morsels45

morsels45 said

Char siu

Lacquered pork, red at the edges, over rice.

That was somebody else’s answer. Yours takes about twenty seconds: a handful of either-ors, then one dish.

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How to make char siu

2 genuinely different takes — a classic, and a faster or lighter route. The same ones the app hands you once you have decided.

Lacquered properly

90 minutes · serves 4 · Medium

What you need

  • 800g pork shoulder, in long strips
  • 3 tbsp hoisin
  • 2 tbsp honey
  • 2 tbsp soy sauce
  • 1 tbsp five spice
  • 2 garlic cloves
  • 1 tbsp shaoxing or dry sherry
  • Red food colouring, optional

What you do

  1. 1Marinate the pork overnight if you can, 2 hours at the very least. Keep back 3 tbsp of marinade.
  2. 2Roast on a rack over a tray of water at 180C for 40 minutes, turning once. The water stops the drips burning.
  3. 3Mix the reserved marinade with an extra spoon of honey and brush it on. Back in at 220C for 10 minutes.
  4. 4Brush and blast once more. You want dark, sticky edges, not an even colour.
  5. 5Rest 10 minutes, slice across the grain, over rice.

Pan-glazed strips

40 minutes · serves 2 · Easy

What you need

  • 400g pork loin strips
  • Hoisin, honey, soy, five spice
  • Garlic

What you do

  1. 1Marinate 30 minutes.
  2. 2Fry hard, then add the marinade and let it reduce to a glaze, turning the pork in it.
  3. 3Watch it — honey goes from caramel to burnt in under a minute.