In the past I have made Char Siew using an easy way and with just 3 ingredients - pork belly, soy sauce and sugar. The Char Siew always turned out very soft and fragrant. I try to give my family a different taste altogether by making use of the ingredients of my earlier Char Siew and those used in making Crispy Roast Pork and baking the marinated pork belly. It turned out very delicious with a bit of charred taste.
Ingredients:
- 2 strips of pork belly, about 450 g each
- 2 tbsp soy sauce
- 2 tbsp sugar
- 2 tsp five spices
- 2 pieces preserved bean curd
- 2 tbsp preserved bean curd sauce
- 2 tbsp Shao Hsing Hua Tiao Chiew (Chinese cooking wine)
- 1 tbsp sesame oil
- 2 tsp salt
- 4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
- 2 tbsp Hoisin sauce
- 2 tbsp honey
Method:
- Wash and pat dry the pork belly.
- Put all the other ingredients into a mixing bowl and mix them up well.
- Marinate the 2 pieces of pork belly; better if they are left overnight in the refrigerator. Otherwise, marinate them for at least 4 hours.
- Bake the pork belly at 180 deg C for 1 hour. (Remember to line the base of your oven or air-fryer for easy cleaning.)
- Fifteen minutes into baking, glaze the pork belly with the marinade.
- Turn the 2 pieces of pork belly after 30 minutes.
- Let them bake for another 15 minutes before glazing them again with the marinade.
- Once done, remove the pork belly from the oven or air-fryer.
- Pour the marinade into a wok.
- Let it boil.
- Put the 2 strips of pork belly into the wok. Keep on turning the meat until the marinade reduces in amount, caramelises and coat the meat.
- The Char Siew is done.