Chinese BBQ Pork (Best and Authentic Recipe!) - Rasa Malaysia (2024)

Recipe IndexJump to Recipe

This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my privacy policy.

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 (Best and Authentic Recipe!) - Rasa Malaysia (1)

Chinese BBQ Pork (Best and Authentic Recipe!) - Rasa Malaysia (2)

Table of Contents

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.

Chinese BBQ Pork (Best and Authentic Recipe!) - Rasa Malaysia (3)

Other Recipes You Might Like

  • Char Siu
  • Chinese Roast Pork
  • Chinese BBQ Pork Ribs
Chinese BBQ Pork (Best and Authentic Recipe!) - Rasa Malaysia (4)

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.
Chinese BBQ Pork (Best and Authentic Recipe!) - Rasa Malaysia (5)

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.

Chinese BBQ Pork (Best and Authentic Recipe!) - Rasa Malaysia (6)

Frequently Asked Questions

Why Is Chinese Bbq Pork Red?

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.

Can I Use It to Make Chinese Bbq Pork Buns?

Yes, you can.

It is the main ingredient for char siu bao pork buns.

What Is the Dipping Sauce for This Recipe?

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.

Can I Freeze Chinese Bbq Pork?

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.

How Many Calories per Serving?

This recipe is only 259 calories per serving.

What Dishes to Serve with This Recipe?

Chinese BBQ pork is best served with steamed rice or on top of wonton noodles. For a wholesome Cantonese-style meal, I recommend the following recipes.

Chow Mein

Wonton Soup

Chinese Vegetables (Choy Sum)

Steamed Buns

For more great recipes like this, sign up for our newsletter. We’ll send daily recipes you’ll love!

Join

Sign up for our newsletter!

Chinese BBQ Pork

Authentic and homemadeChinese BBQ porkmarinated with sticky char siu sauce and roasted in oven. This recipe is easy and tastes just like the best Chinese restaurants.

4.43 from 47 votes

Print

By Bee Yinn Low

Yield 4 people

Prep 20 minutes mins

Cook 20 minutes mins

Total 40 minutes mins

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.

    Chinese BBQ Pork (Best and Authentic Recipe!) - Rasa Malaysia (11)

  • 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.

    Chinese BBQ Pork (Best and Authentic Recipe!) - Rasa Malaysia (12)

Video

Notes

Click forConversion Tool. If you don't have maltose, you can use a total of 3 tablespoons honey.

Course: Chinese Recipes

Cuisine: Pork

Keywords: chinese bbq pork

Nutrition

Nutrition Facts

Chinese BBQ Pork

Amount Per Serving (1 g)

Calories 259Calories from Fat 72

% Daily Value*

Fat 8g12%

Saturated Fat 2g13%

Polyunsaturated Fat 5g

Cholesterol 83mg28%

Sodium 66mg3%

Carbohydrates 8g3%

Sugar 7g8%

Protein 30g60%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

Notice: Nutrition is auto-calculated, using Spoonacular, for your convenience. Where relevant, we recommend using your own nutrition calculations.

Chinese BBQ Pork (Best and Authentic Recipe!) - Rasa Malaysia (2024)

FAQs

What is the red coating on Chinese pork? ›

4. Red food colouring – to make the pork red, like you get at the Chinese barbecue shop. This is optional. Authentic Char Siu uses red bean curd for colouring and a touch of flavour – it can be found at Asian stores, use about 2 tbsp of the liquid and no red food colouring.

What is the difference between char siu and siu yuk? ›

Char siu is barbecued roast pork, whereas siu yuk is roasted crispy pork belly. Not only do they use different parts of the pig — my dad likes to use pork butt for char siu and pork belly for siu yuk — but they're also prepared differently and have varying flavor profiles and textures.

What makes Chinese BBQ pork pink? ›

If it's ground pork, it might be as the result of using/adding minced ginger and the resulting interaction with pork tends to make it a slightly pink hue. If it's traditional char siu(BBQ Chinese roasted pork), it's the combination of seasonings and spices (hoisin sauce, honey, five spice powder and red food dye).

Why is Chinese BBQ sauce different? ›

Besides, this sauce doesn't have the unappealing red food coloring that some restaurants use. Just simple and natural ingredients, plus tons of flavor. Unlike American-style barbecue sauces, traditional Chinese barbecue sauce doesn't contain tomatoes.

How do Chinese restaurants get their pork red? ›

The red hue on the pork comes from the sticky, crave-able barbecue sauce in which it's marinaded before roasting. Often, this deep crimson hue comes from a combination of Hoisin sauce, ketchup, soy sauce, and fermented red bean curd (aka fermented tofu, bean cheese, or tofu cheese).

What makes Chinese BBQ sauce red? ›

Ingredients in marinades for cha siu are similar to those found in China (honey, five-spice, wine, soy, hoisin, etc.), except that red food colouring is often used in place of the red bean curd for convenience.

Is hoisin sauce the same as char siu sauce? ›

No they are not the same. Hoisin sauce is made from fermented soybeans mixed with garlic, chilli, sesame, Chinese spices and vinegar. Char siu sauce is a condiment made from hoisin sauce, sugar, Chinese five spice powder, Chinese cooking wine, soy sauce, garlic and often also food colouring.

What is the main ingredient of char siu? ›

Char siu is Chinese restaurant-style pork with a deep red, sweet and sticky coating. Char siu literally means "fork roast" and refers to the traditional method of cooking this dish by which strips of seasoned pork were skewered with long forks and roasted in a covered oven or over a fire.

What makes char siu so red? ›

The red color of char siu traditionally comes from red fermented bean curd, or lam yuh. It doesn't give a very bright, vibrant red, but more of a natural redwood-looking hue. To get a very vibrant red color, most Chinese BBQ stalls add red food coloring.

What to eat with Chinese BBQ pork? ›

The best side dishes to serve with char siu pork are jasmine rice, potstickers, Hong Kong noodles, Chinese curry sauce, bok choy, egg rolls, ramen, Chinese steamed buns, stir-fried mixed vegetables, fried rice, chow mein, sweet and sour soup, Chinese broccoli, wontons, and Peking duck pancakes.

What does char siu mean in english? ›

char siu in British English

(ˌtʃɑː ˈsjuː ) or char sui (ˈsuːɪ ) noun. barbecued marinated pork.

Why are Chinese spare ribs red? ›

The characteristic red hue of char siu comes from red food coloring, which you can add to the marinade if you'd like, but I prefer to go au natural. It's plenty pretty on its own. Hoisin sauce—a fermented soy bean-based sweet and savory barbecue sauce—is the primary flavoring agent in the marinade.

What is the most used sauce in Chinese food? ›

Soy sauce (jiàng yóu, 酱油), the most common of Chinese sauces, sounds simple, and for the most part, it is.

What sauce do Chinese restaurants use? ›

Soy sauce has been used in Chinese cooking for over 1,000 years. This classic dipping sauce is a staple in Chinese restaurants, as it is served with dim sum dishes and is used together with vinegar, ginger, and chili oil.

What is the red meat on a stick in Chinese food? ›

Red meat on a stick. I think you mean char siu pork. It looks like this: Char siu pork is marinated and roasted strips of pork shoulder, pork belly or pork tenderloin. It gets its distinctive red color and unique flavor from an interesting marinade.

Is there red dye in Chinese food? ›

In 1996, China banned food manufacturers from using Sudan I red dye to color their products. China followed a number of other developed nations in banning the dye due to its links to cancer and other negative health effects.

What makes meat red in Chinese food? ›

Soy sauce (usually a mix of light and dark soy sauce), fermented bean paste, red fermented tofu or rock sugar is commonly used to both flavor and impart a reddish brown hue to the items being cooked. Food coloring is sometimes added for a more intense red coloration.

Top Articles
Latest Posts
Article information

Author: Duncan Muller

Last Updated:

Views: 6368

Rating: 4.9 / 5 (59 voted)

Reviews: 82% of readers found this page helpful

Author information

Name: Duncan Muller

Birthday: 1997-01-13

Address: Apt. 505 914 Phillip Crossroad, O'Konborough, NV 62411

Phone: +8555305800947

Job: Construction Agent

Hobby: Shopping, Table tennis, Snowboarding, Rafting, Motor sports, Homebrewing, Taxidermy

Introduction: My name is Duncan Muller, I am a enchanting, good, gentle, modern, tasty, nice, elegant person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.