Char Siu Pork

5 from 3 votes

The pork should marinate for at least 24 hours or up to 3 days. You can also combine the pork and marinade, refrigerate it overnight and then freeze to use within 3 months.

Prep Time1 10

Cook Time30

Total Time1 40

Course: Appetizer or Main Dish

Cuisine: Chinese

Servings: people

Calories: 302kcal

Author: Good Dinner Mom

Ingredients

For the marinade

1 Tbsp Chinese Five-Spice Blend
1 ½ Tbsp granulated sugar
3 Tbsps honey
3 Tbsps Hoisin sauce
3 Tbsps soy sauce
2 Tbsps mild olive oil
1 Tbsp sesame oil or olive oil
1 Tbsp ketchup
1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 fresh Serrano pepper left whole

Pork tenderloin

2- 1 pound pork tenderloins

Hot Chinese Mustard, if using

2 tbsps mustard powder or ground mustard seed
water as needed

Char Siu Garnish

1 tbsp Sesame seeds optional

Instructions

Make the marinade

For the marinade, place Chinese five-spice blend, sugar, honey, Hoisin sauce, soy sauce, olive oil, sesame oil, ketchup, black pepper, and Serrano pepper in a medium saucepan and bring to simmer for about 2 minutes. Let the Serrano pepper simmer in the liquid and kind of shrivel up. This will not add heat. If you want heat, dice up the Serrano before adding to liquid. Set marinade aside to cool.
1 Tbsp Chinese Five-Spice Blend, 1 ½ Tbsp granulated sugar, 3 Tbsps honey, 3 Tbsps Hoisin sauce, 3 Tbsps soy sauce, 2 Tbsps mild olive oil, 1 Tbsp sesame oil, 1 Tbsp ketchup, 1 tsp freshly ground black pepper, 1 fresh Serrano pepper

Marinade the pork

Once marinade is cooled to room temperature, place the pork and marinade in a resealable gallon-size plastic bag. Seal the bag, pushing out as much air as possible and massage to distribute the marinade all over the tenderloins. Refrigerate overnight or up to 3 days (24 to 48 hours is ideal).
2- 1 pound pork tenderloins
Remove pork from refrigerator and bring to room temperature.

Roast the pork tenderloins and reserve marinade

Preheat oven to 375F degrees. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil or parchment paper. Transfer the pork from plastic bag to baking sheet and then pour the marinade into a small bowl.
Roast the pork for 25 minutes or until its internal temperature reaches 145 - 160F degrees, basting pork generously with reserved marinade every 10 minutes (This step creates the nice thick, tasty, glaze).

Finish pork to add a nice char and finish the glaze

After removing pork from the oven, switch the oven to broil. Broil pork until meat is charred and the glaze is caramelized, about 5 minutes.
For a really nice, thick glaze, add about 1 Tablespoon honey to whatever marinade is left just before turning oven to broil (you should still have about ¼ cup of marinade). Then dab more glaze on the pork just before placing in under the broiler. This step is optional but highly recommended.

Slice and serve Char Siu Pork

Allow pork to rest 10 minutes before slicing thinly.
Sprinkle sesame seeds over sliced pork and serve with hot chinese mustard (recipe to follow).
1 tbsp Sesame seeds

For the Hot Chinese Mustard Recipe:

In a small bowl, add mustard powder or ground mustard seed. Add water until desired consistency is reached. This mustard is quite pungent (yum!) and if you want to tone down the heat, just add more water.
2 tbsps mustard powder or ground mustard seed, water

Notes

Notes & Tips

Marinate for best flavor: While 24 hours is ideal, marinating up to 3 days deepens the flavor and improves tenderness.
Don’t worry about star anise: The licorice note mellows during cooking and balances beautifully in the finished char siu pork.
Use a thermometer: Pork tenderloin cooks quickly. An instant-read thermometer helps prevent overcooking.
Glaze matters: Basting during roasting and broiling creates the signature sticky, caramelized finish.
Serving ideas: Slice thin for an appetizer with hot Chinese mustard or serve as a main with rice or crisp cucumber salad.
Entertaining tip: This pork can be served warm or at room temperature, making it ideal for parties.

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