Cantonese Honey-Glazed Char Siu

Cantonese Honey-Glazed Char Siu

• Ingredients
  • Main: 500g pork collar (or pork neck meat).
  • Marinade: Appropriate amount of minced ginger and garlic, 1 tbsp yellow soybean paste, 2 tbsp oyster sauce, 1 tbsp Zhuhou sauce, 1 piece fermented red bean curd + 1 tbsp its brine, 3 tbsp char siu sauce, ½ tbsp five-spice powder, 1 egg yolk, 2 tbsp sugar, 10g rose wine.
  • Sugar Glaze: 2 tbsp maltose, a little water.
• Steps
  1. Cut the pork collar into pieces 3.5cm wide and 4.5cm thick.
  2. Prepare the char siu sauce: Mix minced ginger, garlic, yellow soybean paste, oyster sauce, Zhuhou sauce, fermented red bean curd and its brine, char siu sauce, five-spice powder, egg yolk, and sugar in a bowl until well combined.
  3. Coat the cut pork evenly with the sauce, place in a plastic bag or wrap with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 6 hours (preferably overnight).
  4. Remove from the fridge, pour in 10g rose wine, and mix well.
  5. Preheat the oven to 220°C. Place the marinated pork on a rack, line a baking tray with aluminium foil underneath to catch drips, and bake in the middle rack for 20 minutes.
  6. After the first bake, take it out and brush both sides with maltose syrup (mixed with a little water in advance).
  7. After glazing, flip the pork, lower the oven temperature to 170°C, and bake for another 10 minutes.
  8. Remove the char siu, let it cool, then slice and serve.

Japanese Chashu

• Ingredients
  • Main: 300g pork shoulder or pork belly.
  • Seasonings: 1 tsp salt, ½ tbsp oil, 2 slices ginger, 1 Japanese leek (or regular leek), ⅔ cup water, ⅓ cup sake, ⅓ cup soy sauce, 3 tbsp sugar.
• Steps
  1. Cut the leek into 2-inch sections, separating the white and green parts. For the white part, slice lengthwise, remove the soft green core, and set aside with the green part.
  2. Thinly slice the white leek, soak in cold water for 10 minutes, drain, and store in an airtight container or cover with plastic wrap for garnish later.
  3. Sprinkle salt over the pork shoulder or belly and rub evenly.
  4. Heat oil in a cast-iron (or regular) skillet. Sear the fat side of the pork until browned, then flip and sear the other side, about 10 minutes total.
  5. While searing, combine water, sake, soy sauce, and sugar in a heavy-bottomed pot.
  6. Transfer the seared pork to the pot, add ginger slices and leek sections, then bring to a boil.
  7. Place an otoshibuta (lid substitute, can be made with aluminum foil) over the pork, reduce heat to medium-low, flip occasionally, and simmer for about 1 hour until only ¼ inch of liquid remains in the pot.
  8. Remove the otoshibuta, reduce the sauce until you can see the bottom of the pot when scraping. Watch closely to avoid burning—after 15-20 minutes, bubbles will form, and when the sauce around the pork thickens and the surface shines, turn off the heat.
  9. Remove the pork, slice thinly, plate, and garnish with the prepared leek shreds.