Char siu is a popular Asian pork dish marinated in a sauce made of dark soy sauce, hoisin sauce, five-spice powder, and rice wine. The meat is traditionally roasted over an open fire, but is now commonly cooked in an oven. The sauce can also be used on other meats and vegetables.
Char siu is the name of both a roasted Asian pork dish and the sauce used to marinate the dish’s meat before it is roasted. In Asian communities, the meat is often hung in shop and restaurant windows and can be easily identified by the bright red color on the surface of the meat. This color can be achieved with food coloring or red bean paste. The marinade, or char siu sauce, usually consists of dark soy sauce, hoisin sauce, five-spice powder, and rice wine, although extra spices such as star anise, brown sugar, and fermented bean sauce can also be added. . The meat can be served on its own as an appetizer sliced or shredded or minced and used in other dishes.
The name “char siu” means “roasted fork”, which is a reference to the original cooking method. The meat, after marinating, is traditionally placed on a long cooking fork and roasted over an open fire, allowing the flames to caramelize any sugars left over from the marinade. This method is rarely used outside very traditional or high-end restaurants. Instead, the meat is most commonly cooked or hung vertically in a tall oven or simply roasted. Pork is occasionally finished on a rack to provide a darker color and crispy outer texture.
Preparing char siu begins with assembling the marinade, which imparts much of the flavor to the pork. The marinade consists of a base of hoisin sauce, dark soy sauce, light soy sauce, five-spice powder, rice wine, and usually granulated or brown sugar. Other ingredients may include diced green onions, star anise, ginger, garlic and sesame oil. The distinctive red color of pork can be achieved by including either red food coloring or red bean paste in the marinade, although neither these ingredients nor the coloring are necessary. The meat is marinated in the mixture overnight.
Once the pork has completed the marinade, it is roasted in the oven or on a grill until it is done cooking. In the final moments of cooking, honey or malt sugar is brushed onto the surface to give the meat a lustrous sheen. It can be served as a roast with vegetables or sliced into other dishes. One popular use is as a filling for steamed buns called char siu bao.
The siu sauce itself can be used on its own, regardless of the pork. It can be used to treat other meats or poultry such as duck. It is also served with rice and vegetables, for which it provides a strong taste and color to an otherwise vegetarian dish.
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