Char siu pork (Chinese BBQ pork)
Sticky, glossy Chinese barbecue pork with charred edges, sliced over rice with roasted bok choy.
- 110 min total
- 30 min hands-on
- Follow-a-recipe easy
- Serves 4
- About $2.91 a serving
- 560 calories
- Good the next day
- Dairy-free
Dolly says: Make the full amount. It’s just as good for lunch the next day.
Ingredients
For 4 servings.
- 3 tbsp hoisin sauce
- 3 tbsp honey, divided
- ½ tsp Chinese five-spice powder
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tsp sesame oil
- 1 pork tenderloin, about 1¼ lb
- 1½ cups jasmine rice
- 4 baby bok choy, halved
- 2 stalks green onions, sliced (optional)
From your pantry
- 2 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tsp paprika
- 2¼ cups water
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil
- ¼ tsp salt
Each serving has about 560 calories, 37 g protein, 77 g carbs and 11 g fat, and costs about $2.91 at typical US grocery prices. Both are estimates from what the recipe uses.
Missing something?
- No honey? Maple syrup works.
- No jasmine rice? Long-grain white rice or basmati rice works.
- No green onions? Chives work.
Steps
Tap an underlined word for a quick explanation.
Stir the hoisin, 2 tbsp of the honey, the soy sauce, five-spice, garlic, sesame oil and paprika together in a bowl.
Dolly’s tip: The paprika is just there for the red color you see in Chinese restaurant windows.the silver skin from the pork and cut it in half into two long strips. Coat them in the sauce in a zip-top bag and in the fridge at least 1 hour, or overnight.
Trim. Trimming means cutting off the parts you don’t eat, like stem ends, tough bits or thick fat. It keeps chewy or bitter bits out of the finished dish.
How you’ll know: What’s left is the good part, with no dry ends, woody stems or thick white fat.
Lengthwise. Lengthwise means cutting along the long side, from stem to tip, which gives long pieces. Crosswise is the other way, straight across the middle, which gives short, round ones.
How you’ll know: Lengthwise halves of a zucchini look like two little canoes; crosswise pieces look like coins.
Marinate. Marinating means letting food sit in a flavorful liquid, called a marinade, before you cook it. Always marinate in the fridge, and never reuse marinade from raw meat unless you boil it first.
How you’ll know: The food is coated all over, sealed in a bag or covered dish, and chilling in the fridge.
Timer: 60 min
the oven to 425°F and line a with foil.
Preheat. Preheating means turning the oven on before you start, so it’s fully hot when the food goes in. Food that starts in a cold oven cooks unevenly and doesn’t brown the same.
How you’ll know: The oven beeps or its light clicks off, usually 10 to 15 minutes after you turn it on.
Sheet pan. A sheet pan is a flat metal baking tray with a low rim all the way around. The rim catches juices, and the wide surface lets food spread out and brown.
How you’ll know: Everything fits in one layer with a little space between the pieces.
the rice, then bring it with the water in a .
Rinse. Rinsing means running cold water over rice or canned beans in a strainer while you swish them around. It washes off loose starch and can liquid, so rice cooks up fluffy and beans taste clean.
How you’ll know: The water running out goes from cloudy to mostly clear; it doesn’t have to be perfect.
Bring to a boil. It means heating a liquid on high until it’s fully boiling before you move on. A lid on the pot gets it there faster, which makes it a good moment to chop something.
How you’ll know: Big bubbles break all over the surface, and they keep coming when you lift the lid.
Saucepan. A saucepan is a pot with tall, straight sides and one long handle. It’s for things that need depth, like rice, sauces or a few boiled eggs.
How you’ll know: The food fills it about halfway, leaving room to bubble without spilling over.
High heat
Cover, turn the heat to low, cook 15 minutes, and leave it covered off the heat.
Low heatTimer: 15 min
Lift the pork out of the bag onto the pan, keeping the marinade, and 10 minutes.
Roast. Roasting means cooking in a hot oven, around 400°F to 450°F, usually spread out on a sheet pan. The dry heat browns the outside and brings out sweetness, especially in vegetables.
How you’ll know: The edges are browned and a little crisp, and a fork slides easily into the thickest piece.
Timer: 10 min
Meanwhile, the marinade in a small pan for 1 minute and stir in the last 1 tbsp of honey. This is your glaze.
Boil. Boiling means heating a liquid until big bubbles rise and break all over the surface. It’s the fastest way to cook pasta, potatoes and eggs, because it’s as hot as water gets.
How you’ll know: Bubbles are breaking across the whole surface, not just at the edges, and steam is rising.
Medium heatTimer: 1 min
Dolly’s tip: The marinade touched raw pork, so it has to boil before it goes back on the cooked meat.the bok choy with the oil and salt and add it to the pan. Brush the pork with half the glaze and 8 to 12 minutes more, until it reads 145°F.
Toss. Tossing means gently lifting and turning food so everything gets coated, like pasta in sauce or vegetables in oil. It coats every piece evenly without mashing anything.
How you’ll know: Every piece looks glossy or evenly coated, with no dry spots hiding underneath.
Roast. Roasting means cooking in a hot oven, around 400°F to 450°F, usually spread out on a sheet pan. The dry heat browns the outside and brings out sweetness, especially in vegetables.
How you’ll know: The edges are browned and a little crisp, and a fork slides easily into the thickest piece.
Timer: 10 min
Food safety: Steak, pork chops and other whole cuts are safe at 145°F in the middle, then let them rest for 3 minutes before cutting.
Brush on the rest of the glaze and 1 to 2 minutes, until sticky and at the edges.
Broil. Broiling means cooking under the oven’s top heating element, with strong heat from above. It browns and crisps the top in minutes, and it can burn fast, so stay close.
How you’ll know: The top bubbles and spots golden brown; check every minute and pull it before it blackens.
Char. Charring means cooking over very high heat until some spots turn black. Those dark spots add a smoky, slightly bitter flavor that balances sweet or rich food.
How you’ll know: You see black spots and blisters in places, while most of the surface keeps its own color.
Timer: 1 min 30 sec
Dolly’s tip: Stand right there. The sugar in the glaze blackens fast under the broiler.the pork 5 minutes, it thin, and serve over the rice with the bok choy and green onions.
Rest. Resting means letting cooked meat sit for a few minutes before you cut it. It keeps cooking gently, and more of the juice stays in the meat instead of running onto the board.
How you’ll know: Loosely covered with foil, it stays hot, and very little juice runs out when you slice it.
Slice. Slicing means cutting food into flat pieces of about the same thickness. Even slices cook evenly, so none are raw while others burn.
How you’ll know: Lay a few side by side: they’re close to the same thickness from one end to the other.
Timer: 5 min
Plan this in Dollop, and get the grocery list
Dollop puts this dinner on a night that suits your week, lists only what you still need to buy, and walks you through each step while you cook.
