Chinese Barbeque Pork

Also known as Char Siu Pork

For 4-6 portions (1200g – 1800g boneless meat) you need

For the marinade

30ml canola oil

5ml sesame oil

30ml light brown sugar

45ml runny honey

45ml hoisin sauce

15ml oyster sauce

15ml soy sauce

10ml dark soy sauce

5ml Chinese five spice powder

2 cloves of garlic, finely grated

2cm knob of ginger, peeled and finely grated

Optional: 1 red chilli finely chopped

For adjusting flavour: 5ml rice wine vinegar or lemon juice; salt to taste

For the Chinese Barbecue Pork

If you are making Bao I prefer to use pork leg or shoulder cut into 2-3 cm thick slices, thinly sliced (about 5mm thick) pork rashers, otherwise use pork fillet. Allow approximately 300g raw meat per person. You can easily replace the pork with Chicken or Duck

To prepare

Place all of the ingredients for the marinade into a bowl and whisk to combine.

Place the pork into a large ziplock freezer bag and pour the marinade inside. Make sure the pork is well-coated in the marinade.

Place the bag into the fridge and leave it to marinate for at least 2-3 hours, or overnight.

When you are ready to roast the pork, take it out of the fridge and let it come to room temperature in the marinade (this will take about 30 minutes).

Preheat the oven to 180°C

If you are using pork slices for Bao remove the meat from the marinade and place it in an oven dish. The meat must be coated in marinade but not lie in it. Reserve the balance of the marinade. Bake the pork uncovered for 30 minutes at 180°C.

Pour the reserved marinade into a small saucepan and add the extra 30ml of honey. Bring the sauce to a boil and simmer gently for a few minutes until the sauce is thick and syrupy.

Once the pork is cooked either let it cool in the cooking juices. When you are ready to serve the pork, slice it thinly and place it in the saucepan with the sauce to heat through and pour the sticy reduced marinade over it. Taste it at this stage. I personally find it too sweet and adjust the flavour by adding a dash of rice wine vinegar or lemon juice and a sprinkling of salt.

If roasting pork fillet or cooking the rashers (this is the traditional method of preparation): Place a wire rack over a large roasting tray and half fill the tray with boiling water. The rack needs to be high enough so that, when the meat is sitting on top of the rack, the meat should not touch the water. The water helps to create a steam in the oven to cook the pork and to keep it moist.

Place the pork on the wire rack.

Do not discard the marinade in the freezer bag. Pour the reserved marinade into a small saucepan and add the extra 30ml of honey. Bring the sauce to a boil and simmer gently for a few minutes until the sauce is thick and syrupy. Use this sauce to baste the pork.

Roast the pork for about 30 minutes, basting every 10 minutes.

Let the pork rest for about 10 minutes before slicing. Toss the slices in the remaining sauce.

Use this pork to fill wraps or stuff into steamed Bao buns.