Chinese · Guangdong Province
Cantonese Char Siu — Roast Pork Perfection
Char siu (叉烧) — fork-roasted pork — is one of the pillars of Cantonese siu mei (roast meat) culture. Pork shoulder (the preferred cut) is marinated in a complex hoisin-soy-honey-rose wine mixture, then roasted over live heat or in a hung position, basted repeatedly until the exterior develops a characteristic red-lacquered, slightly caramelised glaze while the interior stays juicy.
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Two shipped · five not yet within reach.
How the 7 are reached
- Shipped to you
- 2 · oyster sauce, red fermented tofu (nan ru)
- Not yet within reach
- 5 · hoisin sauce, soy sauce, honey, five spice powder, honey
I
The Market List
The benchmark for each ingredient, and who stocks it near you. Tap a stockist to go straight to the product.
800 g
pork shoulder (mei tau / bui tau)
fat-marbled; do not over-trim fat
Your own market
For the marinade
3 tbsp
hoisin sauce
Not yet within reach of Duncan · each reach is counted
2 tbsp
soy sauce
Not yet within reach of Duncan · each reach is counted
2 tbsp
honey
Origin · New ZealandNot yet within reach of Duncan · each reach is counted
1 tbsp
oyster sauce
2 tbsp
rose wine (mei gui lu)
½ tsp
five spice powder
Not yet within reach of Duncan · each reach is counted
2 cubes
red fermented tofu (nan ru)
mashed to a paste; provides colour and flavour
Origin · JapanShipped to you · Wismettac →
For the final glaze
2 tbsp
honey
Origin · New ZealandNot yet within reach of Duncan · each reach is counted
1 tsp
sugar
Your own market
Within reach counts in town, delivered, shipped and the nearest city. A staple counts once it has a local seller. Charted from each shop's own pages; not yet vouched by a cook who shops here.
The larder of Duncan →Each tap is counted, so the stockist sees the demand Provenance sends them.
II
The Method
1
Combine all marinade ingredients — hoisin, soy, honey, oyster sauce, rose wine, five spice, and mashed red fermented tofu — into a smooth, uniform paste, making sure the tofu is fully broken down so its funky, savoury depth distributes evenly rather than sitting in pockets. Submerge the pork shoulder pieces fully and marinate under refrigeration, turning occasionally so the colour and fragrance penetrate to the centre of each piece, not just the surface. The meat should emerge deeply coloured and fragrant throughout.
From the canon — Oyster sauce was invented by accident in the 1880s in Guangdong province when a cook named Lee Kum Sheung left oyster soup simmering too long and discovered … Oyster Sauce (Cantonese — Original Method vs Commercial) →
2
Suspend the marinated pork on S-hooks in a traditional roasting oven, or set on a rack over a drip tray in a domestic oven at high heat, so that circulating air reaches every surface and no side stews in its own rendered fat. Reserve the remaining marinade for basting. The hung or racked position is what gives char siu its characteristic all-round crust rather than a roasted underside and a steamed top.
3
Baste the pork three to four times during roasting, applying the reserved marinade in thin, even layers and returning the meat to heat long enough for each coat to tighten and colour before the next is brushed on, because lacquer built by accumulation gives a far deeper gloss and grip than a single heavy coat ever could. Watch the surface: it should deepen progressively to a red-lacquered, slightly caramelised finish with each pass. This is where the dish lives or dies — a coat applied too soon over a wet surface will slide off and burn rather than bond.
4
In the final ten minutes, apply the honey-sugar glaze with the oven door open so the moisture escapes quickly and the sugars concentrate and colour at the surface rather than steaming the crust soft. The tips and thinner edges will catch first, turning glossy and lightly charred — those caramelised ends, the jiu, are the most prized part of the piece. The internal temperature must reach 72 °C; a rosy interior at this temperature is both acceptable and traditional.
5
Rest the pork briefly before slicing across the grain, so the juices that have been driven toward the centre during roasting redistribute back through the meat and do not flood the board. The cut face should show a juicy, fatty interior framed by the red-lacquered exterior. Fat should appear rendered and translucent, not white and waxy.
III
Quality Hierarchy
01
Reserve — Heritage-breed pork shoulder with exceptional fat marbling; mei gui lu rose wine of named distillery provenance; hand-roasted in a live-fire siu mei oven with multiple basting passes and caramelised jiu (burnt ends) fully developed.
02
Estate — Free-range pork shoulder, well-marbled; quality fermented red tofu and authentic mei gui lu; roasted on a rack in a domestic oven at high heat with four full basting passes and a honey-sugar finish glaze.
03
Market — Supermarket pork shoulder, fat retained; reliable hoisin and oyster sauces; three basting passes; red fermented tofu included for colour and flavour integrity.
04
House — Pork shoulder without over-trimming the fat; hoisin-soy-honey marinade with five spice; minimum two basting passes; no food colouring substituted for red fermented tofu.
IV
Sensory Tests
◇Sight. Exterior is deep red-lacquered and glossy, with visibly caramelised and slightly charred tips and edges after the final glaze.
◇Sight. Cut face shows a juicy interior with rendered, translucent fat — not white or waxy.
◇Touch. Internal temperature reads 72 °C at the thickest point; meat yields with slight resistance under a probe or skewer.
◇Smell. Caramelised five-spice and honey aroma dominates; no raw pork or sour fermented note remains.
◇Where it lives or dies. The lacquer is built by accumulation — each basting coat must set and caramelise before the next is applied; under-basting produces a flat, unglazed surface that no final honey wash can rescue.
Pillar V
Cross-cuisine parallels are part of membership.
The dishes this one teaches you, across the cuisines — on every recipe.
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VI
What to Pour
The pairing
Shochu
From British Columbia
Nothing from British Columbia holds against this yet.
Without alcohol
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Why each one works is part of membership — Enter · from $49 a year →
The whole pairingPillar VII
Origin and lineage are part of membership.
Where the dish comes from and how it came to be — on every recipe.
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The working kitchen
Sourced through Provenance