Char Siu, a fragrant and delicious Chinese barbecued pork is a favourite in Cantonese cuisine. Often using pork shoulder or pork belly, it is marinated in a homemade sauce for hours before cooking it over the barbecue pit. Instead of pork, use chicken to make Char Siu chicken.
https://www.nyonyacooking.com/recipes/char-siu

Char Siu or Chinese barbequed pork is one of the most delicious meat. Authentic Char Siu is simple made of a cut of pork which is then marinated with a mixture of sauces, condiments and aromatics. The meat is then roasted and glazed using the marinade. Hence, the secret to the best Char Siu lays in its marinade. Besides that, choosing the right cut of pork makes a big difference in the taste.

### Why is Char Siu red?

In many Hong Kong, Singaporean or Malaysian restaurants, Char Siu sold has often a hint of redness to it. The red tone tends to seep through the meat. This results in redness around the edges of Char Siu and can be seen when cut into slices. The colour comes from red colouring as the redness gives a nice shade to it, making the meat more delectable. For a natural shade of redness, chefs use fermented red tofu as we have used in this recipe.

### Which pork cuts for the best Char Siu?

Depends on what you are looking for. The best meat to use is pork butt also known as boston butt, located on the back of the pig, just behind the head. Pork butt is popular for char siu as it contains a good amount of marbled fats and connective tissue. When grilled or roasted slowly, the fats and connective tissue will melt away, revealing delicious flavours.

Pork belly on the other hand provides a more fatty char siu. If you are looking for leaner char siu, go for pork loin which has less fat.

For me, the best part of the meat is the edges that are slightly charred during the roasting process. It makes the meat more fragrant. As the meat roasts in the oven, the honey mixture is absorbed into the meat, thus creating a sweet and savoury layer coating the meat. This makes the char siu lips smacking good!

One can have the meat as it is or together with [wan tan noodles](https://www.nyonyacooking.com/....recipes/wantan-noodl or rice. Enjoy this dish with some [pickled chillies](/recipes/pickled-chilli) or [chilli garam](/recipes/cili-garam) if you need a spicy dip. For this recipe, I used the oven but it would best if you barbecued this over a charcoal fire. The smoky flavour from the charcoal would add so much more fragrance to the dish.

Raw Chili Sauce
https://www.nyonyacooking.com/recipes/cili-garam

Pickled Chillies
https://www.nyonyacooking.com/....recipes/pickled-chil

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