Few sights are more mouthwatering than the racks of Char Siu hanging up in the window of restaurants in Chinatown, and it is surprisingly easy to recreate this at home. The main trick is to use the correct cut of pork – restaurant Char Siu is used making pork butts, as the Americans say, but this is difficult to find away from specialist Chinese butchers. The best substitute is to use pork tenderloin fillet, but make sure you choose a piece with a bit of fat still on it for best results. The marinade is simple enough, and while most restaurants would use red food colour, we replace this with beetroot powder which is both much better for you and looks just as good!

01.

Ingredients

300g strip of pork tenderloin fillet
2tbs honey (choose the best quality you can – we get ours from our friends at Oliveology on Borough Market or online at their respective website)
2tbs Beetroot powder
2tbs dark soy sauce
3tsp Chinese Five Spice Powder
1tsp Gochugaru (Korean chilli flakes)
1 cup water

02.

Method

  • Mix all the ingredients for the marinade (ie everything except the pork), making sure the honey is well dissolved. Now cut the pork tenderloin in two and place in the marinade, coating the pork well, and leave in the fridge for at least four hours (24 is much better, and 48 will not hurt).
  • When you are ready to roast the pork, heat your oven to 180 degrees. Place the pork and the marinade in a shallow roasting dish – you can use the marinade after cooking to make a lovely sauce for the pork, by reducing in a small saucepan with an extra tablespoon of soy sauce.
  • Roast the pork for 30 minutes or so, until the edges are beginning to blacken and crisp up. When the pork is ready, remove from the roasting dish and let the pork rest for a while, as you would a joint of meat.
  • To serve, slice the pork across the grain into pieces an inch or two thick, and if you like dip in the sauce you have made to warm it through.
  • Char Siu is gorgeous served simply on plain steamed rice, with some tenderstem broccoli, choi sum, gai lan or other Chinese greens on the side.
  • Otherwise you can use your Char Siu in your favourite stir fry recipe – it works especially well with black bean and garlic sauce, or even sweet and sour.