What's Pressoir Cooking?

October 13, 2022
by Justine Puaud

Char Siu - Chinese BBQ Pork

Since we moved to New York, we decided to cook international cuisine and not only creamy and buttery French recipes. My husband always loves to cook Char Siu because it is easy, tasty and perfect with a Burgundy Pinot Noir.

Char siu (叉烧) is a type of Cantonese roasted meat. To make a char siu, pork is marinated in a sweet BBQ sauce and then roasted. If you've never had Char Siu before, if it's made right, it's one of the most tender and juicy balances of savory, sweet pork you might ever have. It has umami from various ingredients ( fermented bean curd, hoisin, oyster sauce), a bit of zest from wine, and sweetness from brown sugar and honey. Five spice powder, a popular Chinese ingredient, ties it all together with a distinctive blend of spices.

Here is the recipe we always follow with my husband’s twist.

Here is a tutorial

Ingredients:

2 lb pork shoulder (ask for pork butt at the butcher, it will give you the fatty cut)

1 tbsp garlic salt ( I usually mix salt and garlic powder)

4 tbsp brown sugar

2 tbsp oyster sauce

2 tbsp light soy sauce

1 tbsp hoisin sauce

2 tbsp red wine

1 tbsp Shaoxing wine

1 cube red fermented bean curd ( I usually mix 1 tbsp of of gochujang and samjang)

1 tsp five spice powder

2 tbsp honey

2 tsp water

0.25 tsp red food coloring

Step 1: Prepare & poke meat

Cut the pork shoulder (2 lb) into long slices, roughly about 1 inch thick.

Poke each side of each slice with a fork to help the pork absorb our marinade more effectively

Step 2: Prepare marinade

Add in a bowl garlic salt, brown sugar, oyster sauce, light soy sauce, hoisin sauce, red wine, Shaoxing wine red fermented bean curd and five spice powder.

Mix the marinade until it's evenly distributed and smooth.

Step 3: Marinate pork

Place the meat into a ziploc bag, pour the sauce in, and massage the pork for about 2 minutes so that the sauce is able to finesse its way into the meat. Then push all the air out of the bag and seal it.

Place the bag in the refrigerator, and let the pork marinate overnight (or around 6 to 8 hours.)

Step 4: Prepare char siu for oven

Set up the baking pan by lining the bottom with aluminum foil (so it's easier to clean), and place the baking rack on top of the foil.

Start laying out the pork on the baking rack + pan.

Add 1-2 tbsp of water to the bottom of the pan to help generate some steam as the char siu cooks, and to help prevent the drippings from burning and smoking.

Step 5: Repeat several cycles of cooking and basting char siu

Split up the cooking time:

Cook for 15 minutes and lather both sides with the pork marinade

Cook for another 15 minutes and lather both sides with pork marinade again

Cook for 10 minutes and lather both sides with the diluted honey

And finally, turn the heat up to 450° F, cook for another 5 minutes, lather both sides with honey, and let it cool for a few minutes before cutting into it. In total, this is about 50 minutes in the oven.

Step 6: Final touches, let cool, cut & enjoy!

Once the char siu has finished its last cycle in the oven, lather each side with our diluted honey.

Let the char siu cool for about 5 minutes before cutting into it. Bon appétit!

Wine pairing:
We opened a Simon Bize Savigny-les-Beaune Premier Cru Les Moregots 2015. I am always nervous about opening 2015. Great vintage which needs time to really open and enjoy. This Savigny was juicy and easy. I usually drink red wine room temperature but we enjoyed it a bit fresh.