Chinese Barbeque Pork (Char Siu)

Closest to authentic I've found, even has the actual darker more genuine color than the usual bright red restaurant versions. I do add (4) 1/4" thick fresh ginger coins, smashed and chopped, to the sauce before cooking. I've even had to make it without the Hoisin sauce (none on hand, and no black bean sauce to make any) , and it still came out great. You can also use "country style pork ribs" for this - they're nothing more than pork butt (shoulder) cut in ~2 square strips. For leaner diets, use a pork tenderloin or thick cut boneless pork chops, taking an extra step to brine them before marinading, to keep them moist and juicy. Also, I find that the soy sauce adds enough salt, you don't need the kosher salt at the end (especially if you've brined the pork first). For those who don't want (or can't) use a grill for this [I only have a pellet smoker/grill at home, and don't want the smoke flavor], you can still do this quite well in the oven. To do so, simply use a sheet pan lined with foil or parchment, and lay them out on a lightly greased rack - cooking oil spray is great for this. Bake at 275º for 2 hours, basting them every 20 minutes with the sauce (6 times), and turning them every other baste (3 times). Be sure to get the sides when basting. They will cook better, without the bottoms getting soggy (even with turning), if you raise the rack off of the sheet pan by about 2", either using small drinking glasses or similar, or racks with fold-out legs. This all

This is a great dish if you are looking for a tasty Chinese style BBQ! I followed directions as written, leaving out only the cayenne pepper so my 2 year old could eat it. I marinaded these overnight. Delicious. My go-to recipe for Chinese BBQ! Thanks for another hit, Chef John.

I was pleasantly surprised with how good this turned out. While it didn't taste exactly as the bbq pork from Chinatown tastes, it is a more than worthy substitute. I made my marinade with oyster sauce (which is slightly sweeter) instead of hoisin because I never have hoisin on hand. I did not use dye, and I put about half a cup of sauce to side. With the rest I marinated 3 lbs of country ribs for 24 hours. I baked this at 325 for 2 hours then used the remaining sauce to glaze it every 20 minutes or so until it reached 170. Next time I would put aside more sauce because it was pretty delicious. My kids and I snacked on this plain and kept going back for more. With what we had left I made fried rice and they raved about it. I would definitely do this again. As a Chinese person who grew up on bbq pork, I was very pleased with this. The only changes I might make is to very slightly dial back the 5 spice and for my personal tastes make it slightly sweeter. Thank you, Chef John! You did great!

Absolutely great recipe! I used pork tenderloin instead of pork shoulder and I couldn't find five spice powder or star anise at my local supermarket so I substituted allspice with a pinch of ginger. The results were phenomenal. I do plan on finding some five spice powder for the next time I make this. Because, there WILL be a next time.

This came out so delicious. I baked it because I don't have a grill. The family loved it!! DEFINITELY will make this again.

This was AMAZING!!! My hubby could not stop raving about how delicious it was! Cut my pork tenderloin into 4 equal pieces and let it marinate for 18 hours before grilling low and slow on the BBQ. Basted it occasionally with the reserved marinade after I reduced it on the stove. Sliced it up and served it with fried rice, bok choy and the extra sauce. Better than store bought or takeout and super easy to make!! You knocked it out of the park with this one, Chef John!! Thank you for sharing!!

I made this as written except for a few small changes: 1) I used country ribs because that's what I had on hand, 2) I did not add additional salt at the end, and 3) did not use any red food coloring. This is a fantastic recipe, the pork came out as I had tasted it in Chinatown. After boiling the remaining sauce, I used it to baste the ribs several times during the grilling process, and the pork came out red enough without the food dye. The flavor was right on. Thank you Chef John, for another outstanding recipe.

This is exactly what I was looking for. My family loved it. They also loved the fried rice I made a couple of days later.

This was very good! I made some changes since I did not have rice wine, hoisin or cayenne on hand. I used rice wine vinegar, teriyaki and chili powder as substitutes. I also used pork loin and added 1 tsp onion powder. Saved the leftovers for pork fried rice another night.

We loved it!!! I "Keto-ized" it and had to substitute Japanese 7 spice for the Chinese 5 spice as my supermarket didn't carry the Chinese 5 spice. Next time I think I will add some ginger and sesame oil just to tweak it a little bit--but--it was great and will do again.

This is a third review on this dish. I have cooked it with three different kinds of pork: shoulder, tenderloin and sirloin. Going from left or right that is fatty, lean and in between. I did not indirect cook so the cooking time and appearance is totally different. Takes about 25 minutes with grill direct at temperature at ~275 as suggested. The sirloin was the best but took more time to trim. The marinade for all three was the same. The shoulder was, for our means, too fatty and with excessive gristle (maybe just the particular cut?), the tenderloin was a bit non-descript and did not taste like pork - just the sauce, and the sirloin (you have to ask your butcher exactly for this cut) was, as the little pig said, just right. A great combination of tender, flavorful and without the excessive fat. Disclaimer #1: you do have to do a bit more trimming. Disclaimer #2: I marinated all three times for 2 days. Love Chef John's recipes! This recipe will remain in the often-made list.

Loved it! A wonderful taste for the mouth and my friends and family loved it! Might become my new go to thing to make when guest come over to impress them with!

Family, most of whom are not crazy about pork, absolutely loved this. “You can make this anytime,” was refrain from my wife and daughter. Followed the recipe exactly, except used boneless country ribs in lieu of cutting up a pork shoulder (same cut of meat). Served this with garlic snow peas and chinese fried noodles. Positively delicious!

Loved this! I didn't have as much time to marinate it as i would have liked, but it was still very good. I cooked it in the electric smoker with cherry chips. Nummy!

This is a good recipe for a BBQ sauce instead of the AH SO sauce I have used. I did slow cook pork in the oven and put under the boiler in the end. Served whice rice and stir-fry onion, peppers, and mushrooms. I would make this again and try grilling next time.

Turn out very good! Made with rice and was very tasty. Could also use the sauce to make Mongolian Beef

This was delicious! I made my own hoisin sauce from another Allrecipes recipe and cooked in the oven for two hours. My husband absolutely loved it. I served with rice and roasted broccoli. Thank you Chef John!

Made ribs. No cayenne . Marinated overnight. Basted with boiled marinade in 300 degree oven for two hours Will add a bit of ginger next time. Delish with fried rice on the side.

Wow this was just amazing!! Best thing I have made from this site. Everyone loved it.

It was the tastiest Chinese barbecue pork I have ever had.

This was Great. Thanks. I made it as written. No leftovers. Gone.

This is no doubt the best and easy to follow recipe, even if you don’t have a big green egg grill to do it you can still using the conventional oven at home, don’t have cayenne pepper but go well with chili peppers!!!

Fast and easy. Marinate overnight.

Excellent as written!

Turned out famously. Great recipe!

This was a really great dish. Loved the flavours will make it again for sure !!

This was a hit! marinated 24 hours and it was wonderful!

Looks very good for the Chinese bbq pork, and I think this pork looks very pretty and it tastes good!

So delicious and much cheaper in price to make at home,but with maximum flavor.

My Family loved this

Quite good! I found that I didn't need to cook it as long as the directions recommended. Served in a sandwich. I don't think the red food coloring is necessary. Looks delicious without it as well. Nice recipe.

Excellent ... just like the restaurant ....

Meat came out amazing! Added some sweet basil and cornstarch to make a great barbecue sauce.

It smelled better than it tasted. The only substitution we made was to use rice vinegar instead of sherry because the sherry disappeared before I made the dish. The leftovers did not re-heat well and were rubbery.

I used pork belly and the flavours were incredible.

i overcooked it but the taste was excellent

Sooooo good! I only used 1/3 cup honey, upped the garlic and added ginger too. Also increase the five spice to one tablespoon. Marinated for 6 hours. Indirectly grilled. Needs the full 2 hours. Served with Chinese hot mustard and sesame seeds. Looking forward to having leftovers in Ramen! Yummy. Thank you chef john!!!

This is my go-to recipe for pork tenderloins. In the winter, I put the tenderloins on a baking rack and bake for about 30-45 minutes. I also don't throw away the marinade - I bring it to a boil and simmer for a few minutes to reduce it and use it as a topping.

Substituted pork tenderloin for shoulder and used rice vinegar instead of wine vinegar. Flavors were food but will try other recipes fir the sake if comparison.

This was awesome I used babyback ribs and I didnt have 5 spice so I used ginger, fennel and allspice and I marinated overnight and cooked in my ninja foodie 350 for 45 minutes and basted them 2x they came out incredible

Boyfriend (chinese) loved it so much! He said it tastes just like ordering from the restaurant!

Turned out great! I added the same amount of ginger as garlic. I also added some red fermented bean curd from the Asian market. Helps with color but I’m not sure it affected taste very much. I didn’t add very much. Has a very interesting flavor though. Otherwise I followed the recipe. FYI I had one piece I didn’t cook for about 4 days and it was just to overpowering after marinating that long. Great recipe! Must try!

It’s a great item to make. The longer they marinate the better they taste. Plus any left overs, make great items to pack up for lunch at work or school.

It was a really good recipe. I found the Chinese 5 Spice flavor a bit overwhelming though. I will only put in half next time. I chose to cook mine in the smoker, low and slow. My son said he thought it was better than any restaurant bbq pork because he liked the smoked flavor, but agreed it had too much of a licorice flavor and we need to cut down on the five spice next time.

left out the food coloring and put in the broiler for a few minutes a side to get crunchy charred flavor

Wow! So good, and everyone I serve this to loves it! I use smaller pieces of pork, sometimes even cut up chops, as they cook faster, and get better sauce coverage. I had thought to thicken the sauce and serve on the side once, but if you follow the basting directions, it saucy enough and extra wasn’t needed.

Flavors are wonderful. I am, however, perplexed about the cooking temp of 180! I Never cook pork to that temp anymore. the last Trichinosis case was in the 30s and even the governmint agrees that rare is 145. I did NOT put in the pink salt although I have used it in the past but not with this receipe. If you have a moment please explain the high finish temp. It dried out otherwise juicy country-style ribs I used for the meat. Keep 'em coming Chef. I'm a loyal Polish follower..

I made this last night. I omitted the alcohol, just didn’t have it on hand. Cooked it in the air fryer at 275. It was done in a much shorter time. I was afraid it was overdone and would be tough. But it was very good. Except that it’s messy, I’ll be making again.

A wonderfully simple and very flavorful recipe. I made mine in the oven since I don't have a grill. After ~6 hours of marination it was flavor-packed. The only thing I didn't like was the pork shoulder cut that was recommended. I cut away some of the thick fat on the outside of the pieces and it was still well-marbled throughout. I was hoping this fat would render out more but in the end some pieces were pretty chewy. Perhaps it would render more with a lower and even slower cooking time. I hesitate to go with a pork loin because of how lean it is; maybe there is something in-between? I'll figure that out for next time.

My husband and I LOVED IT!

Too much sweet to spicy ratio. Too much honey and hoisin?

This recipe is excellent! Will definitely make it again.

Family really enjoyed this. I used half low salt soy and regular soy and no extra salt at all. I did not use red food color either, but I had Sake so I used it. Make this again G'ma! Thanks Chef John!

Sooooo good! I only used 1/3 cup honey, upped the garlic and added ginger too. Also increase the five spice to one tablespoon. Marinated for 6 hours. Indirectly grilled. Needs the full 2 hours. Served with Chinese hot mustard and sesame seeds. Looking forward to having leftovers in Ramen! Yummy. Thank you chef john!!!

Good flavor, gave me heartburn though.

This was really good. I liked how it had the right amount of heat and flavor. I used pork tenderloin because I wanted to use it up and it turned out wonderfully. I'll be making this again.

Really tasty! I smoked the pork over cherry wood for extra flavor. Superb.

Definitely restaurant quality! I made it exactly to the recipe in my cast iron skillet. The chicken was moist, tender and flavorful. I served it over basmati rice with garlic Naan. Another hit C. J. !

It's all in the sauce as the old saying goes. I started making this and found that I did not had any hoisin sauce but found a quick fix with soy sauce, peanut butter and some garlic powder. The barbecue came out moist and very tasty.

Flavors are spectacular! Being the middle of winter, I made this indoors... I baked in my oven using a wire rack insert on a sheet pan lined with aluminum foil. Worked brilliantly. Side dish of basmati rice with coconut milk, ginger and scallions (lots of good recipes options) and steamed broccoli. I used pork shoulder as instructed and it was great but definitely a lot of fatty pieces to work around on the plate. I like the idea of trying with pork tenderloin next time as others mentioned.

Definitely a keeper! I didn't have Hoisin so I substituted BBQ sauce and fennel seeds (Google search for alternative), it was a big hit.

Favorite for me but not so much the family

This turn out pretty good. At first I didn't think I was going to like it. The marinade didn't taste right so I added some Orange rind and the juice from the orange. made it taste better. they turn out great.

5 stars!

Perfect

Due to the current pandemic I was unable to get the 5 sauce because it was sold out. I did not have star anise either, so I ended up using onion powder, curry seasoning, cinnamon, and a pinch of bbq rub. I also used special non-salt since my mother cant have a lot of it and the soy sauce was already pretty rich with it. I used a little white wine as well, since i didnt have the correct type or substitutes. I'm very happy with how it still turned out. It was delicious and this recipe is absolutely amazing. Thank you for also adding a part for if we are using the oven! That was very appreciated! Well done!

I made this again but used pork butt instead of pork loin, OMG what a difference. This was outstanding better than any take Chinese Take Out I have had. I did not use curing salt, but I did liberally salt the meat before I smoked it on my pellet smoker at 300 degrees for just about an hour and a half. Basted with leftover marinade and kissed it with a sear to finish. Without a doubt this will be in my regular cooking schedule. I plan on cutting up leftover and adding it to fried rice.

I used Country Ribs. Excellent.

This is a great chef, and fun to listen to! I would use the marinade again, but maybe on the final re-sauce add some of my favorite barbecue sauce. Beautiful looking . . .

Very easy to make and very good. My son ate it and he is a picky eater.

I've made this twice now. The first time I used pork country ribs, because it was on sale. I used a butt the second time. Both were very good. I did not use pink salt, just regular sea salt (I don't have kosher). I marinaded about 4-5 hours. I can't be bothered with the over-night thing.I also cooked it in the oven. I have not mastered the slow cook BBQ thing yet. I also would not have had time, unless I wanted to eat at 10:00 pm. Great BBQ pork recipe !

nope not yet

. I cut the pork into 2x6” strips. Put pork & marinade into a ziplock bag. I didn’t use red food coloring but otherwise made the marinade as written. I roasted this in a 300 degrees F oven. I put the pork on a rack in a foil-lined pan and cooked per direction. After roasting in the oven, I put pork under a under the broiler (not too close) for 5 minutes per side to get a nice char. Only cooked it to around 150 degrees F internal temperature. Came out perfect.