If you love sweet & sticky char siu like we do, give this recipe a go! ..and we added Korean pepper flakes for a kick, because sweet & spicy go hand in hand!
Sweet and Sticky Chinese BBQ Pork (aka Char Siu)
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 35 minutes
- Total Time: 50 minutes
- Yield: 4-6 Servings
- Category: Main
- Cuisine: Chinese
DESCRIPTION
If you love sweet & sticky char siu like we do, give this recipe a go! ..and we added Korean pepper flakes for a kick, because sweet & spicy go hand in hand!
INGREDIENTS
MARINADE
- 2 tablespoons fancy/cooking molasses (not blackstrap molasses) – can also be substituted with maltose, barley malt syrup or honey)
- 1 cube red fermented tofu (and 4 teaspoons of the sauce, mashed together) – this is also known as red bean curd
- 2 tablespoons hoisin sauce
- 2 cloves garlic (roughly chopped)
- 4 slices of ginger (roughly chopped)
- 1 teaspoon Chinese five spice powder
- 2 tablespoons Chinese rice cooking wine (or dry sherry)
- (optional) 1 tablespoon Korean pepper flakes (for additional colour and a mild spiciness. It will also make it a more earthier flavour)
MEAT
- 2-3 lbs pork shoulder (cut into long 3 inch thin strips)
GLAZE
- 2 tablespoons honey
INSTRUCTIONS
CUTTING AND MARINATING THE MEAT
- Cut the pork shoulder into thin 3 inch thick strips. (Cooks faster and absorbs marinade more evenly)
- Combine the ingredients in the marinade section into a ziplock or a big bowl and combine it with the pork.
- Marinate it in the fridge for 24 hours.
PREPARING THE GLAZE
- Remove the meat from the marinade and let it sit for an hour in room temperature.
- Reserve the marinade into a small bowl and remove the garlic bits and ginger
- Add 2 tablespoons of honey into the marinade and mix. We will use this for glazing at the end of grilling
GRILLING THE PORK
- Heat up BBQ to 325F (162C)
- Cook the char siu for 15 mins on one side, then flip it for another 10 mins. Check the meat thermometer. Temperature should be around 145F (62C). If it’s not, keep the meat on longer until it reaches that internal temperature.
- Once it hits an internal temperature of 145F (62C), we glazed 4-5 times, flipping the meat every minute to prevent burning
- When the meat looks red, sticky and slightly burnt, remove it from the BBQ and let it rest for 20 mins on a plate before cutting into it.
- Once the meat has rested, cut it up and enjoy!!
NOTES
- Cutting the pork up in long thin chunks allows it to cooks faster, and you get more surface area for sauce.
- The glaze is essentially made with the leftover marinade and additional honey. The additional honey will sweeten up the glaze and thicken it up to give us that nice sticky thick layer
- Don’t over marinate the meat. This marinade has two very salty components: cooking wine and red fermented tofu which can make the end result very salty. Don’t marinate it for less than 24 hours! but don’t over marinate it as well
- Use fancy/cooking molasses and not blackstrap molasses as that is bitter.
Source: Sweet and Sticky Chinese BBQ Pork (aka Char Siu) – Pups with Chopsticks
Categories: Uncategorized
