Char siu pork belly

Traditionally, pork neck is used to make char siu, but for maximum flavour and tenderness, we have used pork belly on the bone.

Credit: SBS Food

• serves

  10

• prep

  20 minutes

• cook

  1:20 hour

• difficulty

  Mid

Ingredients

• 80 ml (⅓ cup) soy sauce
• 80 ml (⅓ cup) rice vinegar
• 2 tbsp hoisin sauce
• 2 tbsp caster sugar
• 2 garlic cloves, grated
• ½ tsp five-spice powder
• 1.2 kg pork belly on the bone, skin removed, cut into 6 pieces
• 90 g (¼ cup) runny honey
• steamed gai lan (Chinese broccoli) and oyster sauce, to serve

Marinating time overnight

Resting time 10 minutes

Instructions

Combine soy sauce, rice vinegar, hoisin sauce, sugar, garlic and five-spice powder in a non-reactive bowl. Add pork belly, toss to coat, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight to marinate.

Preheat oven to 160°C. Drain pork belly pieces, discarding marinade, and place in a deep roasting pan. Season with salt and drizzle with half the honey. Roast for 40 minutes, then turn pork over, season with salt and drizzle over remaining honey. Roast for a further 40 minutes or until pork is cooked through and is sticky and charred. Remove from oven, loosely cover with foil and set aside for 10 minutes to rest. Cut into thick pieces and serve immediately with steamed gai lan and oyster sauce.

Photography Chris Chen

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.