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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.
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, though you could try our Slow Cooker Barbecue Ribs if you have a spare rack.
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.
Oven grilling or broiling ensures the crispy and char-grilled outer edges we love so much, and a tender, juicy pork meat on the inside.
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.
Serve over steamed rice or vegetables, and drizzle with extra Char Siu sauce…ring in the new year in style! Easy Honey Garlic Pork Chops only take 20 minutes! 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.
Need more homemade Chinese? Give these a crack:
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Sticky Chinese BBQ Pork Belly Ribs (Char Siu)
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 garlic minced
- 3/4 teaspoon red food colouring optional for that beautiful red colour
- 1/2 teaspoon Chinese five spice powder
- 6 pork belly spare ribs about 2.2 pounds or 1kg
- 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 garlic minced
- 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.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Hello Miss Karina
I wanted to thank you so much for your amazing recipe. My boys bug me very often for these delicious pork belly’s. Who can blame them?
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!
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!
Very helpful, because my broiler doesn’t have a temp gauge. It’s just damn hot (500F).
Thank you!
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!!
It’s supposed be fatty! That’s like saying it’s a delicious steak, but we are vegan so we subbed the meat with cauliflower.
Wow, Roger! Thank God you came here to tell everyone how they should like their food — three years late, I might add. Stop being a jerk. I can’t believe you wasted your time to post this in an attempt to shame a stranger for thinking differently than you. I’m sorry your life sucks.
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! ❤️
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!!!
Hey this recipe sounds awesome! So I have a few questions if using pork belly since this is my first time.
I went with boneless to make it easier and there is skin one side. So I just want to know is there a way to prep the skin before marinating and cooking the pork belly? Also should I remove the skin after cooking the pork belly?
I haven’t cooked with pork belly yet so I’m not sure what would work best for this recipe.
Why do you discard the marinade? Surely this could be used as additional sauce (if cooked) or basting sauxe?
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
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.
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.
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?
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.
You can get the Chinease 5 spice from Amazon. I am not sure, but I bet Amaxon has the Hoisin sauce too.
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.
You can buy Hoisin sauce and five spice at sprouts farmers market
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!!
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 !!!!!
This was so, so yummy everyone loved it so now a favourite thank you for sharing
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.
Don’t slice. Grill in whole pieces. You slice after it’s cooked.
I just made this tonight and I decided to slice it first to get a good crisp on all edges… turned out amazing