The Food Canon

I am inspired to think about my Mum's version again. Her written recipe do not match my palate memories of some of the batches she came up with. I think the main reason being that her written recipe is simply not sweet enough. It needs more sugar or honey. Or even better, just add more maltose which is cheap and has a thick consistency. 

As for the pork cuts, while Indonesian Pork Belly seem to be a good and widely available choice, it can be too lean and the strips of meat (especially at the bottom) can be too hard for good CS. I have used Brazilian pork (:frozen pork") and surprisingly, they turn out better. The lean parts are softer (cooks faster) and the fats are laid out better. I think another reason is Indonesian Bulan pigs are culled when they are younger and this you can tell by looking at the size of the knuckles. This is one reason why the belly cuts are too lean. 

If you can find "no see sky"cuts (Bu Jian Tian 不见天), that will be cheaper ($10-12 a kilo for frozen pork) and definitely more suited for CS. 

I will share a revised version of the Char Siew recipe here which I used yesterday. Do note that her original written recipe can still be accessed here and in the cookbook. 

If you prefer your CS to be stickier and sweeter, feel free to experiment with the recipe below. In my opinion, the most important ingredient is the sweets, soy based sauce (ie Hoi Sin or tau cheong) and the pork cut. CS is just caramelised sweet meat and other ingredients i.e. ginger, garlic, 5-spice powder, wine, play second fiddle.  Please check this video below for a visual of what I did for a recent batch of CS.  

While it won't match up to the version by You Kee XO Restaurant which uses the traditional roaster, this home cooked version is very good. 

I had to use whatever ingredients there was in my daughter's small apartment in London. Char Siew is a funny dish: I may have cooked it countless times but I sometimes have doubts myself as I have to manage variables such as the type of pork, pan, fire, thickness of the pork strips, type of cuts etc. The advantage I have is that I am not stuck to a recipe.

For example, timing. Should it be 45 minutes or 60 minutes? There is no answer to it. You have to cook the Char Siew until it is cooked. How do I know it is cooked? When it looks like cooked Char Siew! It can be hard to describe but you can tell from the softness of the meat, how "limp" the strip is when you move it around etc. It is similar to how we test the doneness of the steak, whether by tapping or just looking at the meat.

The ingredient list included sesame oil, honey, dark soy sauce, salt and cinnamon powder. I won't recommend this list but it was all I could find in the larder. The dark soy sauce is not of the thick Malaysian type. Why cinnamon powder? I vaguely remembers that it was one of the spice used in 5-spice powder, which was not available in that apartment.

But all I need essentially is : sweet, salty and sticky for Char Siew.

I mix the ingredients first and satisfied that it tasted good enough as Char Siew sauce, I proceeded with the cooking. In a simple pan and using an induction hob, I laid out the pork belly pieces (about 1 kilo) and poured in the sauce. I added some water and got it braising, turning the pieces around ever so often.

The distribution of the heat on this pan using a induction hob was unpredictable and something I am not familiar with.

After about 60 minutes, I increased the heat and the thickening and caramelisation of the sauce being to happen. This is the "magic phase" of a wok-cooked Char Siew. The result was version of Char Siew which the diners found satisfying. I can't say it is the best wok-cooked Char siew there is, but we were very happy with it. 

This I think should be the aim of home cooks. It lies less in learning more recipes, but in mastering the recipes you already know through learning to adapt to whatever ingredients and tools you have.

Having succeeded in cooking it again in this London apartment, I am looking forward to th eversion I can cook in PJ. I will be using Malaysian pork: my favourite choice as it has the right sweetness, texture (never too hard and dry) and taste. Maybe one should say it is simply the version I grew up with. The rest of the ingredients will be a no brainer including the ubiquitous thick dark sauce. I will also be using my favourite iron work.

Yes, a good plate of freshly made Char Siew done my Mum's way will be great on our CNY table.

Stay tuned for my CNY 2019 planning notes for other Wong Family recipes.

P.s. I do hope to do a cooking demo soon on Wok-Cooked Char Siew. If you are inserted, do indicate on my Facebook post here. 

This batch uses UK pork belly strips, skin off.