Easy Char Siu 簡易叉燒 (Cantonese: gan yi chaa siu) obviously stems from the traditional iconic Cantonese barbeque dish. Since Chinese people or maybe all people have been barbequing meats for thousands of years, we really don't know when this char siu was born. Chinese people have been barbequing meats since recorded history. Hence, the Char Siu we know today is probably the result of thousands of years of evolution.
Why is Char Siu red? Some point in time, probably during the Qing dynasty, they used red yeast rice to tenderize the meat and give it more flavour. Throughout Chinese history, salt was a rationed commodity. So, it could be that people wanted to add more flavour without needing to use too much salt. The main ingredient from the original marinade was probably red yeast rice. It's great for lowering cholesterol too! I love using it for meat recipes because besides tasting great, it can also help tenderize the meat. But nowadays, the red is mostly from food colouring. Another more traditional ingredient is Mei Gui Lu Wine 玫瑰露酒 (rose essence wine). It is now usually replaced by the more common Shaoxing wine or a white rice wine.
The sweet taste of the Char Siu is traditionally from maltose. Maltose is a sweetener made from fermenting grains like barley and wheat. It’s an extremely popular ingredient in Chinese cooking. However, because it’s very hard and sticky at room temperature, many Char Siu recipes now use honey to replace the maltose. But most restaurants and Cantonese Barbeque shops still use maltose because when the Char Siu cools down, the maltose hardens slightly, therefore, it can still adhere to the pork. Whereas honey, will trickle off the pork.
My Easy Char Siu 簡易叉燒 recipe is really easy and uses only common ingredients. It’s also done in a fry pan so no messy ovens to clean. It’s so easy to make and takes less than an hour. Most importantly, your family will love it! I like to use a combination of pork belly and pork butt or shoulder. This way, there’s lean and fatty….everybody gets what they want! But remember, when using pork belly, it’s important to remove the skin.
Try my super economical Easy Char Siu 簡易叉燒 recipe and you’ll see that you too can make Char Siu within an hour!
Love Char Siu??? Try my other recipes:
Easy Char Siu 簡易叉燒
Ingredients
- 1 kg Pork Collar Butt (1” thick) aka Pork Scotch or pork belly
At Chinese butcher shops this cut is called “Char Siu” meat - 2 tbsp Light soy sauce
- 3 tbsp Hoisin sauce for marinade
- ¼ tsp Garlic powder
- ½ tbsp Shaoxing wine
- 3 tbsp Honey
- 1 ½ tbsp Sugar
- 100 ml Water
- 2 tbsp Oil
- 1 tsp Corn starch for slurry
- 1 tbsp Water for slurry
Instructions
- Clean and dry pork really well. You can dry with paper towels are leave in a colander to air dry. This will help the marinade get absorbed into the meat
You may want to tenderize the meat if your cut of meat is very lean or you’re using a thicker cut of meat 
- Marinate the meat using 2 tbsp light soy sauce, 3 tbsp hoisin sauce, ¼ tsp garlic powder, ½ tbsp Shaoxing wine and 1 ½ tbsp sugar in a mixing bowl. Mix well and let sit for 5 minutes
- In a pan, heat on medium-high heat, add 2 tbsp oil. Pick up each slice of meat, let some of the excess sauce drip back in the mixing bowl and place into the pan until the pan is full. Leave at least 1 cm gap between pieces to let the steam escape which will help get a good sear on the pork
I crammed my meat in the pan and used high heat. So you’ll see that some of the meat burn but I like it like that - Flip the pork over when you get a nice brown sear. Repeat on other side.
This will likely take 1-2 minutes on each side and try not to move it around - Once you have a sear on both sides, add the remainder of the marinade, 3 tbsp honey and approx. 100 ml water and bring to a boil
- Lower the temperature until you have a simmering boil. On my gas stove, it’s on low setting. Cover with lid and let it cook for 30 minutes but flip them over after 15 min
- After 30 minutes, remove pork. If it’s not done yet, leave for another 10 minutes
- If your sauce is too thin, make a slurry using 1 tsp corn starch and 1 tbsp water, mix well and pour slowly into the pan. Mix gently until sauce thickens
- Taste test and make any adjustments, if needed
- Remove the pork and slice into desired size
- Serve
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