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You are here: Home / Dinner / Pork / Sticky Chinese Barbecue Pork Belly (Char Siu)

By Karina 50 Comments Filed Under: Asian

Sticky Chinese Barbecue Pork Belly (Char Siu)

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Sticky Chinese Barbecue Pork Belly (Char Siu), is one of the most popular pork dishes in Chinese/Cantonese cuisine and one of the most ordered dishes in restaurants.

My addiction to this Sticky Chinese Barbecue Pork Belly is my husbands fault. Being a former Hong Kong resident, he introduced me to Char Siu when we first met…and it was love at first bite (with the pork). Normally, our New Years Eve ritual consists of going to a popular Yum Cha restaurant here in Melbourne and ordering serve after serve of Char Siu. But as life happens, this year it’s a no-go. Booked out so early, (or I may have left it last minute), I now have to bring Char Siu into my house. Char Siu literally means “fork burn/roast” which is a reference to the traditional preparation, skewered with long forks and barbecued over a fire.

Sticky Chinese Barbecue Pork Belly (Char Siu) | cafedelites.com
Well. I have neither of those things nor do I want to start a fire in my house. But I have come up with a way to make this safely in your own homes without the need of any fire extinguishers.

The plus side is: A) We can eat triple what we normally do; and B) I can share the recipe with you.

Breaking out into a sweat with a furrowed brow, throwing ingredients into a bowl and taste testing along the way to try and match the traditional and authentic restaurant quality Char Siu sauce, I finally did it. It was a definite Hallelujah and Amen moment. After one (okay, more like four) tests and adjustments, you can bring a deliciously sticky Chinese pork recipe into your kitchens!

You can use lean pork belly (or spare) ribs for a succulent, unforgettable experience; pork shoulder or any pork fillet you like. I’m not going to tell you what to do, except cook it using pork belly.

Sticky Chinese Barbecue Pork Belly (Char Siu) | cafedelites.com

For extra sauciness, I’ve provided an additional glaze recipe on the side for those who’d like to serve this up with extra sauce. Because…hellooo…extra sauce.

Sticky Chinese Barbecue Pork Belly (Char Siu) | cafedelites.com

Oven grilling or broiling ensures the crispy and char-grilled outer edges we love so much, and a tender, juicy and moist pork meat on the inside.

Sticky Chinese Barbecue Pork Belly (Char Siu) | cafedelites.com

With simple ingredients you may have in your kitchen cupboards, this Char Siu recipe is a breeze! And so worth the wait hanging off of the oven door, smelling the sweet, sticky smells drifting through the kitchen.

Sticky Chinese Barbecue Pork Belly (Char Siu) | cafedelites.com

Serve over steamed rice or vegetables, and drizzle with extra Char Siu sauce…ring in the new year in style! And if you’re not a fan of pork, try this with chicken thighs. Yes. I did that too. Or this Simple Chicken Teriyaki Stir Fry might win you over.

Sticky Chinese Barbecue Pork Belly (Char Siu) | cafedelites.com

Sticky Chinese BBQ Pork Belly Ribs (Char Siu)

Char Siu (or Chinese BBQ pork), is one of the most popular Chinese or Cantonese foods and one of the most ordered dishes in restaurants. With simple ingredients you may have in your kitchen cupboards, this Char Siu recipe is a breeze!
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Prep: 10 mins
Cook: 45 mins
Total: 55 mins
Serves: 6 people

Ingredients

  • 1/3 cup hoisin sauce
  • 1/3 cup soy sauce
  • 2 tablespoons Chinese Shaoxing wine (rice vinegar or a dry sherry can be used instead)
  • 2 tablespoon honey
  • 2 tablespoons brown sugar
  • 1 tablespoon minced garlic
  • 3/4 teaspoon red food colouring (optional for that beautiful red colour)
  • 1 ⁄2 teaspoon Chinese five spice powder
  • 6 pork belly/spare ribs
  • 1 shallot , to garnish

Additional Glaze (Optional):

  • 1/4 cup hoisin sauce
  • 1/4 cup soy sauce
  • 1 tablespoon Chinese wine (Shaoxing -- or dry sherry)
  • 1 tablespoon honey
  • 2 tablespoons brown sugar
  • 1 teaspoon minced garlic
  • 1/4 teaspoon Chinese five spice powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon red food colouring

Instructions

  • Combine hoisin sauce, soy sauce, wine, honey, sugar, garlic, colouring (if using) and spice powder in a shallow bowl. Whisk well to combine. Pour half of the sauce into a jug and reserve for later. Add the pork into the bowl with the remaining sauce. Rotate to cover completely and marinate in the refrigerator for 1-3 hours, or cover and refrigerate overnight for best results.
  • After marinading, preheat oven to grill/broil settings on medium heat (176°C | 350°F). Drain pork and discard the marinade. Line a baking pan with baking/parchment paper or aluminium foil. Place pork onto pan and grill/broil for 30 minutes on one side, basting two or three times with the reserved marinade. Rotate with tongs and baste again with the marinade twice again while grilling/broiling.
  • Remove from oven and allow to cool.
  • If you like additional glaze, combine all of the (extra) glaze ingredients into a small saucepan. Bring to a boil; reduce heat and allow to simmer for about 5-8 minutes until the sauce has thickened (keep your eye on it as it can burn easily if the heat is too high). Remove from heat and allow to cool slightly.
  • Cut pork into thick slices to serve. Serve over steamed rice and/or vegetables with the extra glaze.
Sticky Chinese Barbecue Pork Belly Ribs (Char Siu) | https://cafedelites.com
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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Tim says

    December 15, 2020 at 1:53 pm

    Trying this recipe now. 2 things I could use clarification on.
    When you say rotate you mean flip over, right?
    Second. Most home broilers don’t have temperature settings. Would you recommend baking then broiling to finish or broiling on the lower rack and testing often, possible coveting with foil to prevent burning the glaze?
    Looking forward to it!

    Reply
    • Karina says

      December 16, 2020 at 6:46 pm

      Hi Tim! Yes, flip them over (sorry about the confusion!) and if you don’t have a temperature control on your broiler, bake them first on the middle rack at 400F (200C) for about 15 minutes, then broil in the last 5 minutes. Hope this helps! Please let me know how you go!

      Reply
  2. Carolyn says

    December 14, 2020 at 9:15 pm

    5 stars
    This is a fantastic recipe that was a hit with the family. Was looking for a recipe for Chinese BBQ Pork to add to a noodle dish. Normally we buy it already prepared and it is terribly fatty. Your recipe was the best substitute. Used a pork fillet with no fat. The taste was perfect. Thank you!!

    Reply
  3. Prerna says

    December 04, 2020 at 12:19 am

    5 stars
    My, oh, my! Tried my hand at pork for the first time…and was it gorrrrrrgeous! This recipe is just delicious!!! Thank you so much for sharing. Loved it. Definitely goes into my fav recipe notes. I marinated the pork belly for 24 hours, then we missed out on cooking it and it stayed marinated for 72 hours! Cooked beautifully and was just divine! ❤️

    Reply
  4. Rachel says

    October 24, 2020 at 12:50 pm

    5 stars
    Hi karina! This looks so good. My oven does not have broiler capabilities, so should I bake it at a higher temperature or will that really effect the flavor? I have a small toaster oven but the temperature is always weird when I try to bake with it. If I broil it at the end will I be able to get that yummy texture? Thank you!!!

    Reply
  5. Nick McMillen says

    May 29, 2020 at 10:04 pm

    5 stars
    Why do you discard the marinade? Surely this could be used as additional sauce (if cooked) or basting sauxe?

    Reply
    • daniel kim says

      June 02, 2020 at 10:01 am

      I believe it is because it was used to marinate raw meat.

      If you put too much of the sauce in the oven, it will probably burn and smoke!

      However, you can’t eat it without cooking it since it’s touched raw meat.

      I think it’s just a safety precaution

      Reply
      • Tim says

        July 21, 2020 at 9:16 pm

        If you are slow cooking a larger piece of pork you can keep the marinade with it. Just check every so often and adjust temperature and/or mix a splash of water into the sauce to prevent burning.

        Reply
      • J says

        September 14, 2020 at 10:05 pm

        If you cook it/bring it to a boil, you’ll kill any bacteria, so either in a saucepan or on the pork itself in the over and it would be fine. I personally would use it to baste the meat while it’s under fire.

        Reply
  6. dee says

    May 09, 2020 at 3:42 am

    is there anything i can use in place of hoisin sauce and the Chinese 5 spice of can you buy these items at the local grocery store?

    Reply
    • Irene says

      May 30, 2020 at 12:26 am

      Some recipes don’t use hoisin sauce and use oyster sauce instead. The five-spice powder is crucial to the Char Siu flavor though. I don’t think it’s char siu without five-spice.

      Reply
      • Art says

        July 13, 2020 at 8:57 pm

        You can get the Chinease 5 spice from Amazon. I am not sure, but I bet Amaxon has the Hoisin sauce too.

        Reply
      • May says

        December 08, 2020 at 12:47 am

        The five spice powder is mostly used for the traditional; Chinese roast pork but not so much for the Char Siu Pork but there are many different recipes that are being used for Char Siu Pork so I guess some recipes might call for it.

        Reply
    • Lusy says

      July 04, 2020 at 8:10 am

      You can buy Hoisin sauce and five spice at sprouts farmers market

      Reply
  7. Belle says

    May 04, 2020 at 8:35 am

    5 stars
    Super happy with this recipe! It was a winner! I had enough leftover to go with my tonkotsu ramen the next day 🤗

    I used pork belly instead. I had used the pork belly – paraboiled it to make a Vietnamese soup dish, and used the meat to make the char siu. Super happy with the flavor!!

    Reply
  8. Iris says

    February 10, 2020 at 8:10 am

    5 stars
    You nailed it! I added gochujang sauce and shallots for a kick and a twist! It’s heavenly!!! This beats out anything you could find in the stores!!!!! Thank you for starting me off in the right direction !!!!!

    Reply
    • Lou murray says

      May 16, 2020 at 1:30 pm

      This was so, so yummy everyone loved it so now a favourite thank you for sharing

      Reply
  9. Traci says

    January 09, 2020 at 7:56 am

    Could you please clarify for me whether or not to slice the pork belly before cooking or cook it in one whole slab? I have read through all of the comments and in one reply it stayed to cook it whole or it would dry out, but in another reply it said to slice it first. Also, if we slice it first, to what thickness should we make the slices? Thank you.

    Reply
    • Peter says

      February 07, 2020 at 8:55 am

      Don’t slice. Grill in whole pieces. You slice after it’s cooked.

      Reply
    • Mark says

      April 29, 2020 at 11:25 am

      5 stars
      I just made this tonight and I decided to slice it first to get a good crisp on all edges… turned out amazing

      Reply
  10. Tina Flores says

    June 27, 2019 at 8:57 am

    Made this dish and it was delicious! I like to use a pork loin then slice thinly. It taste just like in the restaurants, thank you…my family loves it, especially with fried rice. To keep it from sticking I use non-stick foil.

    Reply
  11. Roy Van Clieaf says

    May 20, 2019 at 12:48 am

    5 stars
    Hi Karina, I just tried this recipe yesterday. Followed the recipe with the exception of the oven broiling. Instead I did this on my gas grill to eliminate any mess in the oven. I used the main burners on a low heat and used the rotisserie burner to try to simulate the broil. The pork belly slices were place on parchment paper on a grill pan. I believe the results were very similar to the oven broiling technique as they looked just like your pictures. and tasted incredible…melt in your mouth good. This is an excellent dish and I’ll most definitely be cooking it again. Thanks so much.
    R

    Reply
  12. TB says

    February 20, 2019 at 5:45 pm

    5 stars
    Absolutely loved the sauce! Next time, I will try spare or baby back ribs, the pork belly from Costco was very fatty and made this too rich to eat very much of it. Thank you, Karina!

    Reply
  13. Howard says

    January 22, 2019 at 1:25 pm

    CanI make this using baby back ribs

    Reply
    • Karina says

      January 27, 2019 at 2:02 pm

      Yes Howard! Perfect.

      Reply
  14. Sleepery Jeem says

    January 01, 2019 at 1:10 pm

    5 stars
    I used a punch that I bought online to put little holes into the skin the second time I made this. The first time was really good but with the holes the crackling ‘bubbled’ just as in many restaurants. Now to try it with other sauces, maybe a buffalo one.

    Reply
  15. Camille says

    August 03, 2018 at 7:14 am

    Hi!!

    I am trying this recipe for the 1st time and have some questions:
    1) I already marinated the pork belly. Is it better to slice it now before I broil it?
    2) Since I am using a convection oven, are the broil settings different?

    Reply
    • Karina says

      August 03, 2018 at 3:43 pm

      It is best to cook it all together and cut it into the thin strips at the very end. If not, it will harden and dry quicker in the oven. Everything should be the same temperature as I have listed and you should be good to go!! Enjoy!!

      Reply
  16. Lala says

    March 11, 2018 at 12:01 pm

    I don’t know about everyone else but my broil settings only let you broil at 450 F or higher. So do I bake at 350F and then switch to broil towards the end to get it charred? Broil at 450 for less time?

    Reply
    • Karina says

      March 12, 2018 at 5:38 pm

      Oh NO! I am so sorry hun! It shouldn’t have done that. Grill or broil for 30 minutes at 350*. Hope that helps! I wish it didn’t end up like that for you!

      Reply
  17. Mimi says

    February 04, 2018 at 9:17 pm

    5 stars
    I made this with pork belly! It was delicious! Not dry at all! Thank you!

    Reply
    • Tymeron Smith says

      February 05, 2018 at 6:58 pm

      MMM! That sounds delicious! Thanks for sharing!

      Reply
  18. Karen says

    January 27, 2018 at 5:18 am

    I have the same quesiton as Matt – When broiling, where do you put the rack, Middle? top? I would be afraid of burning if it’s on the top!

    Reply
    • Tymeron Smith says

      January 31, 2018 at 3:49 pm

      I put it on the middle rack when broiling. Hope that helps!

      Reply
  19. Tommy-Lee Staples says

    November 14, 2017 at 2:38 am

    Do you use light or dark soy sauce?

    Reply
    • Karina says

      November 17, 2017 at 7:51 pm

      Hi Tommy-Lee. I use regular soy sauce in this recipe. Light will also work.

      Reply
  20. Matt says

    July 29, 2017 at 7:55 am

    Question
    When broiling should it be on the top rack or middle? And when you say rotate, do you mean flip it?

    Reply
  21. chien says

    July 10, 2017 at 6:13 am

    5 stars
    thanks for the recipe! just tried this, and the flavours are really good, instant favourite! only comment about the taste would be i would put slightly less soy sauce next time but that’s solely personal preference (could be the new soy sauce brand we tried too). we used pork belly already sliced, and marinaded for 5 hours. then broiled at 170C for 40 mins, which made the pork a bit dry, but the caramelised bits were really really yummy. so might try putting it closer to the top and for less time next time.

    Reply
  22. Melissa says

    May 02, 2017 at 8:36 am

    I bought pork belly just to make this recipe. Just to clarify, do I cook the pork whole, then slice it or slice it then cook it?

    Reply
    • Karina says

      May 02, 2017 at 8:40 am

      Hi Melissa! Slice it first, then cook it up! You’ll have a more deeper flavour that way. I hope you like it!

      Reply
  23. Claudia says

    April 13, 2017 at 6:30 pm

    5 stars
    This looks delish! Can you give a rough indication of much 1/3 of a cup is in ml or fluid oz please? If not, are you using a smallish or largish cup?! Thanks ;0)

    Reply
  24. paul says

    March 04, 2017 at 12:56 am

    4 stars
    very awesome recipe. I prefer to pre-cook the butt in the pressure cooker for juicier, more tender meat, then marinade/roast just to finish it on the outside. thanks for the sauce recipe, I’m still working on getting it just right.

    Reply
  25. nik says

    October 18, 2016 at 1:16 am

    Fantastic

    Reply
  26. Donna says

    August 15, 2016 at 2:26 am

    Can you BBQ instead of oven grill

    Reply
  27. Yara says

    March 23, 2016 at 5:36 pm

    Hi karina I’ve been cooking a lot of your recipes they are amazing!!! Just quick question on this one, can I use maple syrup instead of honey? one of my guests is allergic to honey. Thanks for your awesome recipes. You should produce a cookbook!

    Reply
    • Karina says

      March 24, 2016 at 8:06 pm

      Hi Yara! Yes that should be fine!

      Reply
  28. Cole says

    January 20, 2016 at 7:33 pm

    Looks amazing! Quick question regarding the cooking process. After cooking the pork for 30 minutes, you take it out, baste it, turn it, & baste the other side. Do you then put it back in the oven? If so, for how long?

    Reply
    • Karina says

      January 23, 2016 at 8:30 am

      Hi Cole! Ok, baste it two or three times during those 30 minutes (removing from the oven to do so of course), then rotate, baste again and put back into the oven until they crisp up on that side. It takes about 5-10 minutes 🙂 The more you baste them the saucier they get. So good!

      Reply
  29. Kevin | Keviniscooking says

    December 31, 2015 at 10:45 am

    5 stars
    Looks utterly scrumptious! Happy New Year!

    Reply
    • Karina says

      December 31, 2015 at 11:23 am

      Thanks Kevin! And happy new year to you too!

      Reply

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