Savory Red Char Siu Recipe Without Artificial Dyes

I was introduced to char siu at my family’s Japanese New Year’s party. Which makes no sense — and also makes perfect sense. That’s diaspora cooking. Different traditions, one table.

Back then, it was usually a bright red pork loin — a little dry, served with spicy Chinese mustard. I loved it anyway. Then I started eating more traditional Chinese food (outside of Utah), and realized what it should be: juicy, deeply savory, lacquered and glossy.

The problem? A lot of versions still rely on Red 40  😟 — which my sister and I both react to.

So this is my version. Same flavor, same shine — no shortcuts.

https://youtube.com/shorts/S35TQ87VRGg?si=uttVgi5ZbJo2pXs8

Prep Time: 15 min to make marinade, minimum 8 hours - overnight marinading time.

Estimated Cook Time: 30 min (varies on the amount of meat)

Tools:

• Cutting board

• Chef Knife

• Measuring utensils (ha!)

• Bowl (for mixing marinade)

• chop sticks

• Container or bag to marinate meat in

• Roasting pan with grate and an Over OR a BBQ

Tips and Tricks:

Basting with the drippings will give great color and flavor, giving it that classic red char siu glaze.

If you don't have extra marinade, you can just use a bit of diluted honey

Make your own 5-spice.  I didn't for years, and it was such an amazing upgrade!

You can absolutely use garlic powder if you don't have fresh on hand

Always let your meat rest!

Ingredients

Directions

Meat: 3 pounds boneless pork shoulder Marinade: 3 tablespoons brown sugar 1.5 teaspoon Chinese five spice 1.5 tsp white pepper 1 tsp sesame oil 2 T hoisin sauce 3 T oyster sauce 1 T red bean curd 2 T red rice yeast 2 T Shaoxing rice wine 1 T dark soy 3 cloves garlic Glaze 3 T of honey + reserved marinade Garnish Sesame seeds and/over green onion

Gather all your ingredients for the marinade Add all your ingredients to a bowl and mix well, this should be a very strong flavor, but don't worry if it's not too sweet. Set aside 2T of marinade Prep pork shoulder (if necessary) Coat pork with marinade and store in fridge overnight Next Day Preheat to 375 F Line a baking tray with foil and place a rack Put 1/3 c water in the bottom of the tray Mix 2T of honey with the marinade you set aside, this is the glaze Every 10 or so minutes, glaze and turn the meat over.  The goal is to coat every side for even flavor About 2/3 of the way through, pull the rack up and baste with the drippings Cook till the internal temp is 170F Remove and let rest for 10 minutes Garnish with sesame, serve with hot mustard Enjoy!