Char Siu (Chinese BBQ Pork) / 叉烧 / チャーシュー

My dear friend, Nor asked me for the recipe of char siu. I gave her this marinade recipe that I found online and decided to try it myself too. Of course, the pork can be substituted with other meats. If you going to use chicken, I would suggest the deboned and skinned thigh meat. Ideally, it should be cooked on the charcoal BBQ.

Ingredients:
500 g chicken / pork

2 tbsp hoisin sauce
1 tsp soy sauce
1 tsp sesame oil
1-2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tbsp maltose or sugar

1 tbsp honey
½ tsp salt

Pepper to taste

Red food colouring (optional)

Methods:

1. Cut the meat into 1.5" thick x 2.5" width x 6" length or longer (it will shrink after cooked), prick each piece of meat with fork and marinate over night in the fridge. You can marinate the meat in advance, like 1-2 days in the fridge and up to 3 months in the freezer.
2. Variation: After barbecued, lightly brush the char siew with the marinade or mixture of maltose + sesame oil when it is still hot. I tried that with some ribs, fingers licking good. (updated on 24 Oct 2007)

Char Siu made with pork belly, brushed with generous amount of the sauce.