But you can most definitely just buy a two jars of Cha Shao Jiang instead. Especially if you don't already have these sauces and don't plan on making Chinese food very often. Just mix in some maltose or honey and ginger/garlic, five spice,ect til you get a the level of sweetness and depth of Flavor too your own liking. You can also add the amount of honey, and spices found in the recipe below. The Cantonese name is Char Siew which is that name by which it is usually sold in stores.
Many Cha Shao chef's leave the honey out of the marinade and but then use honey cooked down with either brown sugar or cooking wine or both as a glaze that is brushed on in the last 10 minutes of cooking. Many home cooks just mix it into the marinade. I like it both ways. I have mixed it into the marinade in this recipe just for convenience but feel free to do it either way you like.
Traditionally a fermented bean curd is used in the marinade which gives the meat it's red color. Many restaurants and home cooks now just use red food coloring to color the meat. This is optional and it is also an option to purchase some fermented bean curd (the red one, not the white) and add a small piece (about 1 tsp.) to the marinade for color and have it the traditional way.
If you personally prefer a less fatty cut of meat you can use pork tenderloin but cut the cooking time down to about 20 minutes.
Ingredients:
2 kg. pork belly (chose one with good marbling and distribution of fat)
1/4 cup Chinese cooking wine
1 Tbsp. salt
Chinese BBQ Sauce or Char Siew Sauce:
3/4 cup hoisin Sauce
1/2 cup plus 1 Tbsp. maltose or honey
1 1/2 tsp. dark soy sauce
3 Tbsp. oyster sauce
1/3 cup Chinese cooking wine
1 1/2 tsp. salt
3/4 tsp. 5 spice powder
3/4 tsp. garlic powder
3/4 tsp. ground ginger
1/4 tsp ground pepper
2 1/4 cups water
3 Tbsp. cornstarch
red food coloring (optional)
Select a Pork shoulder that has fairly thin and evenly distributed lines of fat.
Remove any excess fat from around the outside of the roast.
Slice the pork into 1 inch by 1 inch strips. I even got my strips a little too fat in the picture below. You want lots and lots of sticky sweet coating to little meat when it is all cooked up and ready to eat. That is key to a really good Char Siew.
Rub 1/4 cup cooking wine and 1 Tbsp. salt into the strips of pork. Marinate for 3 hours.
Meanwhile make your BBQ sauce. Mix BBQ Sauce ingredients in a pot...
...and cook over medium heat until thick and sticky. If you need to add more water mixed with cornstarch do! You want a the sauce to be able to thickly coat the meat and not have a lot of it drip off.
This is your other option. Just buy two jars of Chinese BBQ Sauce.
After the strips of pork have marinated in the wine and salt coat in 1 1/2 cups Chinese BBQ Sauce. Let this marinate overnight.
Remove the strips of meat from the marinade and coat in some of the remaining BBQ sauce.
My absolutely favorite way to do this, just dip the meat in the sauce to get an even and thick coat all over. also gets the sauce over every inch of the meat. I also use this method instead of basting during cooking 3 more times to insure a nice thick coat of sauce.
Keep in mind that an oven will not get the same results as authentic Cantonese BBQ pork. The results you get in a BBQ are far superior but an oven still gets really tasty results.
Preheat oven to 425 F. Cover a baking sheet with tin foil or parchment paper then place a roasting rack on the baking sheet. Lay the meat on the roasting rack. Roast in the oven for 40 minutes, removing to baste(or dip as I like to do) with sauce twice during roasting. It should have an internal temperature of 160 F. After the twenty minutes is up, turn on the broiler for a minute or so if you like a little BBQ like char on the outside. Turn off the oven and let the meat rest in a warm oven for 10 minutes. Remove and let the meat cool 10 minutes or so before cutting so the sticky coating has a chance to firm up a bit..
Instructions for the Barbecue:
Turn on BBQ to medium high heat. If your BBQ does not already have a roasting rack place a roasting rack in the BBQ so the meat will not be directly on the grill. Place meat on the roasting rack, close the BBQ and cook for 45 minutes, basting(or dipping) at least twice but preferably three times during cooking and turning meat once. It should have an internal temperature of 160 F. Allow to cool for ten minutes before slicing so the sticky coating has a chance to firm up a bit.
Cut the meat into 1/2 inch wide slices. In Taiwan I always saw it being cut on a slant, that is up to you how you want to cut it.
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