Although both sauces are used in Asian cuisine, hoisin sauce is a rich, reddish-brown sauce that has a sweet-salty flavor and can be used as an ingredient or dipping sauce. Oyster sauce is saltier and fishier than hoisin sauce but is also less sweet. For both sauces, consistency will vary depending on the brand.

The Japanese name “chashu” actually comes from the Chinese food item with a similar name, “char-siu”. People make char siu with pork and seasoned with honey, five-spice powder, hoisin sauce, dark soy sauce while the other ingredients vary. These days, red food coloring is common in char siu.

While different cuts of pork can be used to make char siu, from lean boneless pork loin to fattier cuts, those fatty cuts like pork shoulder/pork butt really are best suited to making a tasty Chinese BBQ pork char siu.

Hongkongers love their roast pork and other kinds of siu mei, or Chinese-style barbecued meat. But, a dietitian warns, more than one piece a week can be hazardous to your health if you leave the juicy fat and crispy skin on when you eat it.

Char Siu Sauce Those familiar with this sauce often call it “Chinese barbecue sauce”. Like American barbecue sauces, its composition can vary, but will typically involve a mixture of hoisin sauce, honey or sweetener, and Chinese five spice powder.

char siu
The hallmark of char siu is the red ring around the perimeter of the pork, similar to a smoke ring you would see on western BBQ’d meat. Some places use artificial red food colouring to achieve this, but as I try to avoid food colouring, the maltose and red fermented tofu bean curd will produce great results.

pork belly
The ideal cut for chashu is pork belly, although you can use pork shoulder, and sometimes pork loin. Keep in mind that the last two choices don’t get the melt-in-your-mouth texture as they do not have as much fat as pork belly.

You may be wondering why the pork in a takeout Pork Fried Rice is red in color. The reason for that is that the pork used in the rice is actually char siu, a kind of Chinese BBQ pork with a sweet flavor and shiny, brick red crust on the outside.

Char siew rice has the lowest calories and fat! Follow these tips when choosing any of these meals: The healthier meat option to choose from the three is definitely the chicken. Char siew is so energy dense as it is coated in sugar and honey to get the lovely sticky sweet taste.

Char Siew Rice (327g) – Pork barbequed in sweet sauce, sliced thinly, served with rice and cucumber. Healthy tip: This meal is moderately high in energy and fibre, but it is a good source of protein.

The char siu sauce itself also can be used on its own, independent of the pork. It can be used to treat other meats, or poultry such as duck. It also is served over rice and vegetables, for which it provides a strong taste and color to an otherwise vegetarian dish.

The marinade, or char siu sauce, is usually made of dark soy sauce, hoisin sauce, five-spice powder and rice wine, although extra spices such as star anise , brown sugar and fermented bean sauce also can be added. The meat can be served on its own as a sliced entree or shredded or chopped and used in other dishes.

Char Siu is a Cantonese-style roasted boneless BBQ pork that is commonly used in Chinese cuisine .