Making Your Own Char Siu Rice At Home

The sweet and smoky flavour and the wafting fragrance of Char Siu is enough to get one drooling in hunger. Char Siu is a type of Cantonese roast meat that has won the hearts of many Singaporeans and can easily be found in many hawker centres in Singapore. It is loved for its meatiness, savoury and sweet flavour, and is often eaten with rice, wanton noodles (egg noodles), or even as a side dish.

Although it is easily accessible, how great would it be if you could make it yourself at home and have an unlimited flow of char siu rice whenever you’re craving it? Here’s how you can make your own char siu to top with warm white rice or wanton mee (egg noodles) with the Tai Ma char siu sauce from AmigoSG - a sauce supplier in Singapore.

This recipe is adapted from The Woks of Life.

Here are the ingredients you’ll need if you’re making your char siu from scratch:

• Approximately 1.4kg boneless pork shoulder/pork butt

• ¼ cup granulated white sugar

• 2 tsp salt

• ½ teaspoon five-spice powder

• ¼ teaspoon white pepper

• ½ teaspoon sesame oil

• 1 tablespoon Shaoxing rice wine

• 1 tablespoon soy sauce

• 1 tablespoon hoisin sauce

• 2 teaspoons molasses

• 1/8 teaspoon red food colouring (optional)

• 3 cloves finely minced garlic

• 2 tablespoons maltose or honey

• 1 tablespoon hot water

• 1 ½ cups water

• Your desired amount of rice or egg noodles

First, cut the pork into long strips or chunks about 2 to 3 inches thick. Do not trim away any excess fat as it helps to add flavour.

To make the marinade, combine the sugar, salt, Chinese five-spice powder, white pepper, sesame oil, Shaoxing rice wine, soy sauce, hoisin sauce, molasses, food colouring, and garlic in a bowl. Set aside around 2 tablespoons of the marinade and rub the pork with the rest of the marinade in a large bowl or baking dish.

Here are the ingredients you’ll need if you were to buy a readymade char siu sauce:

• Approximately 1.4kg boneless pork shoulder/pork butt

• Tai Ma Char Siu Sauce

• 1 ½ cups water

• Your desired amount of rice or wanton mee (egg noodles)

To simplify the process of making your marinade, buy the Tai Ma Char Siu sauce from AmigoSG and marinade your pork with it. Cover your pork and refrigerate it overnight, or for at least 8 hours. Do the same if you’re making your marinade from scratch.

After marinating your pork, line a pan with aluminium foil and place a metal rack on top. Using this metal rack keeps the pork away from the pan, allowing it to roast evenly. Pour 1 ½ cups of water into the pan below the rack. This prevents any drippings from burning or smoking.

Roast the pork in an oven preheated to 190℃ for 25 minutes. After that, flip the pork and roast for another 15 minutes. If the pan is dry, add another cup of water. Remember to check the pork every 10 minutes and reduce the oven temperature if it looks like it is burning.

After 40 minutes of total roasting time, baste the pork with more marinade, flip it, baste the other side as well and roast for a final 10 minutes. By now, the pork has been cooked for a total of 50 minutes and should be cooked thoroughly. If the pork is not caramelised to your liking, you can roast it for a couple of minutes more to crisp the outside and add some colour or flavour. Do not leave the pork unattended now as the sauce can burn and the taste will change.

Once it’s done, baste it with additional sauce and let it rest for 10 minutes before slicing. Serve it on top of warm fluffy white rice or yummy egg noodles and your delicious char siu meal is ready!

Whenever you’re craving a sweet and savoury plate of char siu rice or a piping hot bowl of char siu noodles, you know where to go to buy char siu sauce for a quick and easy way to cook char siu for your family.

AmigoSG is a sauce supplier in Singapore, specialised in providing people living in Singapore with delicious Chinese sauces, ingredients and condiments from Hong Kong. Shop your favourite sauces today.