Char sui pork is a delicious recipe, full of flavor. Sticky, sweet, slightly caramelized. Goes great with noodles, fried rice, or simply eaten on its own as an appetizer!

Char Sui Pork, Chinese Barbecue Pork.
Char sui pork is a delicious recipe, full of flavor. Sticky, sweet, slightly caramelized. Goes great with noodles, fried rice, or simply eaten on its own as an appetizer!

Char Sui Pork, Chinese Barbecue Pork is a delicious recipe, full of flavor. It's sticky, sweet, and slightly caramelized and goes perfect with a bowl of ramen, fried rice or simply eaten on its own as an appetizer!

The original method of cooking this would be to put the meat on skewers and then cook over a flame so you get a charcoal effect on the outer.

Of course, not many of us have an industrial Chinese kitchen, so here, I have adapted the cooking method to suit most of our kitchens!

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If you were to go to South East Asia, you would most likely come across seeing char sui hanging up in the windows of many 'sui mei' restaurants and eateries (such as in the photo below).

Char Sui Pork, Chinese Barbecue Pork, showing hanging ducks in Chinese restaurant

It is common to order a piece of the char sui and have it alongside some Chinese Roast ChickenRoast Duck or Soy Chicken.

In some parts of Asia, such as in Thailand, you would most likely have char sui served in a bowl of noodle soup, or perhaps in Malyasia, you would have char sui served in slices over steamed rice, with some chicken or duck and then a lovely sauce poured over.

Which ever way you decide to serve this, it will taste delicious!

For this recipe, I have used Pork tenderloin as my choice cut of pork. It is common to use a fattier cut, so the fat can burn a little, but I just prefer tenderloin! You use what you prefer.

Char Sui Pork, Chinese Barbecue Pork is a delicious recipe, full of flavor. It's sticky, sweet and slightly caramelised and goes perfect with a bowl of ramen, fried rice or simply eaten on it's own as an appetizer!

Please enjoy!

INGREDIENTS

1 ½ lbs or 700 g whole pork fillet (tenderloin)
2 tbsp honey
½ cup or 100 ml hoi sin sauce
1 Tablespoon Brown Sugar
½ teaspoon Five Spice Powder
1 tsp oyster sauce
1 tbsp dark soy sauce
1 tbsp crushed yellow or red bean curd
2 tbsp rice wine
1 tsp of sesame oil.

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Firstly, depending on the thickness of your fillet, you may need to cut in half. It is best to have the thickness around 2 inches thick, so you can see in the photo, I sliced my piece of pork length ways. This will help to cook the pork quicker and also not burn or dry out.

Char Sui Pork, Chinese Barbecue Pork, preparing tenderloin


2. Add ingredients to a zip lock bag and allow to marinade for at least 4 hours, better overnight.

Char Sui Pork, Chinese Barbecue Pork, marinading pork


3. Pour a shallow layer of water in the bottom of a roasting tin. I also like to line the tin with some heavy duty foil so it is easier to clean later. Place a roasting rack or wire cooling rack in the tin and put the meat on top, reserving the marinade. Brush some of the marinade over the pork.

Char Sui Pork, Chinese Barbecue Pork, ready for the grill


4. Roast at 425 F or 220 C for 15 minutes, basting again half way through with the reserve marinade and turning the meat. Then place the meat under a HOT broiler / grill brushing over a little marinade. Turn often, whilst brushing more marinade so as to get a good glaze over the meat.

Char Sui Pork, Chinese Barbecue Pork , glazing pork


5. When the meat is cooked through, test by inserting a knife and checking the juices run clear, allow to rest for 15 minutes then slice and serve.

We'd love to hear from you and what you thought of our post. Did you make any changes or add some other goodies? Let us know in the comments below. Thanks for reading and happy cooking!

Char Sui Pork, Chinese Barbecue Pork is a delicious recipe, full of flavor. It's sticky, sweet and slightly caramelised and goes perfect with a bowl of ramen, fried rice or simply eaten on it's own as an appetizer!


This is often served as part of a Chinese meal alongside other dishes. You can also add the pork, chopped into cubes to fried rice, or add slices into a bowl of noodles (in broth). Whichever way you want to serve this, it will be delicious!

Char Sui Pork, Chinese Barbecue Pork is a delicious recipe, full of flavor. It's sticky, sweet and slightly caramelised and goes perfect with a bowl of ramen, fried rice or simply eaten on it's own as an appetizer!

Recipe Card

Chinese Barbecue Pork, (Char Sui Pork), is a delicious recipe, full of flavor. It's sticky, sweet, and slightly caramelized and goes perfect with a bowl of noodles, fried rice, or simply eaten on its own as an appetizer!

Char Sui Pork, Chinese Barbecue Pork

Yield: 4 - 6
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 25 minutes
Total Time: 35 minutes

Char Sui Pork, Chinese Barbecue Pork.
Char sui pork is a delicious recipe, full of flavor. Sticky, sweet, slightly caramelized. Goes great with noodles, fried rice, or simply eaten on its own as an appetizer!

Ingredients

  • 1 ½ lbs or 700 g whole pork fillet, tenderloin
  • 2 tbsp honey
  • ½ cup or 100 ml hoi sin sauce
  • 1 Tablespoon Brown Sugar
  • ½ teaspoon Five Spice Powder
  • 1 tsp oyster sauce
  • 1 tbsp dark soy sauce
  • 1 tbsp crushed yellow or red bean curd
  • 2 tbsp rice wine
  • 1 tsp of sesame oil.

Instructions

  1. Firstly, depending on the thickness of your fillet, you may need to cut in half. It is best to have the thickness around 2 inches thick, so you can see in the photo, I sliced my piece of pork length ways. This will help to cook the pork quicker and also not burn or dry out.
  2. Add ingredients to a zip lock bag and allow to marinade for at least 4 hours, better overnight.
  3. Pour a shallow layer of water in the bottom of a roasting tin. I also like to line the tin with some heavy duty foil so it is easier to clean later. Place a roasting rack or wire cooling rack in the tin and put the meat on top, reserving the marinade. Brush some of the marinade over the pork.
  4. Roast at 425 F or 220 C for 15 minutes, basting again half way through with the reserve marinade and turning the meat. Then place the meat under a HOT broiler / grill brushing over a little marinade. Turn often, whilst brushing more marinade so as to get a good glaze over the meat.
  5. When the meat is cooked through, test by inserting a knife and checking the juices run clear, allow to rest for 15 minutes then slice and serve.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 6 Serving Size: 1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 273Total Fat: 9gSaturated Fat: 3gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 5gCholesterol: 98mgSodium: 399mgCarbohydrates: 10gFiber: 0gSugar: 8gProtein: 35g

Nutrition information isn’t always accurate

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3 thoughts shared

  1. This sounds & looks so yummy, but I’m not sure about the cooking time – only 7 minutes & then under the broiler for charring? That’s a big hunk of meat & it doesn’t seem “healthy” to to eat, when only cooked for 7 minutes. How long do you keep it under the broiler? Which shelf height do you broil it? Appreciate you sharing your recipes!

    1. Hi there! Step 4 of the instructions is you cook in the oven for 15 minutes, basting halfway through (so take it out at 7 minutes, baste and then return for remaining time). For the broiler, you need to pop it on high and keep it under there until it’s charred. Depending on how powerful your broiler is, it’s just a matter of minutes.
      But definitely cool the pork for 15 minutes in the oven!