Chinese BBQ Pork (Best and Authentic Recipe!) - Rasa Malaysia (2024)

FAQs

What makes Chinese BBQ pork pink? ›

4. Red food colouring – to make the pork red, like you get at the Chinese barbecue shop. This is optional. Authentic Char Siu uses red bean curd for colouring and a touch of flavour – it can be found at Asian stores, use about 2 tbsp of the liquid and no red food colouring.

The red color of char siu traditionally comes from red fermented bean curd, or lam yuh. It doesn't give a very bright, vibrant red, but more of a natural redwood-looking hue. To get a very vibrant red color, most Chinese BBQ stalls add red food coloring.

Unlike American-style barbecue sauces, traditional Chinese barbecue sauce doesn't contain tomatoes. Hoisin sauce, soy sauce, black bean paste, and Chinese five-spice powder are what bring the flavor.

Char siu is barbecued roast pork, whereas siu yuk is roasted crispy pork belly. Not only do they use different parts of the pig — my dad likes to use pork butt for char siu and pork belly for siu yuk — but they're also prepared differently and have varying flavor profiles and textures.

Soy sauce (usually a mix of light and dark soy sauce), fermented bean paste, red fermented tofu or rock sugar is commonly used to both flavor and impart a reddish brown hue to the items being cooked. Food coloring is sometimes added for a more intense red coloration.

After cutting, the oxygen in the air attaches to the myoglobin and the pork turns to the bright pink color that we associate with fresh pork. It would be great if the color would just stay the pretty pink color, but the enzymes in the muscle use the oxygen and take it away from the myoglobin.

In Cantonese, siu means “to laugh”, while the number “4” has the same pronunciation as the Cantonese word for “die”. Siu-say is a commonly spoken phrase, and “siu4” is its romanised form for texting or social media. Netizens often use the phrase when they see something amusing or even satirical.

Hoisin sauce

The original sauce uses fermented soybean paste which is quite tricky to find. I cannot always find it, so instead, I use hoisin sauce which is more widely available. Hoisin sauce adds a kick of umami and a subtle tanginess. You can use store-bought or follow my recipe to make your own hoisin sauce.

While char siu is roasted over a high heat to give it that signature smokiness, chashu pork is slowly braised in a mouthwatering soy sauce and sake-based marinade, giving it its ultra-tender edge.

Soy Sauce (Regular/light) (酱油，Jiàngyóu)

Soy sauce (jiàng yóu, 酱油), the most common of Chinese sauces, sounds simple, and for the most part, it is. However, there are many types, each unique to different Asian cuisines (Chinese, Japanese, Thai, etc.).

Is Chinese barbecue sauce the same as hoisin sauce? ›

Though "hoisin" means "seafood" in Cantonese, hoisin sauce contains no ocean elements and is rarely used with seafood dishes. Chefs incorporate this delicious sauce in authentic Chinese, Vietnamese, and Cantonese dishes, and its versatility has earned it the title "Chinese Barbecue Sauce."

Traditionally, this dish would be served up sliced over rice with a side of steamed greens, but you can also serve with noodles or in steamed buns. Don't forget to read our tips further down, including marinating the pork the day before, to allow time for the sauce to penetrate better into the meat.

Ingredients in marinades for cha siu are similar to those found in China (honey, five-spice, wine, soy, hoisin, etc.), except that red food colouring is often used in place of the red bean curd for convenience.

Char siu, called yakibuta in Japanese (in Japan it's called by both names チャーシュー or 焼豚）is used in many everyday dishes. It is very rich, so it's usually used in small quantities, not eaten as a hunk o' meat. Here are just a few ways you can use it: top off a bowl of ramen with one or two thin slices.

If fresh pork has reached 145°F (62.8 °C) throughout, even though it may still be pink in the center, it should be safe. The pink color can be due to the cooking method or added ingredients.

Is it ok if my pork is slightly pink? The short answer to this common question is yes! Due to the ingredients and natural preservatives found in many pork products, it's entirely possible that your meat may still be slightly pink even when it's fully cooked. In fact, pork can even be enjoyed medium-rare.

Occurrence. The pinkish color in meat is typically due to the presence of a compound called myoglobin.

The characteristic red hue of char siu comes from red food coloring, which you can add to the marinade if you'd like, but I prefer to go au natural. It's plenty pretty on its own. Hoisin sauce—a fermented soy bean-based sweet and savory barbecue sauce—is the primary flavoring agent in the marinade.