Char Siu

My family an I celebrated Chinese New Year in January with a group of friends. We had our activity with crafts, games, the history of the holiday, and of course some food. All I served that afternoon with friends over was scallion pancakes but for our family dinner I wanted to keep up with the theme. I also really wanted simple.

When I've eaten char siu at restaurants it has a very distinct taste that was very familiar and yet I couldn't place it at all. Turns out it's the cinnamon and anise in Chinese five spice. It plays really well with the pork but cinnamon I usually associate with sweet dishes and it didn't cross my mind. As soon as I saw the recipe though it was a "duh" moment. When I first made it last January I used chicken breasts since that is what I had in my freezer but this time I used the pork. They both work equally well. It was tasty paired with southern style fried rice and green beans.

1 thin pork tenderloins

2 Tbsp. Hoisin sauce

2 Tbsp. Mushroom Oyster Sauce

1 Tbsp. Mirin

2 Tbsp. ketchup

1 Tbsp. Soy sauce

2 Tbsp. sugar

2 tsp. molasses

1 tsp. garlic powder

1/4 tsp. Chinese Five Spice

3/4 tsp. salt

10-20 drops red food dye

Combine all the ingredients in a large freezer bag, except the pork, and mix well. Refrigerate 2 - 24 hours. This is great for meal prep, you can make it the night before. 

Preheat the oven to 450. Place the pork on a broiler pan. Make sure and scrap all the sauce from the bag on to the top of the pork. 

Bake at 450 for 15 minutes and flip the meat. Bake another 15 minutes and flip back to the first side Bake for 5 minutes and turn the oven on broil to caramelize the sauce on top. 

Remove from the oven and let stand for 5 minutes. slice and serve. 

Original Picture - Post update 2/5/2018