玻璃叉燒 (Chinese BBQ Pork)

One evening when I served my brother with wonton noodles for dinner, he said to me, "Why no char siew one? Where is my char siew?"

Of course, he was only joking and teasing me. But I took it rather seriously and started looking up char siew recipes on the Net.

For those of you who are not from Asian countries, char siew (叉燒) is Chinese BBQ Pork.

The pork meat is marinated in honey and hoisin sauce, then roasted in the oven to char and achieve a sticky sweet perfection.

My very successful home-cooked char siew!!! *beams proudly*

Up until today, I still cannot find any Chinese restaurants here in Melbourne serving char siew that's up to par with Malaysian stalls, so I thought why not give it a go? And boy, am I glad I tried.

There are two ways to cook char siew - by baking in the oven, or simmer in a wok over small fire. I've tried both ways, and I must say that baking the pork in the oven gave me a better result.

Char Siew

Recipe by The Bakeanista

(A) Ingredients:
500g pork tenderloin

(B) Marinade:

1 tbsp honey

2½  tbsp hoisin sauce

1½  tbsp light soy sauce

½ cup sugar

1 tbsp shao xing wine

½ tsp five spice powder

½ tsp salt

2 dashes of white pepper

1 drop of red colouring (optional)

½ tsp sesame oil

½ tbsp oyster sauce

(C) Glaze:

1 tbsp dark soy

1 tbsp honey

1 tbsp oil

Method:

1) Cut the meat into 2 long strips. Combined all marinade ingredients in a bowl/tupperware and allow pork to season for at least 4 hours or more. I let it sit with the seasonings overnight. 

2) Preheat the oven to 190 deg C. Place a rack on the highest section of the oven. Use the 'S' shaped hooks to hold your pork meat and hang them on the rack. Remember to line a baking pan with some aluminum foil and place at the bottom of the oven to collect drippings from the pork, or you'll have a hard time cleaning up at the end of the night.

I'd like to think that I'm quite smart and creative, no? :P

3) Roast it for 15-20 minutes until charred (depending on the size of your meat); basting it with the reserved marinade sauce half way through roasting.

4) Mix glaze ingredient in a small bowl and set aside.

5) Remove pork from oven, dip into glaze and return pork to grill just for a short while, enough to give pork a nice glossy shine.

6) Remove from oven and let the meat rest for 10-15 minutes before cutting into bite-sized pieces.

7) Bring to boil the reserved char siew marinade sauce. Drizzle sauce over char siew and serve immediately with steamed white rice or egg noodles. Remember to reserve some char siew sauce for your rice! ;)

I'd say it was a very successful attempt, as it tasted like my favourite 玻璃叉燒 that I can get only from Malaysia!!! ♥

I hope this isn't a one-time-only fluke shot because I'd like to make them again when cravings kick in.

Of course, it requires quite a bit of effort, but may I just self-praise and say that it is awesomesauce! *rubs tummy gleefully* :D

I kept some char siew up to serve with egg noodles the following night, and said to my brother, "Nah, your char siew with wonton noodles."

He said thank you, as his lips cracked up into a small smile then proceed to dig into his meal. Oh, the joy of carving a smile on the faces of the people I love. (: