Char siu

Char siu (Chinese: 叉燒; lit. 'fork roasted')^[1] is a Cantonese-style barbecued pork.^[2] Originating in Guangdong, it can be eaten with rice, or used as an ingredient for other dishes.

It is classified as a type of siu mei (燒味), Cantonese roasted meat.

Pork cuts used for char siu can vary, but a few main cuts are common:^[3][1]

• Pork loin
• Pork belly – produces juicy and fattier char siu
• Pork butt (shoulder) – produces leaner char siu
• Pork fat
• Pork neck end – very marbled (jyu geng yuk)

In ancient times, wild boar and other available meats were used to make char siu. However, in modern times, the meat is typically a shoulder cut of domestic pork, seasoned with a mixture of maltose, Chinese rose wine and five-spice powder,^[3] along with a selection of other ingredients. These seasonings turn the exterior layer of the meat dark red, similar to the "smoke ring" of American barbecues. Maltose may be used to give char siu its characteristic shiny glaze.^[4][5]

Char siu is one of the most iconic dishes of Cantonese cuisine. It is typically consumed with a starch as a main dish, whether with noodles (chasiu min, 叉燒麵), with rice (chasiu faan, 叉燒飯), or served alone as a main dish in traditional family meals. Beyond these pairings, char siu is also a beloved filling in Cantonese dim sum, inside a bun (cha siu bao, 叉燒包),^[6], or inside cheung fun as (chasiu cheong, 叉燒腸).^[7] It is even paired with pastry items like pineapple buns or puffs as (chasiu sou, 叉燒酥).

The ovens used to roast char siu are usually large gas rotisseries. Since ovens are not standard in Hong Kong households, char siu is usually purchased from a siu mei establishment, which specialises in meat dishes such as char siu, soy sauce chicken, white cut chicken, roasted goose, and roasted pork. These shops usually display the merchandise by hanging them in the window.^[5]

In Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Cambodia, Thailand, and Vietnam, char siew rice is found in many Chinese shāolà (燒臘 or 烧腊) stalls along with roast duck and roast pork. The dish consists of slices of char siu, cucumbers, and white rice, drenched in sweet gravy or drizzled with dark soy sauce. Char siu rice is also a well-known food within the Chinese community in Medan, North Sumatra, where it is more often called char sio.

In Singapore, char siew rice can also be found in Hainanese chicken rice stalls, where customers have a choice of plain white rice or chicken-flavoured rice served with their char siu rice, and choose from garlic, chilli and soy sauces.

In Thailand, char siu is called mu daeng (Thai: หมูแดง, pronounced [mǔː dɛ̄ːŋ], "red pork") and in Cambodia it is called sach chrouk sa seev (Khmer: សាច់ជ្រូកសាស៉ីវ, sac cruuk sa səyv).

In the Philippines, it is known as Chinese pork asado, but also referred to as cha siu. It is usually eaten with cold cuts or served stuffed in siopao.^[8]

In Flanders and Holland, it is sometimes mistaken for the Chinese/Indonesian name 'babi panggang'. This is a different dish (mostly sweeter and served with yellow pickled Chinese cabbage, called atjar). These Chinese/Indonesian restaurants also sometimes serve cha(r) sieuw under the original name.

Japanese cuisine has adapted 叉燒 as chāshū (チャーシュー). Unlike its Cantonese variant, it is not roasted, but prepared by rolling pork belly into a log and then braising it at a low temperature.^[9] This type of braising is a Chinese technique known as red cooking, which imparts a reddish-brown coloration. The Japanese adaptation is typically seasoned with soy sauce, sake, mirin and sugar or other sweetener, without the red food colouring or five-spice powder that characterize char siu. It is a typical ingredient for toppings in rāmen.^[1]

Char siu is the main ingredient in jar jow, a once-common stir-fry dish from East London.^[10]

• Char siu rice
• Char siu bao
• Char siu cheung fun (rice noodle rolls)
• Japanese bento with chāshū

• Asado
• List of pork dishes
• Lou mei