Char siu
叉烧
Cantonese roast pork, red-edged, sticky — the barbecue that is not American barbecue.
Recipe by I Want Some Food · Reviewed by the editorial kitchen. Native name preserved: 叉烧.
0 people cooked this in the public kitchen yet. Kitchen-tested by I Want Some Food. Not a purchased rating.
- Prep
- 15 min
- Cook
- 45 min
- Rest
- 8 hr
- Total
- 9 hr
- Difficulty
- Medium
- Spice
- No chilli
- Cost
- Weeknight budget$8–16 USD · indicative, not a store price
About
Char siu is pork (usually shoulder or collar) marinated in hoisin, soy, five-spice, honey and a little food-red if you want the shop look, then roasted until the edges catch and the sugar lacquer sets. This home version uses an oven and a couple of bastes. It should be sweet-savoury and a bit charred, not a ham steak in ketchup. Pork shoulder or collar, marinated in hoisin, soy, five-spice, honey or maltose, and a little food-red if you want the shop look. Roast on a rack so the edges catch, basting once or twice until the lacquer sets. Rest, then slice. It should be sweet-savoury and a bit charred, not a ham steak in ketchup. An oven will not be a siu mei box. It will still feed rice, noodles, or a bun the next day.
Ingredients
- Pork, shoulder or collar, in 2 long pieces800 g
- Soy sauce44 ml
- Honey30 ml
- Chinese five-spice4.9 ml
- Garlic3 clove
- Sugar15 ml
- Korean rice wine (optional)15 ml
- Toasted sesame oil4.9 ml
- Salt2½ ml
Scaling multiplies the written quantities. Baking still prefers a scale.
Steps
Step 1
Mix soy, honey, five-spice, garlic, sugar, wine, sesame oil and salt. Coat the pork. Rest overnight if you can, 2 hours if you cannot.
10 minStep 2
Roast at 200°C on a rack 20 minutes. Baste. Roast 15–20 minutes more until sticky and spotted. Rest 10 minutes.
40 min200°CStep 3
Slice thin. Rice, cucumber, the pan juices. A bun if you are making lunch.
5 min
Adapt this recipe
The canonical recipe stays intact. Personal versions are labelled. Serving changes are maths, not AI.
Adaptations · 0 / 15 used. Resets 10 October.
Substitutions
Pork shoulder → Chicken thigh
Faster, less traditional, still five-spice sticky.
Tips
- Hoisin in the marinade is the shop flavour if you have a jar — 1 tablespoon.
- A little red fermented tofu is the traditional colour. Red dye is the cheap window.
History & culture
Cantonese siu mei — the roast meats hanging in the window. Rice, noodles, or stuffed in a bun (char siu bao is a different project). Cantonese siu mei is the window of roast meats. Rice plates, noodle soups, and char siu bao are different uses of the same pork. Home ovens do a decent lacquer if you accept paler colour without dye. Slice it for a table. The bun is a different project.
Fork-roasted pork from Guangdong. The red is often dye; the flavour is the marinade and the heat. Fork-roasted pork from Guangdong. The red is often dye; the flavour is the marinade and the dry heat. Diaspora butcher shops kept the hanging-meat habit. You are roasting marinated pork until sugar and soy catch. That is home char siu, named as an oven version.
Regional variation
Provenance: Editorial adaptation.
Questions about this recipe
Answers taken from this dish's times, amounts, swaps and tips — not a chatbot.
How long does Char siu take?
9 hr all in — 15 min prep, 45 min cook, 8 hr rest. Cook and rest follow the method. Leftover storage and optional extra waits are not included.
How many does it serve?
The recipe is written for 4 people. Scale the ingredient list on the page if you are cooking for a different number.
How hard is it?
Medium.
How spicy is it?
No chilli.
What allergens should I watch?
This recipe is labelled for Soy, Wheat, Sesame. Labels are informational — check the packets in your kitchen. This is not medical advice.
Does it fit a diet?
The published recipe is labelled Dairy-free.
What does it cost to cook?
Weeknight budget — about $8–16 USD, as a grocery budget for this recipe, not a restaurant price.
What equipment do I need?
Oven, Baking tray.
How much salt do I put in?
The recipe lists Salt at ½ tsp.
How much soy sauce?
3 tbsp of Soy sauce.
How much honey?
2 tbsp of Honey.
How much sugar?
1 tbsp of Sugar.
How much toasted sesame oil?
1 tsp of Toasted sesame oil.
What can I use instead?
Pork shoulder → Chicken thigh. Faster, less traditional, still five-spice sticky.
Any tips from this recipe?
Hoisin in the marinade is the shop flavour if you have a jar — 1 tablespoon. A little red fermented tofu is the traditional colour. Red dye is the cheap window.
Can I prepare this ahead?
Mix soy, honey, five-spice, garlic, sugar, wine, sesame oil and salt. Coat the pork. Rest overnight if you can, 2 hours if you cannot.
Can I use an air fryer?
This method is not written for an air fryer. The core technique on the page still applies.
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