while you prepare the glaze by combining hoisin sauce, honey, soy sauce and sesame oil.
Roast for 20 mins then turn the pork over, glaze with sauce and continue roasting for another 15 mins. Flip the pork over again, glaze and roast for another 15 mins. If the bottom of the pan runs dry at any time, add more water to prevent burning.
After the final 15 mins of roasting, take the pork out and rest for 10 mins to retain all of the juices in the meat before cutting. The pork should be glistening from all of the carmelized sugar in the sauce.
Once the pork has rested for about 10 mins, slice into thin strips and serve with white rice and steamed bok choy, fried rice or banh mi. Enjoy!
Directions
In a small bowl, mix salt, pepper, brown sugar, and Chinese five spice powder. Combine with soy sauce, oyster sauce, hoisin sauce, sesame oil, honey, shaoxing wine and minced garlic to make the marinade.
Coat the pork evenly and generously then cover to marinate pork for a minimum of 6 hours or overnight in the fridge.
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees, line a baking sheet with foil and place a wire baking rack on top. Coat the baking rack with oil to avoid sticking and pour a half cup of water on the sheet to keep the marinade drippings from burning in the oven. Place the pork on the rack and roast in the preheated oven.
Make the barbecue sauce glaze for the pork by combining hoisin sauce, honey, soy sauce and sesame oil.
Roast for 20 mins then turn the pork over, glaze with sauce and continue roasting for another 15 mins. Flip the pork over again, glaze and roast for another 15 mins. If the bottom of the pan runs dry at any time, add more water to prevent burning.
After the final 15 mins of roasting, take the pork out and rest to retain all of the juices in the meat before cutting. The pork should be glistening from all of the carmelized sugar in the sauce.
Once the pork has rested for about 10 mins, slice into thin strips and serve with white rice and steamed bok choy, fried rice or banh mi.