Whilst shopping about at my local grocerarium, I came across an entire pork loin on sale for less that $30. Having recently survived Bill “bbum” Bumgarner’s porkapalooza, I felt I would be remiss if I didn’t avail myself the opportunity to grill some hog. In pondering what to do with 8 pounds of pig, my good friend Daniel Pasco suggested I make char siu, and I immediately heard the call of Destiny.
After hanging up with Destiny (she always calls when I am in the middle of something) I got to thinking about char siu. Quite possibly my favorite meat of all time, good char siu usually requires a trip to the Chinese deli, which involves driving to Uwajimaya or 99 Ranch, which means I usually miss out. Could I make this delicious treat at home?
Well, I mean, obviously. I busted out my trusty Shun Ken Onion knife and cut the loan in half, then in half again, lengthwise, leaving me with four long, flat rectangles of pork, each about an inch thick, four inches wide, and a foot-and-a-half long, weighing in at about 2 pounds.
I’ve used the foul-smelling powdered marinade mix to good effect on some pork chops once before. The results were decent, but not as good as the deli. More research was required, so I turned to Wikipedia, which not only had a good entry on the food itself, but also provided a recipe for the marinade.
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•1 kg pork shoulder.
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•2 tbsp. dark soy sauce
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•2 tbsp. light soy sauce
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•2 tbsp. oyster sauce
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•2 tbsp. Shaoxing rice wine
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•2 tbsp. clear honey
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•4 tbsp. hoisin sauce
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•1/2 tsp. five spice
That required some adaptation. First, I’ve got loin instead of shoulder, and 8 pounds instead of a kilo. No problem; I just multiplied everything by 4. Since I’ve never heard of nor seen dark or light soy sauce, I just tapped my gallon jug of Aloha Shoyu, Hawaii’s favorite soy sauce. I also don’t have any Shaoxing, so I substituted sake. Finally, I added red food dye, in the traditional style.
After mixing them all together, I split the pork and marinade between two gallon freezer bags. I sucked the air out of the bags and put them in the refrigerator for 24 hours. The recipe suggests jabbing the strips of meat all over with a fork to let the marinade soak in, but I eschewed that lest exacerbate the natural dryness of the loin.
After a full day, the meet was a lustrous red color. I had debated the food dye. Originally, the pork was colored by a preservative, but being both festive and lucky in Chinese culture, the red color continues to this day. The trouble is, this makes the marinade a stain waiting to happen, and when it does, it looks like murder. I had one minor and one major spill happen. Let’s just say I owe Wil a new kitchen rug and will be eschewing the dye next time around.
The name “char siu” means “fork roasted,” the traditional cooking style. The recipe calls for a 450°F oven, but I, of course, used the extra-large Big Green Egg. I basted and flipped the meat every 10 minutes until it reached an internal temperature of (I think it was) 140°F, which took about an hour. I bought some S hooks on which to hang the meat while it cooled, but they proved insufficient, so I had to rest it in foil, for about 10 minutes. Then I cut it and served it up. It’s good warm and great cold.
Looks good, right? It was, but still not as good as the deli. For one thing, it’s too dry. Some Chinese mustard and shoyu helps that, as does a nice pint of Guinness, but ultimately the ideal char siu is going to have to come from a darker cut, like a shoulder, or maybe something from the flank. I also should have heeded the advice of those who know better and pierced the meat so the marinade could have penetrated deeper.
The bigger problem, though, was the outside. Deli char siu always has a thick caramelized crust. I think there are three things I can do to achieve this. First, pork fat will render out and harden into a kind of amber when grilled. A fattier cut will increase this effect and lead to a better crust.
Second, a higher grilling temperature will keep the meat tender and also lead to better caramelization. I don’t know what temperature the egg was at, but it should have taken 20 minutes, not an hour, to roast. I actually have a piece that didn’t fit for the first batch that I grilled hotter. I haven’t busted into it yet, but it will be interesting to see how it differs from the slow-roasted stuff.
Third, the marinade was thick and sweet, but could have been thicker and sweeter. Instead of regular sake, I should have used mirin, which is a sweet sake used only for cooking. I intentionally used drinking sake because I was worried about the marinade being too sweet. That was a mistake.
Finally, I think after the meat marinates, I’ll fortify the sauce with additional honey to not only make it sweeter and more prone to caramelization, but also to make it more viscous so I’ll get a thicker crust.
Addenda 
Nikc
In your defense, a kitchen rug sounds like an accident waiting to happen.
Thanks for the recipe insight 8-)
In your defense, a kitchen rug sounds like an accident waiting to happen.
Thanks for the recipe insight 8-)
Mike Lee
And in Wil’s defense, he hasn’t actually mentioned it. That said, kitchen rugs are fairly common. They protect the floor, add traction (done correctly) and spruce up the floor.
And in Wil’s defense, he hasn’t actually mentioned it. That said, kitchen rugs are fairly common. They protect the floor, add traction (done correctly) and spruce up the floor.
rhesuspieces00
dark soy sauce is aged longer than light soy sauce, and not nearly as salty. They’re both Chinese style sauces. I suspect Aloha brand is more akin to japanese style soy sauce, which is fairly similar to chinese style light soy sauce. Pearl River Bridge and Lee Kum Kee (LKK) are good brands for both light and dark. You might find LKK at a regular super market, but definitely could find either at 99 Ranch. (although, going there might defeat the purpose of making char sui yourself.)
The LKK brand “Premium Oyster Flavored sauce” (http://usa.lkk.com/Common/Images/DEW/OSP102.gif) has the best flavor of any commonly available oyster sauce. Their hoisin and plum sauces are decent as well.
dark soy sauce is aged longer than light soy sauce, and not nearly as salty. They’re both Chinese style sauces. I suspect Aloha brand is more akin to japanese style soy sauce, which is fairly similar to chinese style light soy sauce. Pearl River Bridge and Lee Kum Kee (LKK) are good brands for both light and dark. You might find LKK at a regular super market, but definitely could find either at 99 Ranch. (although, going there might defeat the purpose of making char sui yourself.)
The LKK brand “Premium Oyster Flavored sauce” (http://usa.lkk.com/Common/Images/DEW/OSP102.gif) has the best flavor of any commonly available oyster sauce. Their hoisin and plum sauces are decent as well.
Mike Lee
Cool. Thanks for the lesson in Chinese ingredients. I actually thought the LKK Hoisin looked better than the Kikkoman, ingredients-wise, but it came in a slightly smaller size, whereas the Kikkoman was the exact size I needed, to the tablespoon.
Next time I find myself in a pan-Asian supermarket I’ll stock up for next time.
Cool. Thanks for the lesson in Chinese ingredients. I actually thought the LKK Hoisin looked better than the Kikkoman, ingredients-wise, but it came in a slightly smaller size, whereas the Kikkoman was the exact size I needed, to the tablespoon.
Next time I find myself in a pan-Asian supermarket I’ll stock up for next time.
Random Lemur
I think one or two of your pictures was missing a lemur. I know it’s too late, but maybe photoshop?
I think one or two of your pictures was missing a lemur. I know it’s too late, but maybe photoshop?
Mike Lee
The pictures with the lemur were taken in my kitchen. The ones without the lemur were taken in Wil’s kitchen. I couldn’t convince the lemur to come outside in the cold. Ringtailed lemurs are notorious sissies about cold.
The pictures with the lemur were taken in my kitchen. The ones without the lemur were taken in Wil’s kitchen. I couldn’t convince the lemur to come outside in the cold. Ringtailed lemurs are notorious sissies about cold.
Jane
Hmm, thanks for the interesting post. Earlier today I was craving some char siu bao (those steamed buns with char siu stuffing) and was wondering how you go on making them cause I can’t be arsed to drive to a “real” non-Panda-Express chinese restaurant to buy some.
Oh, and on a 6 month later sidenote, thanks for the shirt you gave me at the wwdc bash...I’ve come across entirely random Mac users asking me about it every time I wear it. :)
Hmm, thanks for the interesting post. Earlier today I was craving some char siu bao (those steamed buns with char siu stuffing) and was wondering how you go on making them cause I can’t be arsed to drive to a “real” non-Panda-Express chinese restaurant to buy some.
Oh, and on a 6 month later sidenote, thanks for the shirt you gave me at the wwdc bash...I’ve come across entirely random Mac users asking me about it every time I wear it. :)
Mike Lee
I love char siu bao, indeed, most bao (known in Hawaii as “manapua”). I was thinking about trying my hand at some with the leftovers.
I love char siu bao, indeed, most bao (known in Hawaii as “manapua”). I was thinking about trying my hand at some with the leftovers.
Random Lemur
One might think that a vegetarian such as myself would be aghast at this gross mistreatment of a pig. But actually I’m more shocked that somebody would put a rug in their kitchen and not expect it to get fucked up.
One might think that a vegetarian such as myself would be aghast at this gross mistreatment of a pig. But actually I’m more shocked that somebody would put a rug in their kitchen and not expect it to get fucked up.
b ill
This looks nothing like the inside of manapua. The tall red meat picture is priceless.
This looks nothing like the inside of manapua. The tall red meat picture is priceless.
Rom
I think Alton Brown said that basting things makes them dryer. At least for turkey...
I think Alton Brown said that basting things makes them dryer. At least for turkey...
Mike Lee
The story is actually a bit more complicated. Alton’s statement was a refutation of the idea that basting was necessary for, or even conducive to, moist turkey. His point was that since the turkey is wrapped in impermeable skin, basting accomplishes nothing, but requires opening the oven, which lengthens cooking time, drying out the meat.
In this case, the basting is intended not to moisten the meat, but to thicken the crust. The cooking time (ideally, 20 minutes) is not long enough for opening the grill to make much of a difference. While certainly over-recommended, basting in this case makes sense.
The story is actually a bit more complicated. Alton’s statement was a refutation of the idea that basting was necessary for, or even conducive to, moist turkey. His point was that since the turkey is wrapped in impermeable skin, basting accomplishes nothing, but requires opening the oven, which lengthens cooking time, drying out the meat.
In this case, the basting is intended not to moisten the meat, but to thicken the crust. The cooking time (ideally, 20 minutes) is not long enough for opening the grill to make much of a difference. While certainly over-recommended, basting in this case makes sense.
Char siu pork loin, hot from the Big Green Egg, served on Jasmine rice with wok-tossed bok choy.
Friday, December 7, 2007
Char Siu
