Char Siu (Chinese BBQ pork)
Cha shao is a kind of spiced Cantonese honey roast pork. It is often also called by the Cantonese char siu or char siew. Sometimes (usually in America) it is called Chinese BBQ pork. It is very popular, and can be eaten by itself (usually cold), or used as an ingredient for other dishes such as cha shao bao (pork buns), or in noodles or rice. The pork used should be quite fatty in order to keep the meat moist during cooking. Pork shoulder is a good choice. The meat is traditionally hung to cook, as this allows it to cook from all sides in the very hot oven.
Ingredients
- 1 kg (2.25 lbs) pork shoulder
- 2 tbsp dark soy sauce
- 2 tbsp light soy sauce
- 2 tbsp oyster sauce
- 2 tbsp Shaoxing rice wine
- 2 tbsp clear honey
- 4 tbsp hoisin sauce
- ½ tsp five spice
Ingredients for 5 servings (1.2 kg) · the original recipe
Method
- 1
Slice the meat into strips about 1 inch (2.5 cm) wide by 6 inches (15 cm) long. A long thin strip like this will keep its shape better when hanging.
- 2
Pierce the pork all over thoroughly with a fork. This makes the pork more tender and allows the marinade to penetrate the meat to give flavour all the way through.
- 3
Mix all other ingredients together to make a marinade.
- 4
Place pork strips in a tray and cover with marinade. Ensure strips are covered completely in marinade.
- 5
Cover tightly with cling film and place in the refrigerator for several hours (8–24 hours is preferable).
- 6
Preheat the oven to 230°C or 420°F and place a pan in the bottom to catch drippings. Line this pan with aluminium foil to make cleaning easier.
Oven - 7
Hang the meat on hooks in the oven or lay them on a rack. Depending on the method and the size of your oven, it may be easiest to do this in two or three batches, rather than all at once.
Oven - 8
Roast for 20 minutes, until pork is cooked all the way through. Baste at least twice to build up a good layer of marinade on the outside of the meat. The pork should turn a golden-red colour as it cooks.
- 9
Allow to cool while still hanging, or lay on wire rack to cool. Avoid laying on top of other meat or on a flat surface until cooled.
- 10
Cover and refrigerate until needed.
Recipe from Wikibooks Cookbook, written by Wikibooks contributors. Used under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence; the ingredient list and method on this page are taken from that page and edited (its notes, tips and variations are not reproduced), and are available under the same licence. The macros, equipment tags and scaling are Ma Kitchen’s own and are not the source’s figures. Ma Kitchen is not affiliated with or endorsed by Wikibooks Cookbook. Copied on 2026-11-12.
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