Chinese Barbecued Pork Roast (Char Siew)

By mahto

Ingredients

• 1 pork shoulder, 2kg to 3kg (or use fresh ham)
• 2 tbsp hoisin sauce
• 4 or more cloves garlic, peeled
• 4 cm ginger, peeled and cut into coins
• 1 or 2 fresh or dried hot chillies (optional)
• 1 bunch green onions, cut into pieces
• 2 tbsp five-spice powder, or 1 tbsp ground cinnamon
• 1 tbsp salt
• 2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
• Sesame oil as needed
• 1 tbsp rice vinegar
• Soya sauce
• 1 cucumber, peeled, seeded and chopped
• 1 bunch coriander leaves, cleaned but left in sprigs

Details

Servings 1
Adapted from menshealth.com.sg

Preparation

Step 1

Crosshatch the pork’s surface with a sharp knife. Combine the hoisin sauce, garlic, ginger, chillies, green onions, spice, salt, pepper and a few drops of sesame oil in a food processor, and pulse until the mixture is a paste. Blend in the vinegar. Rub this paste into every nook and cranny of the pork, and leave the meat in the fridge for up to 24 hours to let it absorb the flavours.

Preheat the oven to 150 deg C. When it’s time to cook the pork, place it in a roasting pan with about 1cm of water. Roast the pork for several hours till it’s very tender (about 3 hours for a 2kg shoulder), turning every hour or so and adding more water when necessary. Finish roasting with the skin side up. Raise the heat towards end of cooking, if necessary, to make the skin a bit crispier.

Let the roast rest for 10 to 15 minutes before breaking it up with two forks. The pork should be tender at this point. If it isn’t, put it back in the oven for 15 to 30 minutes. Skim the fat off the pan juices and serve what’s left with the pork, passing them and the soya sauce at the table, along with the cucumber and coriander leaves, for garnish.

You Make: 6 or more servings.