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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.
It’s ok I finally found a place in Malaysia that sells it and I have been to one of their branches before, it is a baking shop. First link is the maltose sugar and second link is the branches that they have, many branches and since many of your blog users are looking high and low for it and many are Malaysians, i hope you can make put this info somewhere on your blog. I am going to get my maltose sugar soon in less than 24 hours time :-)
http://eshop-bagus.com.my/eshop/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=3341
http://bagus.com.my/site/index.php?cat=29&menu_group=1
Congrats, good luck with this Chinese BBQ pork recipe. :)
I ran all over KL for two days and I haven’t find maltose sugar yet, any idea where to buy this in KL or even Selangor? Why such a simple item is not sold by supermarkets. Sighh……………. I google maltose sugar and came accross this article about maltose sugar and I want to cook a shandong chicken dish which uses maltose sugar.
I am not sure but try the traditional sundry shops? You can use honey if you can’t find maltose.
I made this yesterday. I was so fabulous. Today I’m going to use the little bit of leftovers for making the Bao. I already have the dough made. All your recipes are excellent and easy to follow. I have made many. Thought it was time to let you know. Thanks Bee.
Hi Nancy thanks so much. :)
umumum yummy pork
I’ve been cooking BBQ every weekend for my family and I want to try it with Char Siu sauce. From the ingredients I can judge that it is really a delicious one. Thanks for sharing.
Hi I leave in beijing and I miss Malaysian food.. Ther is nothing better thn msian food.. Do u have idea wat can replace the 5 resipi powder…
I have tried several of your recipes and they never fail to be big hits. I made this for my family and they loved it!!! I just had to say thank you so much and how much I appreciate your recipes.
Hi Catherine thanks so much for your comment. :)
Hi .rasa malaysia .why my char siew sauce so ….sticky? izzit because i put more maltonese?
Yes.
I’ve tried several recipes for char siu and this one is by far the best. Thanks for sharing.
Anyone having trouble finding maltose or rose wine and has a 99 Ranch Market near by….
Look for maltose right next to the honey. It’s in a small white tub with blue letters and a pink lid. I could not find anything labelled rose wine, but a little researched showed that it also goes by the name “Mei Kuei Lu Chiew” which is in the liquor aisle near the Sake. It has a rose embossed on the back of the bottle. It’s about $15 for a 750ml bottle.
Hi,, some ingredients are new for me. if possible, can post the photo of each ingredients along. Thanks