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Chinese BBQ Pork, also known as Char Siu, is sweet, sticky, and has amazing flavor. The meat is tender and oh so juicy! Char Siu will become one of your new favorite pork recipes.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe!
Chinese BBQ Pork is not only delicious but it so easy to make. It’s the perfect make ahead meal as the pork needs to be marinaded.
You can grill the meat or use your oven.
Char Siu is traditionally more red because they use red fermented bean curd or red food coloring. I used neither and it still has a gorgeous red food colouring. This is my Americanized version of Chinese barbeque pork.
What is Char Sui?
Char siu originally comes from the Cantonese region and means “fork roasted.” The meat was traditionally cooked by skewering with long forks and placing them in an oven or over a fire.
Ingredients Needed
- Pork tenderloins. I used 2 – 1.5 lb tenderloins.
- Soy sauce
- Honey
- Ketchup
- Brown sugar
- Rice wine vinegar
- Sesame oil
- Hoisin sauce
- Garlic powder
- Onion powder
- Note: Many Chinese barbeque pork recipes use five spice powder. This is not a spice frequently found in most pantries so I used other spices that you should have on hand.
How to Make Chinese BBQ Pork
- Mix together all ingredients including spices, except for pork tenderloin.
- Place pork into a recloseable bag and pour marinade over pork, reserving 1/4 cup to baste meat with while cooking.
- Marinate pork in refrigerator for a minimum of two hours up to 24 hours.
- If cooking in the oven I recommend covering the baking sheet with foil for easier clean up.
- Heat grill to medium high heat or oven to 350 degrees F. Grill or bake meat in a pan until internal temperature reaches 145 degrees F. Baste meat several times with the chair siu sauce while grilling/baking with reserved marinade. Do not use the marinade the meat marinated in.
- When it reaches desired temperature baste one last time and place until broiler for a few minutes or until sauce caramelizes.
- Slice and serve.
Tip From Leigh Anne
- I marinated the pork for about 24 hours. You can shorten the marinade time, but I have found the longer the better. This is a perfect make ahead meal! Put the pork into the marinade the day before and you are ready to bake it in the oven or grill the next day.
Pair This with:
Frequently Asked Questions
I used pork tenderloin but you can also use pork butt, Boston butt or pork shoulder roast. You can also use pork belly.
The National Pork Board recommends 145 degrees F with a five minute rest.
Try these other delicious recipes:
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Chinese BBQ Pork {char siu }
Ingredients
- 2 1.5 lb. pork tenderloins
- 1/2 cup soy sauce
- 1/3 cup honey
- 1/3 cup ketchup
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1/4 cup rice wine vinegar
- 1 tsp sesame oil
- 2 Tbsp hoisin sauce
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp onion powder
Instructions
- Mix together all ingredients except for pork tenderloin.
- Place pork into a recloseable bag and cover with marinade, reserving 1/4 cup to baste meat with while cooking.
- Marinate pork in refrigerator for a minimum of two hours up to 24 hours.
- Heat grill to medium high heat or oven to 350 degrees F. Grill or bake meat until internal temperature reaches 145 degrees F. Baste meat several times while grilling/baking.
- When it reaches desired temperature baste one last time and place until broiler for a few minutes or until sauce caramelizes. Slice and serve.
Tips & Notes:
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Nutrition Facts:
Harriet says
Your Chinese BBQ looks lovely moist juicy and I’m sure it tastes as good as it looks, This has to be one of my favorite ways to cook pork, espically the pieces that a crisp and brown.
Karen Iacenda says
If I bake it in the oven, can you please give me approximate cooking time as I don’t have a meat thermometer. Thank you so much.
Leigh Anne says
25-36 minutes depending on thickness and desired doneness.