# Char Siu recipe



## masteraznchefjr (Sep 8, 2009)

hi i was making char siu and barely got the flavouring of a char siu soo what could I have done wrong. 

I used this recipe 
BBQ Pork Recipe (Char Siu/Char Siew/蜜汁叉烧) | Asian Recipes and Cooking

o yea and i just put it straight into the oven after i marinated it so could that have been a possibility?


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## shalinee (Sep 8, 2009)

I can't get the exact char siu like the one on restaurants.  I looked at the recipe you mentioned. It does look nice but I have not tried it. I hv found that the easiest and really good one is using the ready char sau sauce. Only one that I recommend & that is the Lee Kum Kee brand. I just cooked it for dinner yesterday evening. It's really good. The best is to marinade overnight. You can see more pictures and how I do it at my blog post Keep Learning Keep Smiling » Super Fast Chinese Roasted Chicken

cheers,
shalinee


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## thymeless (Sep 12, 2009)

Lee Kum Kee's jarred sauce is good and very easy to use with results much like the restaurants.

I've made it from scratch successfully but the recipe you used is weak on the required dark earthy flavors that contrast against the sweetness. 

Hoisin sauce is only part of that battle. You also need dark soy sauce and bean sauce though hot bean sauce is a fun twist if you like hot food.

Sure, variations exist. The five spice powder is not particularly traditional though it shows up in plenty of recipes. You'll see different sweeteners from brown sugar to honey. Ginger, sesame oil show up from time to time too. 

If you want to do it from scratch, this is how I did it though now I always use the LKK jarred sauce.

2 tablespoons chicken stock (water will do if you must)
2 tablespoons dark soy sauce
2 tablespoons hoisin sauce
1 tablespoon bean paste--hot bean paste is a fun twist
1 tablespoon ShaoHsing wine
1 1/2 tablespoons honey
1/2 teaspoon salt (I skip this)
1 large clove garlic, minced
a few drops red food coloring

Mix this all up, will cover about 2 pounds of meat. Marinade about 2 hours minimum though more is fine. The best meat for this is strips from the pork shoulder as its fatty enough to remain moist. Other cuts work but can be dry. 

Put a baking pan of water on the lowest rack setting. Set another rack in the middle or upper third of the oven. Set the oven to 350.  Lay the meat directly on middle rack over the water pan.  The pan of water catches drips that otherwise burn and smoke terribly in the oven. 

Bake 45 minutes in the oven with a bump up to 400 for the last few minutes to set the glaze.

The rack you cooked on will be a mess. Soak it in water for a while and it cleans fairly easily. 

You'll be tempted to grill with this.  It's very high in sugar so indirect heat is the only way to do it with a quick finishing direct heat grill to set the glaze. Smoking also works even better IMHO.


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## masteraznchefjr (Sep 13, 2009)

ehh this is weird haha... ahha one of my good friend uses thymeless as her sn 
but ill try this recipe


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## thymeless (Sep 13, 2009)

I've had some good success cooking from Rasa Malaysia's blog so I'm sort of surprised at that recipe for Char Shu.


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