Go Back
Featured image of Chinese BBQ pork

Cantonese-Style Char Siu (Chinese BBQ Pork)

Easy, delicious, juicy, succulent authentic Cantonese BBQ pork (char siu) made right in the comfort of your own home. Learn how to make Chinese char siu using either your oven or air fryer. You’ll never want to buy Chinese BBQ pork again after trying this recipe!
Print Recipe Pin Recipe Save Recipe
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 40 minutes
Total Time 50 minutes
Course Lunch, Main Course
Cuisine Chinese
Servings 4 Pieces

Equipment

  • 1 Oven
  • 1 Air Fryer
  • 1 Wire rack
  • 1 Baking Tray

Ingredients
  

  • 4 Pounds Boneless Pork Shoulder Around 1800g

Marinade

  • 7 Tablespoons Char siu sauce (Lee Kum Kee brand)
  • 4-5 Cloves Minced garlic
  • 3-4 Cloves Minced shallots
  • 4 Tablespoons Light soy sauce
  • 2 Tablespoons Hoisin sauce
  • 2 Pieces Fermented red bean curd
  • 4 Tablespoons Chinese rose cooking wine
  • 3 Tablespoons White sugar
  • 1 Teaspoon Five spice powder
  • 1 Tablespoon Chicken powder

Honey glaze

  • 200 ml Honey
  • 1 Tablespoon Light soy sauce
  • 1 Tablespoon Water

Instructions
 

How to Cut Pork Shoulder for Making Char Siu

  • If your pork shoulder has a big layer of fat on it like mine does, we’re going to first trim it off and then save that layer of fat for use in other recipes.
  • Next, cut up and divide the pork shoulder into 4 pieces of equal size about 1.5-2 inches thick. You can trim off a little bit of excess fat if you want but don’t go overboard with it otherwise the char siu will become dry when roasting.
  • When slicing into the pork shoulder, make sure that you’re cutting along the muscle fibers that run along the pork shoulder. This way after roasting, you will cut against the muscle fibers (perpendicular) when slicing the char siu into slices leading to softer and tender char siu slices.
  • There is one caveat to this though: some butcher shops cut the pork shoulder in such a way that the long end of the pork shoulder runs against the muscle fibers. If you want to cut long strips from the pork shoulder you’ll need to cut against the muscle fibers first as cutting along the muscle fibers will yield short pieces. If you find yourself in this situation then first cut the pork shoulder in the opposite direction of the muscle fibers then after roasting the char siu, make a cut in the middle of the piece of char siu along the muscle fibers to divide it into 2 or divide the piece into 1/3 by making 2 cuts of equal distance. After doing this, you can now cut against the grain when slicing the char siu.

Marinating the Char Siu

  • In a bowl, combine all of the marinade ingredients and mix everything well together.
  • Take out 5 Tablespoons of the marinade for later use in basing the char siu while roasting.
  • Now in a large bowl, add in your cut pork shoulder pieces and then add in the marinade.
  • Mix everything well together.
  • Now place some plastic wrap over the large bowl and then let it marinade in the fridge overnight. Likewise, you can add the pork shoulder and marinade inside a large ziplock bag as well, making sure to squeeze out all of the air prior to closing the bag and placing it in the fridge.
  • Let the char siu marinate for no more than 12-14 hours.

Roasting the Char Siu Using the Oven

  • When you’re ready to cook the char siu, preheat your oven to 350°F and take the char siu out of the fridge.
  • Add char siu strips to a wire rack on top of a baking tray lined with aluminum.
  • Now, prepare the char siu honey glaze by adding in your honey, soy sauce, and water in a small bowl, mix everything well together and set it aside.
  • Brush the excess marinade sauce that we took out of the marinade on top of the char siu on the side facing up and then roast the char siu in the oven for 10 minutes in the middle rack when the oven temperature reaches 350°F. Make sure that you're using the "roast" setting or the convection "roast" option and not the baking option.
  • Take the char siu out of the oven after ten minutes, flip it over on the opposite side for each piece, and apply the char siu marinade again on top of the char siu.
  • Place the char siu back into the oven for another 10 minutes.
  • After 10 minutes, take the char siu out of the oven and increase the oven temperature to 425°F.
  • Flip the char siu over again and apply the honey glaze generously to the side facing up along with the sides of the char siu.
  • If the drippings from the char siu marinate is getting burnt on the aluminum foil, make sure to change it to a new sheet, otherwise smoke will start to come out of the oven. Place the char siu back into the oven and continue cooking it for another 10 minutes.
  • After 10 minutes, take the char siu out of the oven and flip it over again.
  • Apply the honey glaze on the side facing up and along the sides of the char siu and cook for another 10 minutes.
  • Take the char siu out of the oven after 10 minutes and then let it rest for another 10 minutes at room temperature before cutting into it and serving it.
  • The total roasting time should be 40 minutes.

Roasting the Char Siu Using an Air Fryer

  • When you’re ready to cook the char siu, preheat your air fryer to 350°F (In some models of air fryers, pre-heating is not necessary such as the ninja air fryers) and take the char siu out of the fridge.
  • Add char siu strips to the air fryer basket. You can place the char siu strips directly on top of the air fryer plates.
  • Brush the excess marinade sauce that we took out of the marinade on top of the char siu and then roast the char siu in the air fryer for 10 minutes at 350°F.
  • Now, prepare the char siu honey glaze by adding your honey, soy sauce, and water in a small bowl. Mix everything well together, and set it aside.
  • Take the char siu out of the air fryer after ten minutes, flip it over on the opposite side for each piece, and apply the char siu marinade again on top of the char siu and on the sides.
  • Place the char siu back into the air fryer for another 10 minutes.
  • After 10 minutes, take the char siu out of the air fryer and increase the temperature to 400°F.
  • Flip the char siu over again and apply the honey glaze generously to the side facing up and the sides of the char siu.
  • Place the char siu back into the air fryer and cook it for another 10 minutes.
  • After 10 minutes, take the char siu out of the air fryer and flip it over again.
  • Apply the honey glaze on the side facing up and along the sides of the char siu and cook for another 10 minutes.
  • Finally, take the char siu out of the air fryer after 10 minutes and then let it rest for another 10 minutes at room temperature before cutting into it and serving it.
  • The total roasting time should be 40 minutes.

Notes

Note: Prep time does not include overnight marinating time which is typically around 12 hours. Also note that the temperature and total roasting time is provided as a guideline but each oven or air fryer is different and you may need to adjust the temperature or total roasting time depending on your oven or air fryer.