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Char Siu (Cantonese Roast Pork)


edenman

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A friend of mine (who is similarly afflicted with a love of all things pork) made this recipe, which calls for cooking strips of pork hung from an S-hook in the top of the oven, with a tray of boiling water in the bottom of the oven providing steam. Sounds like a huge pain, but I'd be interested to see if anyone has experience making this dish (or anything else) with this technique.

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A friend of mine (who is similarly afflicted with a love of all things pork) made this recipe, which calls for cooking strips of pork hung from an S-hook in the top of the oven, with a tray of boiling water in the bottom of the oven providing steam. Sounds like a huge pain, but I'd be interested to see if anyone has experience making this dish (or anything else) with this technique.

I make char siu several times a year but have never hung it from a hook. I usually grill it or bake it on a rack set over a pan. I can tell you that homemade char siu will almost always be better than restaurant purchased because you can keep an eye on it and pull it out while the meat is tender but still moist. I find most restaurant versions a bit lacking.

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I make char siu several times a year but have never hung it from a hook. I usually grill it or bake it on a rack set over a pan. I can tell you that homemade char siu will almost always be better than restaurant purchased because you can keep an eye on it and pull it out while the meat is tender but still moist. I find most restaurant versions a bit lacking.

What cut of pork do you use?

BTW, anyone ever do the roast pig (with that awesome crispy skin)?

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What cut of pork do you use?

BTW, anyone ever do the roast pig (with that awesome crispy skin)?

Pork shoulder, sometimes tenderloin. My parents did a few experiments with the roast pork in their countertop rotisserie oven a number of years ago. They gave up after a bit because while they got the flavor perfected, the skin never got uniformly perfectly crispy.

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What cut of pork do you use?

Only last week, I learned (from mom, of course) of the existence of bu jian tian (ä¸è¦‹å¤©) pork, aka "pork armpit".  The literal meaning is that the meat "has not seen the sky", but this is reputedly the most prized cut for making Cantonese char siu.  It's not a standard western butcher cut, so you may have to seek out a Chinese grocery to find it...and get there before mom does.

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Only last week, I learned (from mom, of course) of the existence of bu jian tian (ä¸è¦‹å¤©) pork, aka "pork armpit".  The literal meaning is that the meat "has not seen the sky", but this is reputedly the most prized cut for making Cantonese char siu.  It's not a standard western butcher cut, so you may have to seek out a Chinese grocery to find it...and get there before mom does.

coincidentally, when my mom visited, we purchased a cut of this at Kam Sam in Rockville. It sells out daily (or at least on weekends), according to the butcher behind the counter, so go early.

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