Sous Vide Char Siu
By Tim ChinPublished on March 21, 2019
Time
Sous vide: 12 to 16 hours; active cooking time: 1 hour, plus at least 10 hours marinating time
Yield
Serves 8 to 10
Sous Vide Temperature
149°F/65°C
Ingredients
1 4-pound boneless pork butt roast, trimmed and sliced crosswise into ¾-inch-thick steaks1 cup soy sauce 1 cup sugar ¾ cup hoisin sauce ½ cup Shaoxing Chinese rice wine or dry sherry¼ cup grated fresh ginger 2 tablespoons toasted sesame oil 4 garlic cloves, minced1 tablespoon red food coloring (optional)2 teaspoons five-spice powder ½ teaspoon ground white pepper ⅛ teaspoon pink curing salt (optional)¾ cup honey
Before You Begin
Do not substitute Morton's Tender Quick or Insta Cure #2. Serve in steamed buns or over rice. For more about sous vide cooking, refer to our sous vide guide.
Instructions
- Whisk soy sauce, sugar, hoisin, rice wine, ginger, sesame oil, garlic, food coloring, if using, five-spice powder, and pepper together in large bowl. Measure out and reserve 1 cup marinade in refrigerator. Whisk pink curing salt, if using, into remaining marinade. Add steaks and toss to coat. Cover and refrigerate for at least 10 hours or up to 16 hours.
- Using sous vide circulator, bring water to 149°F/65°C in 7-quart container.
- Remove steaks from marinade, letting excess drip off. Divide pork between two 1-gallon zipper-lock freezer bags. Seal bags, pressing out as much air as possible. Gently lower bags into prepared water bath until steaks are fully submerged, and then clip top corner of each bag to side of water bath container, allowing remaining air bubbles to rise to top of bag. Reopen 1 corner of zipper, release remaining air bubbles, and reseal bag. Cover and cook for at least 12 hours or up to 16 hours.
- Whisk honey and reserved marinade together in medium saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring frequently, until reduced to about 1 cup, 4 to 8 minutes.
- Adjust oven rack 6 inches from broiler element and heat broiler. Set wire rack in aluminum foil–lined rimmed baking sheet and spray with vegetable spray. Transfer steaks to prepared rack and pat dry with paper towels. Brush top of steaks with half of glaze and broil until mahogany, 2 to 6 minutes per side. Brush both sides of steaks with remaining glaze and broil until top is dark mahogany and lightly charred, 2 to 6 minutes. Transfer steaks, charred side up, to cutting board and let rest for 10 minutes. Slice steaks crosswise into ½-inch-thick strips and serve.
- Pork can be rapidly chilled in ice bath and then refrigerated in zipper-lock bags after step 3 for up to 3 days. To reheat, return sealed bags to water bath set to 149°F/65°C for 30 minutes and then proceed with step 4.
to make ahead
Time
Sous vide: 12 to 16 hours; active cooking time: 1 hour, plus at least 10 hours marinating timeYield
Serves 8 to 10Sous Vide Temperature
149°F/65°CIngredients
1 4-pound boneless pork butt roast, trimmed and sliced crosswise into ¾-inch-thick steaks
1 cup soy sauce
1 cup sugar
¾ cup hoisin sauce
½ cup Shaoxing Chinese rice wine or dry sherry
¼ cup grated fresh ginger
2 tablespoons toasted sesame oil
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon red food coloring (optional)
2 teaspoons five-spice powder
½ teaspoon ground white pepper
⅛ teaspoon pink curing salt (optional)
¾ cup honey
Ingredients
1 4-pound boneless pork butt roast, trimmed and sliced crosswise into ¾-inch-thick steaks
1 cup soy sauce
1 cup sugar
¾ cup hoisin sauce
½ cup Shaoxing Chinese rice wine or dry sherry
¼ cup grated fresh ginger
2 tablespoons toasted sesame oil
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon red food coloring (optional)
2 teaspoons five-spice powder
½ teaspoon ground white pepper
⅛ teaspoon pink curing salt (optional)
¾ cup honey
Ingredients
1 4-pound boneless pork butt roast, trimmed and sliced crosswise into ¾-inch-thick steaks
1 cup soy sauce
1 cup sugar
¾ cup hoisin sauce
½ cup Shaoxing Chinese rice wine or dry sherry
¼ cup grated fresh ginger
2 tablespoons toasted sesame oil
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon red food coloring (optional)
2 teaspoons five-spice powder
½ teaspoon ground white pepper
⅛ teaspoon pink curing salt (optional)
¾ cup honey
Why This Recipe Works
Char siu literally means “fork roast,” since it is usually skewered with long forks and roasted over a fire. We wanted pork that strikes a balance between chewy, juicy, and just tender. Enter, sous vide: A longer, extended cooking time renders just enough collagen to tenderize the meat without having it fall apart. A quick glaze and broil makes the pork fragrant and delicious. Pork butt roast is often labeled Boston butt in the supermarket. To help give the pork its traditional vibrant color, we use red food dye and pink curing salt, though neither are required. Curing salt goes by many names, including DQ Curing Salt and Insta Cure #1, but it's most commonly labeled pink salt. You can find it in specialty food stores or through online retailers such as butcher-packer.com.
Before You Begin
Do not substitute Morton's Tender Quick or Insta Cure #2. Serve in steamed buns or over rice. For more about sous vide cooking, refer to our sous vide guide.
Instructions
- Whisk soy sauce, sugar, hoisin, rice wine, ginger, sesame oil, garlic, food coloring, if using, five-spice powder, and pepper together in large bowl. Measure out and reserve 1 cup marinade in refrigerator. Whisk pink curing salt, if using, into remaining marinade. Add steaks and toss to coat. Cover and refrigerate for at least 10 hours or up to 16 hours.
- Using sous vide circulator, bring water to 149°F/65°C in 7-quart container.
- Remove steaks from marinade, letting excess drip off. Divide pork between two 1-gallon zipper-lock freezer bags. Seal bags, pressing out as much air as possible. Gently lower bags into prepared water bath until steaks are fully submerged, and then clip top corner of each bag to side of water bath container, allowing remaining air bubbles to rise to top of bag. Reopen 1 corner of zipper, release remaining air bubbles, and reseal bag. Cover and cook for at least 12 hours or up to 16 hours.
- Whisk honey and reserved marinade together in medium saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring frequently, until reduced to about 1 cup, 4 to 8 minutes.
- Adjust oven rack 6 inches from broiler element and heat broiler. Set wire rack in aluminum foil–lined rimmed baking sheet and spray with vegetable spray. Transfer steaks to prepared rack and pat dry with paper towels. Brush top of steaks with half of glaze and broil until mahogany, 2 to 6 minutes per side. Brush both sides of steaks with remaining glaze and broil until top is dark mahogany and lightly charred, 2 to 6 minutes. Transfer steaks, charred side up, to cutting board and let rest for 10 minutes. Slice steaks crosswise into ½-inch-thick strips and serve.
- Pork can be rapidly chilled in ice bath and then refrigerated in zipper-lock bags after step 3 for up to 3 days. To reheat, return sealed bags to water bath set to 149°F/65°C for 30 minutes and then proceed with step 4.
to make ahead
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