Oven baked char siu pork (叉燒)

Simple way to prepare char siu pork at home without any specialized equipment or techniques.

Ingredients

  • Pork shoulder/butt, about 2 pounds <- inexpensive and fatty

  • Brown sugar, 4 tbsp

  • Garlic power, 1 tbsp

  • Oyster sauce, 2 tbsp

  • Soy sauce, 2 tbsp

  • Hoisin sauce, 1 tbsp

  • Red wine, 2 tbsp

  • Xiaoxing Wine, 1 tbsp

  • Five spice powder, 1 tsp

  • Fermented bean curd, 1 cube (optional)

  • Honey, 2 tbsp.

Instructions

  1. Cut pork shoulder with the grain into about 1-inch thick slices, with a mix of of meat and fat.

  2. Repeatedly stab the pork with a fork. This helps with the marinade.

  3. Mix all the flavor ingredients, and use it to marinade the pork in the fridge. Marinade about 8 hours or overnight in the fridge. Plastic bag or Tupperware works well for this.

  4. Remove pork and let it rest at room temperature for about an hour.

  5. Place pork on a raised baking rack and bake at 425 degrees Fahrenheit for 30 minutes.

  6. While baking, mix honey with equal parts water.

  7. Remove pork, and brush it all over with the diluted honey. Bake for another 15 minutes.

  8. Remove from the oven and let it rest, then slice and serve over white rice.

Resources

I drew inspiration from the Cooking with Lau video, but made many simplifying modifications.