Tofu Char Siu Recipe on Food52 (2024)

FAQs

What is char siu served with? ›

Char siu is typically consumed with a starch, whether inside a bun (chasiu baau, 叉燒包), with noodles (chasiu min, 叉燒麵), or with rice (chasiu faan, 叉燒飯) in fast food establishments, or served alone as a centerpiece or main dish in traditional family dining establishments.

In ancient times, char siu used to be made with boar or other available meats, but nowadays it's almost always made with a fatty cut of pork.

Char siu is Chinese restaurant-style pork with a deep red, sweet and sticky coating. Char siu literally means "fork roast" and refers to the traditional method of cooking this dish by which strips of seasoned pork were skewered with long forks and roasted in a covered oven or over a fire.

Traditional char siu can be made from a variety of cuts: Some commonly used pieces are closer to the neck or shoulder, while others come from the fattier belly. Because the classic cuts of Chinese butchery differ from those used in the west, the pork available to purchase in grocery stores in the U.S. is often leaner.

char siu (uncountable) A style of preparation of barbecued pork in Cantonese cuisine, typically using honey and spices. [ from 20th c.]

Chinese Cha siu is cooked in an oven, but Japanese style is cooked in liquid. Maybe, this is because ovens aren't traditional kitchen equipment in japan. Maybe there is a different name of this dish in China, but this is what we call Chashu in Japan like you see it on Ramen shops.

Cha siu (叉燒/叉烧), usually called Chinese BBQ Pork in English, is a classic southern Chinese dish that's often attributed to Cantonese cuisine. The phrase “cha siu” (cha1 shao1 in Mandarin, sometimes spelled “char siu”) literally translates to “fork roasted,” a reference to the traditional cooking method.

Char Siu pork is a versatile base product. It's used in other dishes, e.g. finely diced in fried rice, as filling in Char Siu Bao 叉燒包 (white steamed rolls), stir-fries, and also served plain, warm or cold, cut into thin slices alongside some vegetables on rice.

Unlike char siu, which is made by painting slices of pork shoulder with a thick, sweet marinade and roasting it, Japanese chashu is a simmered dish made with pork belly.

Char siu doesn't refer to a sauce particularly, but the final product after this "Chinese barbecue sauce" is applied to pork that is hung onto fork skewers and roasted.