Char Siu, Revisited

If you recall, I have been on a quest to replicate

one of my favorite Chinese dishes, Char Siu,

or Chinese Barbecue Pork.

The first try resulted in moist, flavorful pork,

but it lacked the char that I desired.

I vowed to try, try again.

And that is exactly what it took:

two more tries to get just what I was looking for.

Char Siu, accompanied by stir-fried carrots,

sugar snap peas, yellow bell pepper,

onion and celery

and tossed with Udon noodles.

I am cleaning out my freezer,

so I pulled out a package of boneless pork country ribs

and used that along with the pork shoulder blade steak.

The remaining ingredients are

1/3 cup tamari,

3 tablespoons sherry,

2 tablespoons honey,

1/4 teaspoon Chinese Five Spices,

2 tablespoons brown sugar,

1 teaspoon red food coloring,

1 scallion, halved lengthwise

2 cloves garlic, grated.

The marinade/sauce ingredients were mixed

before half the sauce was poured over the trimmed pork

and sealed in a zip-top bag.

The remaining sauce was set aside

to baste the meat as it cooked.

We have decided that it is best to leave a bit of fat on

the pork, as it makes for a more tender

and flavorful dish.

This marinated in the fridge for 24 hours.



Once again I lined a roasting pan with aluminum foil
for easy clean-up.

I then added about 1/2 cup water to the bottom of the pan
before placing the rack and the meat on top.

I basted the meat with the reserved sauce several times
throughout the cooking process.

The pork roasted in a 400 degree oven for 45 minutes.
I then turned to oven up to 425 degrees and
continued roasting the pork for another 15 minutes.

Slightly sweet, moist and tender Char Siu feeds the soul.