Many of our Foodie participants absolutely love the barbecued pork (char siu) tasting on our Central & Sheung Wan Foodie Tour. Some even ask us how to make them at home. We published the home-made recipe below during COVID when we could not go out to dine much. We are re-publishing it now. Reading this already makes us salivate. Try it and let us know how it compares to the ones you tried on our food tour.
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Preparation Time: 15 minutes
Marinate Time: overnight
Ingredients
600 gm / 21 oz / 1 catty Boston Butt/Pork Shoulder/梅頭
Marinade:
70 gm / 2.5 oz Maltose / 麥芽糖 （or replace with honey but best to use maltose)
60 ml / 2 oz Light Soy Sauce / 生抽
30 gm / 1 oz Oyster Sauce / 蠔油 (or replace with dark soy sauce and sugar)
30 gm / 1 oz Sugar / 糖
20 ml / 0.7 oz Rice Wine / 米酒 or Rose Wine / 玫瑰露酒
2 slices/片 Ginger/ 薑
2 cloves/瓣 Garlic / 蒜頭
White pepper / 白糊椒粉
Glaze:
30 gm / 1 oz Honey
30 gm / 1 oz Water
Can prepare more if you’d like. Just 1:1 Honey:Water
1. Rinse and dry the piece of pork. Rub some white pepper all over the piece of pork.
2. Double boil the maltose to melt it. To double boil, spoon out the maltose into a bowl and place the bowl in a pot of boiling water. You can turn off the heat on the stove and let it melt slowly. If you need more heat, turn heat to low for a few minutes. The maltose is ready when it’s softened and can easily be stirred.
3. Mix the light soy sauce, oyster sauce, sugar, rice wine or rose wine with the maltose. Stir until the ingredients are combined. If the mixture is still hot, cool by putting the bowl of mixture in an ice bath until it’s cooler.
4. Put the piece of pork in a ziplock bag. Pour the marinade into the bag together with the ginger and garlic. Let it sit in the fridge overnight or at least 8 hours.
5. Preheat the oven to 200C or 400F, preferably with the fan function if available for your often.
6. Prepare your baking tray. Line it with aluminum foil or add some water to help you clean more easily afterwards. Put a meat rack on the baking tray and lay the piece of pork on the rack.
7. Glaze your pork with the honey and water mixture.
8. Roast the pork for 30 minutes. After every 10 minutes, add more glaze.
9. Turn on the grill function for the five more minutes. Grill each side for 2.5 minutes to slightly sear the BBQ pork.
10. Let the barbecued pork cool for 5-10 minutes before cutting and serving.