Homemade char siew or BBQ pork recipe

Char siew aka BBQ pork can easily be found at any chicken rice and wonton noodles stalls in Malaysia. There are even some restaurants specialising in making char siew as their signature dish. However, over in Melbourne, I can hardly find char siew from the Malaysian restaurants. Here, char siew appears to be more commonly found in Hong Kong and Chinese restaurants.

Anyway, I decided to make my own char siew by asking the recipe from my mother in law. Apparently my hubby's late grandma made the best char siew. I was a little bit disappointed to find that the recipe doesn't come with the exact portion of each ingredient except that the rose wine (Mui Kuai Lou) is a must. Looks like the secret recipe didn't pass down precisely to the next generation. Oh well, that means I have to follow my instincts and taste buds, again! Because of that, I actually modified the recipe by adding honey as my instinct was calling for honey. Haha, just like Pooh bear!

By the way, rose wine can be found in a well stocked Asian supermarket in Melbourne. I bought mine from Hometown Asian supermarket on Elizabeth St.

Well, the result turned out quite nice although I'm sure it can't beat grandma's! If you like to follow the recipe below, feel free to modify the portion of each ingredients according to your liking, you could even omit the honey. If you ever find the secret combination, don't forget to share with me ;)

Recipe:

500g pork rasher/pork belly strips without the skin
1 tablespoon oil
Oil to brush the pork

Marinade:

1 1/2 tablespoons light soya sauce
1 tablespoon oyster sauce
1 tablespoon dark caramel sauce
1 1/2 tablespoons sugar
1 2/3 tablespoons honey
1 tablespoon rose wine (Mui Kuai Lou)*

* Mandatory ingredient

1. Marinate pork rasher/pork belly with the marinade in a zip lock bag. Store in the fridge overnight.

2. Scrape off the marinade from the pork rasher strips and keep it for later use. Brush each pork rasher strip with oil.

3. Line the pork rasher strips on an elevated rack on a tray.

4. Grill in a pre heated oven at 200c for 8-10mins. Flip to the other side and grill for another 3-5mins. Note that the cooking time depends on how thick the meat is, so you need to adjust accordingly. Over grill would result in dry and hard meat.

5. Cut the char siew or BBQ pork into slices when it's cooled.

6. Heat oil in a frying pan. Add in the marinade and simmer until the sauce is thickened.

7. Pour the sauce over the char siew or BBQ pork and serve.

Suggestions: char siew goes well with rice or you could use it for wonton noodles/egg noodles. It would be just as nice if you have it with a bowl of green salad!