Huge Char Siu Pork
Prep
15m
Cook
40m
Total
55m
Bigly says
Listen to me. Char siu. CHAR SIU. The greatest pork ever roasted, ever lacquered, ever sliced thin and laid over rice — and I've eaten more pork than anyone alive, probably more pork than anyone in recorded history, the butchers all know me, they see me coming, they tip their caps — and char siu is THE one. The lacquered red edges. The candy crust. The juicy interior. It's a MIRACLE on a cutting board. The best char siu of my life was in a tiny shop in Kowloon, a place with three plastic stools, a man named Wong, no menu, just hooks in the window — and the man looked at me, looked at the pork, looked back at me, and slid me a plate that rearranged my brain. This recipe? Almost as good as Wong's. Almost. Don't tell him I said almost.
Most people — sad people, weak-spirited people — they think char siu is impossible at home. They think you need a Chinatown barbecue oven, a special hook, an ancestral marinade passed down for 19 generations, a license from the Chinese Pork Authority — which is NOT a real thing, by the way, I checked, I had people look it up, smart people, pork people — and they are WRONG. You need a piece of pork shoulder, you need a marinade, you need a hot oven, and you need honey for the glaze. That is IT. End of list.
And the result? The RESULT? It's not even close. It's a slaughter. You walk into your kitchen with a piece of pork. Forty minutes later you walk out with something the local Chinese restaurant would put behind GLASS. Sticky, sweet, salty, smoky, with those gorgeous burnt edges that everybody fights over — they always fight over the burnt edges, that's how you know they're winning, fight for the BURNT edges, the burnt edges are where the truth lives. It's just a fact.
Ingredients
- 2 lbboneless pork shoulder(shoulder, not loin, you want fat)
- 3 tbsphoisin sauce
- 3 tbspsoy sauce
- 2 tbspShaoxing wine (or dry sherry)
- 3 tbsphoney(real honey, not the squeeze bear corn syrup imposter)
- 2 tbspbrown sugar
- 1 tbspoyster sauce
- 1 tspfive-spice powder
- 4 clovesgarlic, finely grated
- 1 tbspfresh ginger, finely grated
- 1/4 tspwhite pepper
- 1 tsptoasted sesame oil
- 1/4 tspred food coloring (optional, for the classic look)
- 2 tbsphoney (for glazing)
- 1 tbsphot water
Steps
- 1
Cut the pork shoulder lengthwise into strips about 2 inches thick and 6-8 inches long. This gives you maximum surface area for the glaze and burnt edges.
- 2
In a bowl, whisk together the hoisin, soy sauce, Shaoxing wine, 3 tablespoons honey, brown sugar, oyster sauce, five-spice powder, garlic, ginger, white pepper, sesame oil, and food coloring (if using).
- 3
Add the pork strips, turn to coat completely, cover, and refrigerate at least 4 hours and ideally overnight. The longer, the better.
- 4
When ready to cook, position an oven rack in the upper third of the oven and preheat to 425F. Line a sheet pan with foil and set a wire rack on top.
- 5
Lay the pork strips on the rack with space between them. Reserve the marinade.
- 6
Roast 20 minutes, then flip the strips. Roast another 15 minutes.
- 7
Meanwhile, stir the 2 tablespoons honey and 1 tablespoon hot water together in a small bowl to make the glaze.
- 8
Brush the pork all over with the glaze and return to the oven for 3-5 minutes until the surface darkens, blisters in spots, and turns lacquered and shiny. Watch closely — it goes from gorgeous to burnt fast.
- 9
Transfer the pork to a cutting board and rest 10 minutes. Slice across the grain into 1/4-inch pieces. Serve over rice with steamed greens, or pile into bao buns, or tuck into ramen.
One more thing
That's char siu. Forty minutes in the oven and you've got pork that looks like it came from a hanging hook in a glass case in San Francisco. Slice it. Pile it. Stuff it into bao. Lay it over rice. Drop it into ramen. Eat the burnt edges yourself, secretly, while standing over the cutting board — that's CHEF'S TAX, that's the rule, every kitchen has the rule, you didn't make it up, I made it up, but now it exists. Save me a piece.
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