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How to cook Char siew rice

Char siew rice is a Cantonese-style hawker plate of sticky, sweet-savoury roast pork served over steamed rice with a glossy sauce, cucumber and often greens. This oven version gives you lacquered edges and juicy meat with ingredients from any supermarket.

Ingredients

For the char siew (plus marinating time of 8 to 24 hours)

• 700 g pork collar butt (or pork belly with some lean), cut into 2 long strips about 4 cm thick
• 3 tbsp light soy sauce
• 1 tbsp dark soy sauce
• 2 tbsp oyster sauce
• 2 tbsp hoisin sauce
• 3 tbsp sugar
• 1 tbsp Shaoxing wine
• 1 tsp five-spice powder
• 4 cloves garlic, finely minced
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp ground white pepper
• 1 piece (about 1 cm) red fermented bean curd with 1 tsp of its brine (optional, for colour and depth)

For the glaze

• 3 tbsp honey
• 1 tbsp hot water
• 1 tsp reserved marinade

For the drizzling sauce

• 100 ml water
• 1 tbsp oyster sauce
• 1 tbsp light soy sauce
• 1 tbsp sugar
• 1 tsp sesame oil
• 1 tsp cornflour mixed with 1 tbsp water
• 2 tbsp pan juices from the roasting tray (optional)

For the rice and plate

• 300 g jasmine rice
• 360 ml water for cooking the rice, plus water for rinsing
• 1 Japanese or Lebanese cucumber, sliced
• 200 g choy sum, trimmed
• 1 tsp cooking oil for blanching the greens
• 2 to 3 red chillies, sliced, with a little light soy sauce (optional side)

Steps

1. Cut and prick the pork5 min
   Cut the pork lengthwise into 2 strips about 4 cm thick so the sauce reaches the centre and the edges caramelise well. Prick all over with a fork, going in about 1 cm deep.
2. Mix the marinade5 min
   In a bowl, stir together light soy, dark soy, oyster sauce, hoisin, sugar, Shaoxing wine, five-spice, garlic, salt, pepper and the mashed fermented bean curd with its brine, if using. Stir until the sugar mostly dissolves and you have a thick, dark paste.
3. Marinate the pork8 hr
   Rub the marinade into the pork, then set aside 1 tsp of the marinade for the glaze (scrape it from the bowl before the raw pork touches it, or use a clean spoon). Cover and refrigerate for at least 8 hours or up to 24, turning once.
4. Heat the oven30 min
   Bring the pork out of the fridge 30 minutes before cooking. Set the oven to 220°C (top and bottom heat) with a rack in the upper third. Line a roasting tray with foil and set a wire rack on top. Pour 200 ml of water into the tray under the rack to stop drips from burning.
5. First roast20 min
   Lay the pork on the rack with space between the strips. Roast for 20 minutes, until the surface is starting to dry and darken at the edges.
6. Make the glaze2 min
   Stir together the honey, hot water and the reserved teaspoon of marinade until smooth and pourable.
7. Glaze and roast, round one10 min
   Flip the pork, brush generously with glaze, and roast another 10 minutes. The surface should look sticky and glossy with a few dark spots.
8. Glaze and roast, round two10 min
   Flip again, brush with glaze, and roast 10 more minutes. Check that the edges are charred in places but not burnt black. If they darken too fast, lower the oven to 200°C or tent loosely with foil.
9. Check doneness and rest10 min
   Cut into the thickest part: the juices should run clear and there should be no pink. A thermometer should read at least 71°C. Brush with the last of the glaze, then rest the pork on a board for 10 minutes before slicing.
10. Cook the rice35 min
    Rinse the rice in several changes of water until the water runs nearly clear, then drain. Combine with 360 ml water in a rice cooker and cook on the normal setting, then let it sit 10 minutes with the lid closed before fluffing. Alternative: simmer covered in a pot on the lowest heat for 12 minutes after bringing to a boil, then rest off the heat for 10 minutes.
11. Make the drizzling sauce5 min
    While the pork roasts, combine water, oyster sauce, light soy, sugar and sesame oil in a small saucepan over medium heat. When it simmers, stir in the cornflour slurry and cook 1 minute until it coats the back of a spoon. Stir in 2 tbsp of the pan juices from the tray if you have them (skim any burnt bits first). Keep warm.
12. Blanch the greens3 min
    Boil a pot of water with 1 tsp oil. Add the choy sum and cook 1 to 2 minutes, until the stems are tender-crisp and bright green. Drain well.
13. Slice the pork3 min
    Slice the rested pork against the grain into pieces about 7 mm thick. Spoon over a little of the warm sauce so the slices stay glossy.
14. Plate3 min
    Mound rice on each plate, fan the sliced char siew over it, add the cucumber and choy sum alongside, and spoon the warm sauce over the rice and pork. Serve with the chilli and soy dip on the side if you like.

Tips

• Choose pork collar or a cut with some marbling; lean loin dries out under high heat.
• The wire rack and the water in the tray keep the underside from stewing and the drippings from burning.
• Honey burns quickly, so keep an eye on the pork during the glazing rounds and rotate the tray if your oven has hot spots.
• Marinate for the full 8 hours or overnight for deeper flavour; the fermented bean curd is optional but gives the classic reddish tint.
• Use the grill (broil) setting for the last 2 to 3 minutes for extra charred edges, watching closely.

Food safety and allergens

Cook the pork until it reaches 71°C inside with no pink and clear juices, and discard any marinade that touched raw meat (only use the portion you set aside before marinating for the glaze). Cool leftovers within 2 hours and refrigerate in a sealed container for up to 3 days, reheating until piping hot.

Contains: sesame, shellfish, soy, wheat

Watch it being made

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