Char Siu (BBQ Pork) Recipe, unveiled

Received quite some requests to do this, so here is the long awaited recipe! Thanks for the reminders as I've been swamped with kazillion things to do that I tend to forget important things :)


This recipe is courtesy of Renee, from Shiokadelicious.com, which is unfortunately, no longer available online. Nevertheless, her recipe has become some sort of legend passed around the food blogger community.

Char Siu (BBQ-ed Pork)

1 kg pork (fillet, shoulder steaks, but I hugely prefer the latter)
5 Tbsp light soy sauce
3 Tbsp dark soy sauce
5 Tbsp maltose (this is the KEY ingredient to the beautiful charred bits, but honey is fine as too)
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup sherry (or rice wine)
1/4 cup Hoisin sauce
4 pcs of thickly sliced ginger (smashed, roughly 1/4 inche thick)
4 garlic cloves (smashed)

For glazing, you also need about 2-3 Tbsp of maltose (or honey), at room temperature (warm).

1. Mix all ingredients (except the pork) in a saucepan. Heat for about 1 minute just enough to dissolve the sugar. Remove from heat and let it cool.
2. Marinade the pork in this mixture at least overnight in the fridge.
3. Preheat oven to 210C/410F
4. Remove pork from the marinade and place flat on a metal rack, with about 1 inch of hot water in the pan. This is to prevent the meat from being too dry from roasting, and also collects good gravy which can be added to your marinade and boiled for the sauce.
5. Bake for 20 minutes, then lower the heat to 180C/350F, baste the meat with its marinade and turn it over, baking for another 20 minutes.
6. Then, check if meat is cook by inserting a knife/fork (if you don't have those fancy thermometers etc), and if the juice is clear it's done.
7. Remove from the oven, glaze the meat with the warm honey/maltose and grill further in high heat for about 3-5 minutes to the degree of charredness ("chao tarh" bits basically) of your preference
8. Collect the gravy at the bottom of the tray, and boil it with the marinade left from the pork for some gravy.
9. Serve it with rice or noodles!

For pictures, refer to the char siew post. Let me know how did yours go!