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Authentic and homemade Chinese BBQ pork marinated with sticky char siu sauce and roasted in oven. This recipe is easy and tastes just like the best Chinese restaurants.
Chinese BBQ Pork
What is Chinese bbq pork?
This dish is called Char Siu in Cantonese dialect, or Chashao (叉烧) in Chinese language.
It is of Cantonese origin where marinated skewers of pork meat or pork belly are barbecued to charred, savory, and sticky sweet perfection.
This Chinese bbq pork recipe is 100% homemade and tastes just like the best of Chinatown.
For more Chinese pork belly recipes, check out my Braised Pork Belly (Dongpo Rou) recipe.
The Best Chinese BBQ Pork
For the best homemade Chinatown barbecued pork, here are the list of secret ingredients you will need:
- Choice of meat – if you love tender, juicy, moist and fatty pork, please use pork belly. If you prefer meaty texture, go for pork loin. If you like it somewhere in between, pork butt or pork shoulder will be a great choice.
- Maltose – called ” 麦芽糖” in Chinese, maltose is the secret ingredient that gives Chinese barbecued pork that sticky sweet taste and texture. If you can’t find maltose, you can use a good quality honey as substitute.
- Chinese rose wine (玫瑰露酒) – this Chinese wine has an intense fragrant and aroma. It lends the iconic taste and flavor to this recipe.
- Chinese five-spice powder (五香粉) is a mixture of fives spices used in Chinese recipes. It’s a key ingredient for Cantonese BBQ meats.
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients.
How To Make Chinese BBQ Pork
This is the best recipe that is better than any Chinese restaurants.
The end result is juicy, moist, tender, delicious pork belly barbecued to sticky perfection.
First, make the Chinese BBQ pork marinade sauce in a sauce pan. Next, marinate the pork with the marinade overnight.
The next day, roast the pork in the oven. You may finish it off with the Broil function on your oven, or you may use an outdoor grill to barbecue the pork for perfect chars on the surface.
Slice up into thin pieces and serve immediately.
Frequently Asked Questions
The red color is due to red food color used in the BBQ pork sauce or marinade.
Not all recipes call for red food color, however some Chinese or Cantonese restaurants use red food color to enhance the appearance of the bbq pork.
Yes, you can. It is the main ingredient for char siu bao pork buns.
You may use the marinade sauce as a dipping sauce. However, you can serve the pork as is because it’s flavorful and delicious without any dipping sauces.
I don’t recommend freezing because it will make the pork rubbery, chewy and tough.
You can keep the barbecued pork in the fridge for up to 3 days. Just make sure that you wrap it tightly with plastic wraps.
To serve, you may heat it up for 30 seconds before serving.
This recipe is only 259 calories per serving.
What To Serve With This Recipe
Chinese BBQ pork is best served with steamed rice or on top of wonton noodles or other Chinese dishes (such as shrimp and broccoli). For a wholesome Cantonese-style meal, I recommend the following recipes.
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Chinese BBQ Pork
Ingredients
- 1 lb (500g) pork belly, pork shoulder, pork butt or pork tenderloin, cut into 3 to 4 long strips
- 3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
- 1 tablespoon cooking oil
Chinese BBQ Pork Sauce:
- 1 1/2 tablespoons maltose
- 1 1/2 tablespoons honey
- 1 1/2 tablespoons hoisin sauce
- 1 1/2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon Chinese rose wine or Shaoxing wine
- 3 dashes ground white pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon five spice powder
- 1/2 teaspoon sesame oil
Instructions
- Add all the ingredients in the Chinese BBQ Pork Sauce in a sauce pan, heat it up on low heat. Stir to combine well. The sauce is ready when it thickens and becomes sticky. (It yields 1/2 cup sauce.) Transfer out and let cool.
- Rub the garlic on the pork. Add 2/3 of the sauce to marinate the pork for at least 4 hours, or best overnight.
- Add the cooking oil to the remaining sauce. Keep the sauce in the fridge.
- The next day, heat the oven to 375°F (190°C). Line a baking tray with parchment paper or aluminum foil. Place the pork on the baking tray and roast for 20 minutes. (Shake off the excess sauce before roasting.)
- Transfer the pork out of the oven. Let cool and thread the pork pieces on metal skewers. Brush the remaining char siu sauce on the pork and grill them over a fire on an outdoor grill. You may also grill them over fire on a gas cooktop.
- If you don't have either, you may select the Broil function on your oven and broil each side of the pork, about 1 minute each, or until slightly charred.
- Slice the Chinese BBQ pork into bite-size pieces, drizzle the remaining sauce over, and serve immediately with steamed white rice.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I Love your site ! Any of your recipes that I have tried have been amazing !! Your photography makes me want to make everything ! Thank You !
I made this with pork ribs last night. Perfection!
I used corn syrup instead of maltose.
I tried making this and it didn’t come out as expected…although I was close. I had a hard time finding the maltose and could not find the rose wine.
I maltose I bought it was very very thick and a bit difficult to work with b/c it was so thick. Is maltose suppose to be really thick or did I get a bad batch?
As for locating the rose wine I just couldn’t find it at any Chinese local grocery store. I googled it and found an alternative to rose wine but I’m not sure if this threw off the recipe. I will give this a try again and hopefully I’ll come closer to nailing down this recipe.
Yes maltose is really really thick, you can heat it up in the microwave a little bit to loosen it. For rose wine if you can’t find it use regular rice wine (but not Shaoxing wine)
Hi there,
Just to understand, but why is Shaoxing wine not recommended?
Rose wine imparts that iconic Char Siew aroma to it. You can use Shaoxing wine nonetheless.
your recipe looks yummy. Char siew my fave food. How do you say pork butt in Cantonese? Heh heh
If there is a more heavenly char-siu recipe I have not yet run across it, and since I found this one I’ve stopped looking. Used the sauce to make ribs and chicken many times — tonight I am marinating a pork tenderloin with the firm intention of direct grilling it tomorrow evening … take that, Old Man Winter.
Sincerest thanks for all you do on this site.
Thanks Rick for your kind comment. I am happy that you love this char siu recipe. :)
It is refreshing to find a bbq recipe that has a different taste! I love asian bbq!
Thanks for your great recipe. It is inspired to cook Thai style BBQ roasted pork dish!
http://www.forkandstory.com/2/post/2014/01/streets-of-bangkok.html
I’ve also tried your chicken rice recipe. Equally delicious. Thanks!
Another great recipe! U have the most amazing timing too! (U r also my best cover to show people I actually am malaysian! LOL) Char Siu Challenge Accepted!!
Thanks Darshini for your sweet comment. :)
This is absolutely the best recipe for char siew. I have made it many times and all my friends love it. I prefer to use pork belly for the fats.
Dan, thanks so much for your kind words I am glad that you love it.
YUM
making this for tomorrow night to toss through some singapore style noodles. *drool*