Cantonese Honey Char Siu (Glazed BBQ Pork with Five-Spice Honey)

Quick answer

Total time: 65 min
Level: Medium
Servings: 4 servings
Ingredients: 8

About this dish

Char siu is the defining roasted meat of Cantonese cooking, recognizable by the lacquered sheen and reddish-amber color of the cuts hanging in the windows of siu laap shops across Hong Kong and Guangzhou.

Pork neck or shoulder is the preferred cut because the fat distribution throughout the muscle fibers keeps the meat moist during the high-temperature roast. The marinade combines soy sauce, hoisin sauce, five-spice powder, Shaoxing rice wine, and honey. Five-spice - star anise, cassia cinnamon, cloves, Sichuan pepper, and fennel seeds ground together - contributes an aromatic complexity that bridges the saltiness of soy and hoisin with the sweetness of honey. After an overnight marinade, the meat roasts at high heat while being basted repeatedly with a honey glaze that lacquers the surface with successive layers of caramel. The traditional method suspends the pork on hooks inside a lychee charcoal oven, exposing every surface to radiant heat and allowing fat to drip away freely. This technique produces a crust that is sweet and concentrated on the outside while the interior stays fatty and juicy. The edges of the cut, where the honey carbonizes against the direct heat, develop a thin, slightly bitter char that is the most prized part of any char siu. Char siu is eaten sliced over rice as a complete one-plate meal, piled over wonton noodles, or served cold with hot English mustard as a simple appetizer.

Ingredients

servings

IngredientAmountUnit

pork neck800 gg

soy sauce4 tbsptbsp

oyster sauce2 tbsptbsp

honey3 tbsptbsp

sugar1 tbsptbsp

minced garlic1 tbsptbsp

five-spice powder1 tsptsp

sesame oil1 tsptsp

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Instructions

Read the steps as a cooking flow: prep, heat, seasoning, doneness control, and finish.

6 steps

1

Prep

Slice pork neck into strips about 3 cm thick and 15 cm long, then pierce both sides thoroughly with a fork at least 10 times to allow the marinade to penetrate deep into the meat.
2

Season

Combine soy sauce 4 tbsp, oyster sauce 2 tbsp, honey 2 tbsp, sugar 1 tbsp, minced garlic 1 tbsp, five-spice powder 1 tsp, and sesame oil 1 tsp in a bowl, stirring until the sugar fully dissolves into a smooth marinade.
3

Step

Add the pork strips to the marinade and coat evenly on all sides, then transfer to a zip-lock bag or airtight container and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, preferably overnight for 8 hours or more to develop deep, complex flavor.
4

Step

Preheat oven to 200C with top and bottom heat.

Place marinated strips directly onto a wire rack set over a foil-lined drip tray, place on the middle rack, and roast for 20 minutes before flipping each piece.
5

Heat

Brush the remaining 1 tbsp honey over all sides and roast for another 15 to 20 minutes.

Check that the surface is deep reddish brown, the edges are caramelized, and the center of the thickest strip is cooked through.
6

Finish

Transfer roasted pork to a cutting board, tent loosely with foil, and rest for 10 minutes to redistribute juices, then slice thinly at 5 mm thickness against the grain and serve over steamed rice or noodles.

Practical Cooking Checks

The cues that matter most while cooking.

Key technique: Marinate the 3cm-thick pork strips under refrigeration for at least 2 hours
Finish cue: Check that the surface is deep reddish brown, the edges are caramelized, and the center of the thickest strip is cooked through.
Avoid this: Avoid over-roasting; brush honey mid-cook for shine.
Substitution: Discard marinade that has touched raw pork instead of reusing it as a finishing sauce.
Storage and reheating: After an overnight marinade, the meat roasts at high heat while being basted repeatedly with a honey glaze that lacquers the surface with successive layers of caramel.