Char Siu (a sino porcine experiment)

The first thing you will find as you research this dish on the web and in cookbooks is that this dish is impossible to duplicate at home. Well I for one saw that as a challenge. Can't duplicate at home my ass.........well as much as I hate to spoil the outcome for you I have to say most of those cautionary tales were correct......it is impossible to completely duplicate the sweet, salty, sticky deliciousness that is char siu but you can get pretty damn close.

I found two of the biggest challenges were the cooking technique and one elusive ingredient called maltose. The cooking technique that is normally employed in Chinese restaraunts that make their own char siu (you know the ones I am talking about that have red glistening pieces of pork and whole ducks haning in the window) is done in a large oven in which you hang the pieces of meat or fowl. Most home ovens of course are not large enought to allow you to hang meat in this manner. Most recipes suggest that you lay your pieces of meat on a racked baking sheet. While this will give you a decent finished product it does fall a bit short. I employed a gas grill and wood chips for smokiness and I came up with a pretty good appoximatuion of the Char Siu I have had in Chinese eateries.

Char Siu

5 pounds pork butt trimmed of fat and cut into 3 equal pieces slicing with the grain.

Marinade:

1/2 cup honey

2-1/2 tablespoons salt

1 tablespoon five-spice powder

1/4 cup ketchup

1/2 cup hoisin sauce

2 tablespoons soy sauce

1 ounce (about 1 cube) wet bean curd (see note)

2 tablespoons sesame oil

2 tablespoons bourbon

1/4 teaspoon red food coloring

Marinate pork pieces overnight or up to 48 hours. Remove from marinade and truss into cylindrical shapes (see picture above). Soak wood ships for 30 minutes and preheat grill on high. Place disposable aluminum pan under one side of grill grate to catch the fat from the meat. If three burners turn of the 2 closest to drip pan and leave the third on high. Place meat away from high flame and near cool side. Monitor heat (should stay around 250 F) until pork is cooked through - 2 hours or so. Remove prok let cool and remove string and slice thinly serve with steamed rice and a cool cucumber salad.

Note: Wet bean curd is fermented tofu sometimes call Chinese Cheese. Can be found in most asian makrets. Has strong flavor not unlike ripe blue cheese.