Char Siu (Chinese BBQ Pork) & Fried Rice

This will be a two for one recipe with the Chinese BBQ Pork known as Char Siu (recipe largely pulled from thewoksoflife.com) and Pork Fried Rice that will utilize some of the pork from the first recipe. For the Char Siu, it is great sliced and enjoyed with stir fry veggies or chopped and used in other dishes.

The Char Siu starts out by coating strips of pork with a flavorful marinade and cooking either in a sous vide or your oven. You'll want to start with a Pork (butt or shoulder) Roast cut into 2-3" strips or chunks. This marinade is for about 3lbs of pork.

Marinade Ingredients:

• ¼ cup white sugar

• 1 tsp salt

• 1 tsp msg

• ½ tsp five spice powder

• ¼ tsp white pepper

• 1 tsp sesame oil

• 1 TB rice wine or sherry

• 1 TB soy sauce

• 1 TB hoisin sauce

• 2 tsp molasses

• Few drops of red food coloring (optional)

• 3 cloves minced garlic

For making sauce to brush on during broil:

• 3 TB reserved marinade

• 2 TB honey

• 1 TB hot water

Cooking Instructions:

1. Cut pork into strips (2-3”thick) and put in large ziplock bag.

2. Mix together marinade ingredients and add to bag, reserving a few TB for sauce. For best flavor, let marinade for a day before cooking. Results are still good if cooked sous vide the same day.

3. Cook in sous vide for 18-24 hours at 147. Remove pork from the bag and place on a cooling rack on a foil lined sheet pan.

4. Add honey and hot water to the reserved marinade and mix. Brush on pork. Broil on high for several minutes until a crust forms. Flip pork and brush sauce on the other side. Broil for an additional few minutes.

5. Remove, rest, slice. Or dice and add to fried rice

   Oven Instructions (Taken directly from thewoksoflife.com. I have used this method but prefer the more hands off option with the sous vide.

   If you don’t have a sous vide or would prefer to cook the pork more quickly, it’s easy to do in the oven.

6. Preheat your oven to 'bake' at 475 F with a rack positioned in the upper third of the oven.

7. Line a sheet pan with foil and place a metal rack on top. Using the metal rack keeps the pork off of the pan and allows it to roast more evenly, like it does in commercial ovens described above. Place the pork on the rack, leaving as much space as possible between pieces. Pour 1 ½ cups water into the pan below the rack. This prevents any drippings from burning or smoking.

8. Transfer the pork to your preheated oven. Roast for 25 minutes, keeping the oven setting at 475 F for the first 10 minutes of roasting, and then reduce your oven temperature to 375 F (190 C).

9. After 25 minutes, flip the pork. If the bottom of the pan is dry, add another cup of water. Turn the pan 180 degrees to ensure even roasting. Roast another 15 minutes. Throughout the roasting time, check your char siu often (every 10 minutes) and reduce the oven temperature if it looks like it is burning!

10. After 40 minutes of total roasting time, baste the pork, flip it, and baste the other side as well. Roast for a final 10 minutes.

11. By now, the pork has cooked for 50 minutes total. It should be cooked through and caramelized on top. If it’s not caramelized to your liking, you can turn the broiler on for a couple minutes to crisp the outside and add some color/flavor.

12. Rest and slice.

You can call it a day here or you can use some of that pork to make a delicious fried rice. I've read and combined several other recipes with the things that we liked and worked for us. I usually use butter, but you can absolutely use a neutral oil if you prefer.

Fried Rice Ingredients:

• 2 ½ TB Butter

• 2 large eggs, beaten

• ½ cup diced onion

• 1 cup frozen peas and carrots

• 4 cups day old rice

• 1 cup diced char siu pork (or other protein of choice, or nothing if preferred)

• Sliced green onions, divided by whites and greens (2-3 stalks)

• 3 cloves minced garlic

• ¼ tsp white pepper

• Pinch of salt

• 1 tsp MSG

• 2 tsp oyster sauce

• 1tsp sesame oil

• 3 TB soy sauce

Instructions:

1. Mix your sauce by combining the soy sauce, sesame oil, oyster sauce, MSG, salt, white pepper, garlic, and whites of the green onions.

2. Heat wok to medium-high and add ½ TB butter and eggs. Scramble and set aside.

3. Add 2 TB (or less if preferred) butter to the pan and melt. Add carrot pea mix and onion and sauté for a few minutes. When onions and carrots are soft, add the rice and break it up a bit. Pour the sauce and move rice around to coat it. Add pork (or protein of choice) and combine again. Allow to cook for a few minutes until excess liquid is gone and rice starts to get a bit sticky on the bottom of the wok.

4. Turn off heat and add tops of green onions and reserved scrambled eggs. Toss again and serve

A post from Amy Martin