Sweet and sticky pork (char siu)
Serves: 6
Prep time: 15 minsTotal time: 
Recipe photograph by Kris Kirkham
Sweet and sticky pork (char siu)
Recipe by Michael Zee
Serve this sweet and sticky pork - known as Char Siu with rice, or cool and stuff into bao buns
Serves: 6
Prep time: 15 minsTotal time: 
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Nutritional information (per serving)
Calories
348Kcal
Fat
9gr
Saturates
3gr
Carbs
28gr
Sugars
28gr
Fibre
1gr
Protein
38gr
Salt
3.3gr
Michael Zee
In 2013, Liverpudlian Michael began posting beautifully graphic breakfasts he made for himself and his partner, Mark, on Instagram as @symmetrybreakfast. What began as an act of love became a phenomenon, leading to his cookbook Symmetry Breakfast (Bantam Press, £14.99). He and Mark live in Shanghai
See more of Michael Zee’s recipes
Michael Zee
In 2013, Liverpudlian Michael began posting beautifully graphic breakfasts he made for himself and his partner, Mark, on Instagram as @symmetrybreakfast. What began as an act of love became a phenomenon, leading to his cookbook Symmetry Breakfast (Bantam Press, £14.99). He and Mark live in Shanghai
See more of Michael Zee’s recipes
Ingredients
- 6 tbsp caster sugar
- 1 tsp fine sea salt
- 2 tsp Chinese 5 spice
- 2 tsp paprika
- 1⁄2 tsp ground white pepper
- 4 tbsp hoisin sauce
- 2 tbsp tomato purée
- 2 tbsp black treacle
- 4 tbsp dark soy sauce
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil
- 5 garlic cloves, crushed
- 2 tsp red food colouring (optional)
- 2 pieces pork tenderloin, about 500-600g each (or pork shoulder, see tip in the method)
Step by step
Get ahead
Marinate the pork the day before
- Combine all the ingredients, apart from the pork, in a bowl to make the marinade.
- Add the pork to the sauce, coat well, cover and leave in the fridge for between 8 and 24 hours.
- Preheat the oven to 220°C, fan 200°C, gas 7. Line an ovenproof dish or roasting tin with foil and place a roasting rack inside – this helps the fat drip away from the meat.
- Remove the pork from the marinade, shake off the excess, and place on the roasting rack. Keep the leftover marinade for basting. Add water underneath (about 1cm deep).
- Cook for 20 minutes before turning, keeping an eye out for any burning bits. Brush with the marinade and turn the pieces over. Cook for a further 15 minutes or until cooked through and the juices run clear.
- Remove from the oven and cover with foil for 15 minutes to rest.
-
Pour the sauce from the tray into a pan, and reduce if necessary to concentrate the flavour. Slice the pork and serve with the sauce, rice and stir-fried pak choi, choi sum or Tenderstem broccoli. Or cool and chop into pieces to fill bao buns.TipThe cut of pork is up to you; fattier shoulder will be more succulent than lean tenderloin. Divide a large shoulder into 3 or 4 pieces and roast for about an hour in step 5, basting once or twice.
