I don’t remember which magazine had this recipe, but it was a recipe from the writer’s grandma so it immediately caught my eye! We all know grandmas’ cooking is always full of delicious recipes created with ‘secret’ ingredients.
It is very important to choose a good piece of meat. For making Char Siu, the best piece is pork butt. Choose a piece that has more marbling than others as lean pieces will be very dry and won’t be as flavorful as well. If you still want to keep it healthy and lean, I’d recommend using pork neck since the texture is more tender yet lean (the pictures below in the collage show pork neck).
Ingredients:
2 pounds pork butt
4 Tbsp granulated sugar
2 Tbsp light soy sauce
2 Tbsp dark soy sauce
2 Tbsp hoisin sauce
2 Tbsp Shao Hsing rice cooking wine
2 Tbsp ground bean paste
2 tsp sesame oil
¼ tsp ground white pepper
2 Tbsp honey
Directions:
- Quarter pork butt lengthwise. If you use pork neck, you don’t need to cut it. In a small bowl, combine sugar, soy sauce, hoisin sauce, rice wine, ground bean paste, sesame oil, pepper, and stir to combine (save the honey for later). Pour mixture over pork, making sure it is well coated. Cover the container with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight, turn pork at least once. (picture 1)
- When ready to roast, let pork come to room temperature and let it sit for at least 30 minutes. Preheat broiler, place a rack in a roasting pan or use a broiling pan. Add enough hot water so that it reaches a depth of ¼ inch in the pan. Brush the broiling pan with oil so meat won’t stick to the pan. (Picture 2 and 3)
- Place pork on rack, discard marinade. Carefully place pan under broiler (pork should be about 4 inches from broiler element), and broil until meat is just beginning to char slightly, about 15 minutes. Brush with honey and broil for 2 more minutes (Pictures 4 and 5)
- Turn pork and repeat Item 3 above.
Let the meat rest for 5 minutes and cut into slices.
Served with rice and your favorite side dishes, or you can make noodles in soup.
GinsKitchen 