🍖 Char siu (Cantonese barbecue pork)

Name: Char siu (Cantonese barbecue pork)
Total time: 60 min
Yield: 4
Cuisine: China · Guangdong
Ingredients: 800 g pork shoulder (collar), cut into 4 cm thick strips; 4 tbsp hoisin sauce; 3 tbsp honey, plus 2 tbsp for glazing; 3 tbsp soy sauce; 1 tsp five-spice powder; 3 garlic cloves, grated

Origin: China · Guangdong

360kcal

per serving · 150 g

240kcal

per 100 g

33 gProtein22 g / 100 g

18 gFat12 g / 100 g

15 gCarbs10 g / 100 g

Char siu is Cantonese roast pork: strips of pork shoulder marinated in hoisin sauce, honey, soy sauce and five-spice, then roasted until the edges char and caramelise. The meat is tender and juicy inside with a sticky, sweet-savoury red glaze. It is sliced and served with rice or noodles, or used as a filling for buns and rice rolls.

Diets

✓

Dairy-freeno milk, cheese, butter or yogurt in a typical recipe

✓

Low-carb10 g carbs per 100 g

✓

High protein22 g protein per 100 g — 37% of the calories

Not vegetarianbecause of: pork

Not veganbecause of: pork, honey

Contains porkbecause of: pork

Contains glutenbecause of: hoisin sauce, soy sauce

Allergens

Contains (in a typical recipe):

⚠ Gluten ⚠ Soy

What it is made of

porkhoisin saucehoneysoy saucefive-spice powder

Recipe

4 servings60 min

Ingredients

800 g pork shoulder (collar), cut into 4 cm thick strips
4 tbsp hoisin sauce
3 tbsp honey, plus 2 tbsp for glazing
3 tbsp soy sauce
1 tsp five-spice powder
3 garlic cloves, grated

Method

Mix the hoisin, 3 tbsp honey, soy sauce, five-spice and garlic.
Coat the pork and marinate in the fridge for at least 4 hours or overnight.
Heat the oven to 220 °C. Set the pork on a rack over a tray with a little water.
Roast for 25 minutes, turning once and basting with the marinade.
Brush with the remaining honey and roast for 5–10 minutes more until the edges char.
Rest for 5 minutes, then slice across the grain.

How to make it lighter

Choose pork loin instead of shoulder for a much leaner result.
Use the glaze sparingly at the end — each tbsp of honey adds about 60 kcal.
Serve a smaller portion of meat with plenty of steamed greens and a measured scoop of rice.

History

The name means 'fork roast', after the long forks once used to roast the meat over an open fire. It is a classic of Cantonese siu mei, the roast meats sold in barbecue shops in Guangdong and Hong Kong. Today char siu is found in Chinese restaurants and roast-meat shops around the world.

Count it in one photo

Point your camera at the table — Me Nutrition recognises Char siu (Cantonese barbecue pork) and every other dish, with calories and macros for each. Ate only half? Slide it.

Download on the App Store

Similar dishes

Values are estimates per 100 g for a typical recipe; home and restaurant versions vary. Diets and allergens are worked out from the ingredients of a typical recipe — always check with whoever cooked the dish. Not medical advice. Nutrition data: Me Nutrition dish database v13. How we count →