CHAR SIU - CHINESE MARINATED AND BARBECUED PORK
"Char siu" literally means "fork burn/roast" (Char being fork (both noun and verb) and siu being burn/roast). Char Siu is best known as major ingredient in Chinese luncheon dishes known as "Dim Sum" (Cantonese). Translation: "Bits That Touch The Heart".
Char Siu is one of many dishes you will be offered for a "Hong Kong" style Chinese luncheon where the items on the menu are collectively called "Dim Sum". Here you will find hundreds of Dim Sum aficionados gathered in large dining rooms, and ladies with push carts almost screaming out names of the dishes while hawking some of the most delightful morsels of Chinese steamed, fried and baked items for you to try. These delectable morsels are served on small individual plates with usually 3-6 of the same items on each plate. Each plate has a price coding or color marking so the young ladies (waitresses) will know at the end of your lunch, just how much each plate was worth and what the final total of the bill will amount to. The beauty of this is you can just keep ordering small plates of Dim Sim to your hearts delight. Surprisingly, the final bill is usually much less than you would imagine.
RECIPE PRINTED FROM: THEGUTSYGOURMET.NET©
INGREDIENTS:
▪ 3 lbs boneless pork butt (shoulder)
▪ 3 cloves garlic, minced
▪ 1 Tbsp ginger, peeled and minced
▪ ½ Cup rice wine or dry sherry
▪ ¾ Cup hoisin sauce
▪ ½ Cup soy sauce
▪ ⅓ Cup honey
▪ ½ tsp of five spice powder
DIRECTIONS:
1. Cut the pork along the grain into long strips 2" X 8".
2. Combine all marinade ingredients, then place with the pork into a large ziploc bag. Massasge the
bag to make sure the marinade is coating the pork evenly. Press out the air from the bags, and
refrigerate overnight.
3. Put a rack on the lower third of the oven and preheat to 275º F.
4. Fill a pan 9" X 13" with a ½ inch of water and place a metal cooling rack in the pan. Arrange the
meat strips on the rack. Reserve the marinade.
5. Roast for 1 hour. Meanwhile, heat the marinade to a simmer for a 10 minutes, then let cool.
6. Baste the meat with the marinade, then roast for another 30 minutes. Baste the meat generously on
both sides, turn meat over, and roast for an additional 30 minutes, basting once more.
7. Turn the oven temp up to 400ºF, baste the meat intermittently until the remaining marinade is used
up (about 20 minutes or until caramelized).
8. Remove the rack with the meat and place the rack and meat on a cutting board and tent with foil for
about 10 minutes.
9. Allow to cool before slicing** or shredding for use in, char siu bao, soup or whatever dish you will
be preparing.
 COOKS NOTE**
Always slice the meat across the grain. This is not only for tenderness, but will eliminate the
stringiness of the meat. This is especially important when making Char Siu Bao.
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