Char Siu Recipe

Name: Char Siu Recipe
Prep time: 16 h
Cook time: 1 h 10 min
Total time: 17 h 10 min
Yield: 2 Servings
Ingredients: pork: 500g; Cold water: 500ml; Salt: 20g; Sugar: 125g; Black Bean Soy Sauce with fermented red yeast: 1.5tbsp; Salted black bean paste: 1 tbsp; Soy sauce: 1/2 tbsp; Rice Wine: 1/2 tbsp; Maltose: 1/8 cup; Cold water: 1/4 cup; Tapioca Starch: 2 tsp; Small Red Chillis: 1

Finger licking good!

17hours 10min
Serves 2
Easy

Ingredients

500g pork
飞机肉is preferred
Brine
500ml Cold water
20g Salt
Marinade
125g Sugar
1.5tbsp Black Bean Soy Sauce with fermented red yeast
1 tbsp Salted black bean paste
1/2 tbsp Soy sauce
1/2 tbsp Rice Wine
1/8 cup Maltose
For glaze
Gravy
1/4 cup Cold water
2 tsp Tapioca Starch
or corn starch
1 Small Red Chillis
deseeded (optional)

Directions

This is a Char Siu recipe perfected by Dr Leslie Tay of Ieatishootipost and it is pretty darn good as with most of his recipes. However, the problem with his recipe for me is that it is pretty long and sometimes a little confusing. (I know my instructions can be pretty confusing too). Also, I adapted it a slight bit to cater to what I have at home and I included a step on how to use the left over glaze by making it into a dipping sauce or gravy.

I actually attempted his recipe 2x and the first was not as good because I did not read his instructions well. (I am pretty bad at following step-by-step instructions -_-). And if not for the fact that it is his recipe plus a friend had tried and raved about it, I would have written it off after the first attempt.

So my purpose of (re)writing this Char Siu Recipe is mainly to simplify it for my own reference and to whoever who wants a quick reference. I highly recommend all to go through his post first for knowledge and if they want simpler instructions, refer back to mine and I hope I manage to simplify it further.

Also he had some frills added like charcoal oil that is too complicated for me (too lazy) or for most home cooks to duplicate so I will give those touches a miss.

The end result is still a very yummy char siu that is actually very do-able and quite idiot proof if you read the instructions carefully.

Key Reminders:

Use 飞机肉 for the pork (his blog explains the cut in greater detail). I get mine from my butcher. I am not too sure what this is called in English though. Sometimes the meat comes looking a little thin as in measurement wise, but no worries. This is the characteristic of this cut. I love this cut for making minced meat.
500g is only enough for 2 pax if that is the only meat you are serving.
Prep at least 1 night in advance.
Remember to brine 8-12 hours.
I simplified his marinade a little by replacing oyster sauce and dark sauce with Premium Black Bean Soy Sauce with Red Yeast Rice. This is the Taiwanese black soy sauce and in Singapore you can buy under the AAA label. I also gave the colouring a miss.
Marinade overnight or for 8 hours.
Use a foil to protect the insides of your baking tray or the drippings from the glaze will totally destroy it. (my husband wanted to kill me when he had to scrub the charred base)
Remember to pour in half or one cup water into the tray and then place rack over with the meat, then cover with foil to let the meat “steam” in the oven. (I find one cup is better as it keeps the bottom of tray wet and less residue stuck)
The glaze really takes almost an hour to cook down so prepare it the moment the pork is in the oven.

This is a natural brewed black soy sauce with red yeast. I find this more flavourful than regular black soy sauce and can replace oyster or mushroom sauce to some extent. Non sponsored.

So without further ado, here is the recipe.

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Steps

1 Done	Trim and slice pork Rinse the pork and pat dry. Trim off excess fats (the roasting will melt some) and slice into long strips of about 2-2.5cm wide.
2 Done	Brine Pork Dissolve salt in water and submerge the pork into the brine. Refrigerate for 8-12 hours.
3 Done	Prepare marinade Combine all ingredients together and warm over low heat to melt the sugar. Stir constantly to prevent burning. (Alternatively steam it) Cool the marinade to room temperature.
4 Done	Marinade pork Remove pork from brine, rinse and pat dry. Using a fork (or the tool for piercing pork skin in sio bak) to pierce holes all over to allow the marinade to penetrate. Coat pork with marinade and refrigerate for 2 hours to overnight.
5 Done	Prepare to bake Preheat oven to 145C. Remove the pork from fridge. Line the base of your baking tray with foil. Add 1/2 cup water to the tray. Place rack over and brush or wipe with oil (using paper towel). Place pork on the rack. Cover with foil.
6 Done 20 min	Steam for 20 minutes Place tray in oven and allow it to steam for 20 minutes on fan mode.
7 Done	Prepare glaze Pour remaining glaze into a small pan or pot and simmer over low fire. Stir in the maltose. As it is cooking, initially you will see some foam on top. It is totally ok and will disappear after more cooking. Let the mixture cook and bubble lightly till it is thick. (If it gets too thick, add a bit of water and stir it over low heat till it is consistent.)
8 Done 25 min	Remove the foil Remove the foil and continue to bake for 25 minutes on fan mode.
9 Done	Increase temperature of oven Remove the tray from oven and increase temperature to 250C and change it to grill mode.
10 Done	Glaze the pork As the oven is heating up, let your pork cool a little for 10 minutes then apply glaze generously with a brush on both sides of the pork.
11 Done 5 min each side	Return to oven Once oven is 250C, return the pork to the oven and bake for 5 min on each side or till it is a little charred. Once a side is done, remove from oven and flip the pork over to roast the other side.
12 Done	Prepare sauce (optional) If you want a sauce to go with your char siu rice or noodles, you can prepare this. If not, you can just dump the remaining glaze. Dissolve the starch in water then mix it into the glaze over low heat. Add deseeded chilli if you like. Stir till it is a consistent solution and simmer over low heat till you have the consistency you want. You may want to add a bit of soy sauce. Remove chilli and pour into serving bowl. Can be drizzled over meat, rice or dry noodles.
13 Done	Rest and serve Remove from the oven and let it rest for 10-15 minutes before slicing. Drizzle some of the char siu sauce over and serve.