Char Siu Pork Roast

@msk6261To answer your question, this is NOT a Chinese dish. True Chinese Char Sui is made from strips of Pork Belly or strips of Pork Butt, both with pieces of fat still remaining. They are well marinated and then grilled or roasted in a hot oven, hanging from the racks. True Char Sui is NEVER braised in a liquid like this. It is also NEVER shredded. This is a middle-American crock pot dish with inauthentic Asian flavoring.  It may taste good to some who like soggy meat cooked in a crock pot, but it definitely is NOT Char Sui.

This recipe is meant to produce shredded pork cooked in a slow cooker but you're right, traditional Char Siu is a whole piece of meat that is usually barbecued/grilled or roasted and then served sliced.  This recipe is just a variation that makes it easy to do on a weeknight where you can dump it into the slow cooker on your way out the door (the marinating really isn't necessary) and come home to a cooked dinner.  Changing the cut of meat won't change the style produced, it's all about the cooking method.  A pork loin cooked 8 hours in a slow cooker will fall apart and therefore lend itself to shredding but if you cooked that same pork loin on a grill for an hour it would stay intact and be perfect for slicing.  Folks changing the cut of meat in these reviews don't change the product (shredded), the swap is more likely done to account for what's available to them at their store or their preferences.  I personally use a pork roast cut for this recipe because it's easier to find in a 2 lb size (pork butt is usually sold about 8 lbs) and it's a lot less fat but you could use pretty much any cut of pork for this.  If you cook any piece of meat for 8 hours it's going to fall apart and practically shred itself!

This may have been answered in this stream but I have a question: The photo above shows a Pulled Pork type of consistency but if I google Char Siu recipes they indicate more of a glazed sliced pork loin. I see comments below stating they have changed the cut of pork. What is intended with this recipe and would changing the cut, change the style produced?

I've made this twice and we've loved it both times (I love pretty much anything with Chinese 5-Spice in it).  Last night I used the meat for tacos with some sauteed onions and bell pepper and topped with cilantro.  My husband and my mom both said several times that they thought it was really good and my mom asked for the recipe.  :)   I whisked a couple of teaspoons of cornstarch into the chicken stock before adding that at the end so that the sauce would be thicker since we were having tacos.  They were still pretty messy of course, but so delicious!

This is an extremely easy recipe to put together.  I had cooked for a different recipe half of a four-pound roast, this was a good recipe to use for the second half.  I just took about half an hour to prep, and my husband put it together in the crockpot the next morning.  He was really happy with it.

I had to adjust the liquids a little, but it went over well. We had it over rice and as sandwiches. 

They forgot to mention in the recipe that you should use a fat separator to remove the ton of fat from the sauce.  I made this mistake the first time I made this and almost had to throw it away.  

This recipe was very tasty.  I cook Asian occasionally, so I had all of the ingredients at the house.  I really loved the flavor that went into the pork.  Every bite had flavor, and the meat was very tender.  I would highly recommend this recipe.  I served it with some jasmine rice as mentioned by another reviewer.  With the sauce on the meat and rice, the family could not get enough of it.  I put some stir-fried veggies on the side and the meal was complete.

We add a little 5-spice powder and chili flakes for kick and serve with an improvised slaw of bagged cole slaw with soy sauce, jalapeno, toasted sesame oil, rice wine vinegar and limes.  You can also add a little hard cider as braising liquid. As far as cost - once you buy the ingredients once, you're set for a while. I got a 2.5lb. boneless pork shoulder for under $10. And I'll eat this for several days. So good, I've made it 4 times now. 

After spending several minutes looking for these ingredients in the grocery store and hours of cooking, we thought this dish was just average. The meat was tender enough but the flavors were not anything to write home about. The sauce seemed a little bland and maybe too sweet. Would not spend the money on this again. 

First I used a Pork Sirloin Tip Roast. Then I substituted Sambal Obelek Ground Fresh Chili Paste instead of the ketchup. I left out the dark sesame oil and I did not marinate.  It was juicy and tender with an amazing flavor.  I made some slaw as a side dish.  The leftovers were even better.  I heated the leftover broth.  Then I sliced the leftover pork into thin slices, dipped it in the heated leftover juice and placed on a hamburger roll.  I then topped it with the leftover slaw and let the yummy begin. 

Absolutely delicious!! My six year old old me he wants it twice a week! Highly recommend, without changes. I would add chili's if you wanted to add heat, but the flavor is very nice without it!

I've been making this recipe for 5 years now and have yet to be disappointed! I never use butt roast because I don't like how fatty it is, but have had success using pork rib roast & pork sirloin roast trimmed of any seriously excess fat. Before today I have always followed the marinade recipe to a tee, though I do double it regardless of what size roast I use, but this time I was out of 5 spice powder. A Google search advised to substitute allspice in an equal amount plus a sprinkle of ground ginger...well, wouldn't you know I was out of ginger, too. I subbed 1 tsp of allspice and probably 1 tbsp of grated fresh ginger for the marinade and it turned out great - if you'd never made this with 5 spice powder, you wouldn't notice the difference. I did miss a hint of smokeyness and am not sure what I'd add to make up for that, but the flavour was so close that I'll continue with the allspice/ginger mix until I run out of those spices.

This was awesome. Very different from what I normally cook. My family can't wait for me to make it again when we have weekend guests.

Made this several times now and it comes out perfect every time just the right amount of spice and it is great leftover too!

This was the best pork recipe ever. I made it in my crockpot and served it over brown rice. Great flavor and the pork was super moist.

Excellent flavour,easy to make.....delicious

The kids love it and one of them is super picky. I like saying the name. super easy, going to try the marinade with ribs soons.

Fantastic! Excellent flavor and very juicy. I would pay good money for this dish in a restaurant.

I use sweet chili sauce in place of the ketchup and add extra ginger and five-spice powder. Also add 2 t of Chinese style mustard. Cook on low for three hours.

I am not sure what all the hype is about for this meal. It tasted cheap and we ended up throwing it away after a couple of tastes.

This is a fantastic recipe. A go to week night meal with a ton of taste.

Absolutely delicious! I didn't have time to do it in 8 hours so I shortened it to 4 on high and it was really good! My husband told me this is now a staple in our house!!!

I have made this several times. It is AWESOME! It makes a ton so there is always plenty of leftovers- in fact I think it is better the next day! We usually make a broccoli slaw with ginger dressing and pair it up with this to make the BEST Asian tacos. I make it every few weeks. Good enough for company!

Our family of 6 loves this recipe. I use a 5-6 lb. Boston Butt and prep the sauce as written in the recipe. There is plenty of sauce and I have enough meat for 2 meals (which is really hard to do for our family). The first night I serve the meat with jasmine rice and steamed snow peas. I strain the cooking juices and serve on the side. The second night, we have pork wraps with flour tortillas and broccoli slaw. This is the only pork dish my oldest daughter will eat. Just make sure and trim the meat well before cooking it - makes a huge difference in the final product.

Great hit with the family. I used a loin and only half of the five spice. No problem with the fat. Served with coconut rice. Will definitely make again.

This is unbelievably good. Just throw the meat in your slow cooker and let it do its stuff. I served it over plain rice but a hot sandwich or tortilla would also be great. If the amount of fat in the pork roast bothers you, I recommend removing the roast from the "sauce" and refrigerating the sauce, then you can just scrape the hardened fat off the top. Obviously, from the comments, substituting pork tenderloin for the butt is not the best choice.

Loved this! Made two changes: Used pork loin and thickened the sauce on the stove top as it didn't seem to thicken in the crock pot. Will make again for sure!

My husband nor I liked this very much. It was very fatty, even after trimming most of the fat that I could see from the pork (we used the butt roast as suggested in the recipe). Also, I'm not a big fan of 5-spice and I thought that was overpowering in the recipe. I think the sauce might have been more palatable if it didn't have so much fat from the meat. If I ever do try it again, I would use a different cut of meat (maybe a tenderloin) and cut out the 5-spice.

I followed the recipe except used pork loin, and it was inedible. Apparently you have to have a different hoisin sauce, because all we tasted was salt. We're pretty good sports about making do with new recipes, but this wasn't even fit for a pet.

I made this with the boston butt, i'd probably change to a loin next time as the BB seemed pretty fatty even with all my trimming. But very tasty!!

Really good! I added another teaspoon each of garlic and ginger because I love both. We'd just had pork so I used chicken instead. I'm sure either is good, but I'll try the pork next time. (Watch your cooking time if you're going to use chicken; I used boneless breasts and thighs and it was done in 6 hours.) If you want less fat in the sauce, don't be afraid to use a tenderloin roast; butt and shoulder roasts are both very fatty. 2 adults and 2 kids made short work of this, even with veggies and rice. A keeper!

The whole family enjoyed this meal. I used a much leaner pork loin roast instead of the roast listed because of this we had no problem with a fatty sauce. The sauce was really good over rice.

The most delicious thing I have ever made in my Crock Pot, hands down. I used a 3.5 lb Beef Chuck Roast and added all the ingredients to my cooker - no marinating. Then I shredded it with the sauce at the end. A-mazing!

This is one of the best pork recipes I've ever tried! Very easy and turns out perfect every time. I use pork tenderloin for less fat and leave out the broth. We serve it over spaghetti noodles with an Asian salad on the side, delish!

Extremely delicious AND very simple, except for the trimming of the pork butt. I think next time I will try it with a tenderloin since other users have had good results with that. I only let it marinate for about 45 minutes because I needed to get out of the house but I don't think it affected the flavor. Adding this to my recipe box!

The pork itself was pretty good, but the "sauce' was a fatty mess, I could not even consider eating the sauce. I had to add the chicken broth much sooner or else the pork would have been extremely dry. Disappointed.

This was really disappointing. Followed recipe exactly, but it was overcooked and dry.

I also made this with a pork tenderloin and did not marinate. Also forgot to put in the ketchup and used power ginger instead of fresh and it was wonderful. My 2-year old picky eater even liked it. Served it with Jasmine rice and green beans. I didn't put some of the meat in the sauce - I think it will be great over a spinach salad and/or in a sandwich. This is definitely going to be a staple in our house.

I made this today after letting my pork marinate for 24 hours. I chopped the pork (used a trimmed boston butt, but would use a tenderloin next time) into large pieces to expose more of it to the marinade. I used closer to 1/3c soy sauce and increased the 5 spice powder to almost 2 teaspoons. I added about half a teaspoon of cayenne pepper (otherwise there wouldn't be any heat!) to the marinade. After slow cooking on low for ~5 hours, I broke up the meat and let it cook another hour (still on low). I did not add the extra broth--there was enough liquid already. I served it with white rice and some green onion pieces on top. Pretty easy and different than my usual flavors...will definitely make again!

Good recipe. I got a little antsy after about 7 hours, raised the lid, broke the meat apart and stirred it up with the sauce. Didn't see the chicken broth part until after! So, I added about 1/4 broth to the mixture and let it cook another 15 minutes or so. Worked out fine. I was concerned that it would be pretty salty, so I had mine in a tortilla with some jasmine rice. The hubby just served his over the rice with extra sauce. It was pretty good. Served it with steamed broccoli.

I have made this many times for my family and for guests. Everyone loves it and it is very easy.

Yum! Stuffed the shredded pork into some King's Hawaiian Sweet Roles, added some cilantro and a bit of coarsely chopped red serrano pepper for some heat! Beautiful color, awesome taste!

We really enjoy this recipe, although I have no idea if it's authentic. I leave out the chicken broth, and skim the fat off the sauce. One night, we serve it with rice and stir fried vegetables. Later, we use the leftovers as filling for "Steamed Pork Buns (Char Siu Bao)" from Cooking Light May 2008. I have had the best results with the shoulder blade cut - it seems to have less fat to trim and skim from the broth.

I found the taste to be just ok - real simple magazine had a simpler sauce, and boc choy at the end that i enjoyed much better, and it had a good kick. This one had no heat, so so taste, extra broth at the end did not "thicken" as all. Definitely an easy meal and if meat was smaller pieces would have come out better. Marinated for 2 days - don't think it added anything to it.

I have made this many times and it's always a big hit. I always marinate overnite for extra flavor. The only change I made was I don't add the chicken broth at the end. Just shred the pork in the juice, serve over rice add a veg and dinner is ready. If you are lucky enough to have leftovers they freeze well.

This is NOT Char Siu.. but it is a very good and flavorful recipe in it's own right. I used a shoulder roast, and at 4.5 pounds still only needed 8 hours on low in my slow cooker. Served with rice and stir-fried veggies, and it was quite a hit. Will definitely make again.

I made this with a pork tenderloin. Easy to make and good. I think I'll serve the sauce separately vs. Mixing next time but overall good.

We originally made this dish in 2006 when friends from MN came into town. Enjoying it again tonight. Trimmed out a pork shoulder. Too lazy to marinate and it doesn't really require it. I thought the sauce was thin enough that it didn't need the broth so just thickened it after taking out the pork with cornstarch and and water mixed. Serving it over brown basmati rice with green onions and steamed broccoli on the side tonight. Freezes great!

Loved it! Changes made: (1) used pork loin roast, excess fat trimmed; (2) did not marinate; (3) omitted 5-spice, (4) used 1/2 tsp sesame oil. Browned roast first, but would not again--makes meat too dry. Would also cook shorter time. Served with stir fried veggies and brown rice. Wonderful leftovers.

My husband said it's a keeper. Next time I'll try to thicken up the sauce some. Even after the additional 30 minutes, it was too thin. Great flavor and aroma.

Amazing! I followed the recipe exactly and it was fantastic. It had a strong cinnamon smell and just a faint warm and spicy taste from the 5-spice powder, definitely not too overwhelming though. Everything was "just right" with this meal. One thing though, I didn't find it necessary to cook the sauce for another 1/2 hour after adding the broth in, oh and I used beef not chicken, so I guess I changed it slightly; but after I shredded the meat I just dumped it all back in the pot and served it over rice. Will definitely be making again!

This was fantastic! I used pork tenderloin and as suggested by others, I doubled the sauce. I don't think the extra sauce was necessary. We used leftovers in sandwiches but I'll try it in dumplings next time. The only thing I'd do differently is try one of the slow cooker liners in the future. I have a very easy-to-clean new slow cooker and this was really tough to clean!

Easy to make, delicious flavor. I have no idea what "real" Char Siu is supposed to taste like but my husband and I love this dish. I usually serve it with rice because the sauce is good with a starch. Very tender and great for leftovers - my husband requests this one often.

This is crazy delicious! I use pork tenderloin instead.

This is a great recipe. So easy and lots of flavor. I used the leftover pork in Chinese dumplings and they were delicious.

This recipe is so stinking good. I always use a regular pork roast so it has a little less fat. It is such a hit with everyone who tries it. We usually serve it with sticky rice and that bok choy slaw with the ramen noodles and nuts. So good...

One of my favorite Cooking Light recipes. Easy, tasty, different and I can make it in a slow cooker. It is a great go to weeknight meal.

This was fantastic! I marinaded the meat over night in the crockpot and then served it with jasmine rice and broccoli. So yummy!!

Absolutely DELICIOUS! Hubby and I loved it. I read through all of the other reviews, which were very helpful, and did the following: 1) used boneless spare ribs because that's what we had on hand; no fat to deal with at all and they were very very moist; 2) used 2-lbs of ribs BUT doubled the amount of sauce, per other reviews; 3) marinated in slow-cooker insert overnight in refrigerator; 4) did not add chicken broth; 5) used 3TB of honey as directed, did not double because I was afraid it would be too sweet. Was done in 7 hours, cooked on LOW. Served w/jasmine rice and broccoli. YUM !

This recipe is okay, but I will probably not make it again. We have always been a low sodium household and the sodium content in this between the soy sauce (even though it's low sodium) and hoisin sauce made it way too salty tasting for us.

This recipe is fantastic! I could not find a 2-lb boneless Boston butt roast and had to use a bone-in roast that was closer to 8 lbs. I doubled the sauce and it was plenty. The flavor of this pork is phenomenal and is so tender! I will definitely make this again.

My husband and I absolutely loved this recipe (and that's saying a lot for him). I served it with sticky rice and thought it was fantastic but my guy thought it was too heavy and that the rice only detracted from the flavor. Next time I'll try a nice green vegetable on the side to round it out. This is definitely going to be a regular - the hardest part is dealing with the mouth-watering smell of it while it cooks.

This recipe went together so easily--I did have my hubby trim the pork up for me. I also followed other reviewer's suggestions and used a gravy fat separator to remove more of the fat. I also doubled the sauce ingredients. All my kids ate it and I think I'm gonna stuff the left over's in some frozen roll dough and bake 'em up...yum!

I thought this recipe was just okay. I doubt I will make it again.

This pork roast was sooo easy and soooo delicious. We will definitely make it over and over. I served it over mashed potatoes left over from Thanksgiving. I am forwarding to my friends.

For a simple and easy recipe, the pork is surprisingly delicious and absolutely melt-in-your-mouth good.

We didn't like the flavor of the marinade. The Boston butt was too fatty for our tastes also.

My husband loves this recipe, and it is so easy. When I get home from work, the house smells fabulous. The only challenge is coming up with different veggies to serve with it. Broccoli gets tiring.

Followed recipe as stated. Well done after 6 hrs on low. Smelled great and meat was very tender and tasty. Oddly the sauce had a bad flavor, overly salty and overpowering spice -not heat.

delicious and got 3 meals out of recipe - 1st, served with rice and grilled asparagus, 2nd, for lunch on hard roll and leftovers, added to pasta sauce the next evening.

This was good but not great. I love pulled pork so this was a bit of a disappointment. The pork was very tender and looked like it would be delicious, but the flavor was just okay. Maybe with some modifications this could be improved.

I was not too crazy about the flavor of this dish. The meat was also surprisingly dry for something that has been cooking in juices all day in a slow cooker. I ran out of time so I had to skip the liquid reduction part but I thought the meat would not need the extra moisture.

Great dish! Easy to put together and is a nice recipe to try if you like pot roast.

I make this recipe quite often. I don't think it really tastes like Siu Pork but the flavors are really good together. I've made it for several friends and have been asked for the recipe several times. I generally use a lean pork roast and serve steamed Asian veggies.

FANTASTIC! My whole family loved this one! We served it with brown rice and haricot verts with the sauce drizzled overtop. YUM!

Had 28 oz. left over pork in the freezer. I thawed my pork and threw it in the marinade overnight. As it turned out, we couldn't make it the next day due to other plans, so it stayed in the marinade for another 18 hours. Put it in the Crockpot at 10 that night, it was ready at 6 AM the next day. Worked out great! This is my second go-round with this dish and I think it is quite delicious. Very easy to make, and easy on the budget which I appreciate these days. I served it with white rice and steamed broccoli. This will make my rotation for sure. For our palate we'd like more spice, so I serve it with sriracha hot sauce. I served it with a 2007 Pinot Noir from Russian River Valley, CA which was a nice match.

I skipped the marinade step, combined everything in the crock pot and set it for 8 hours on low. Great flavor and I'll make this one again.

This is a great recipe. I made it as written, except I found that the sauce needed to be de-fatted at the end, which I did, and then finished on the stove top after straining. The sauce was thin, but flavorful. Since I used the exact cut of meat suggested, I found I really needed to cook it the full 8 hours for tenderness, for some charring, which added lots of flavor, and to melt away the fat.

The recipe turned out great. I would recommend the rainbow fried rice for left over pork.

I make this at least once a month now... I just love the flavors and always have some tomatoes along side. Nice complement. And the house smells so darn good after this has been cooking all day!

I love asian inspired food and it seemed like a winner when you coupled that with the slow cooker. I just did not think that the flavors mixed well together, the five spice powder was somewhat overwhelming and combining that with the hosin sauce just did not do it for us.

This was easy and fantastic. Double the sauce ingredients (and add some extra garlic) -- you won't regret it, especially when you heat up the leftovers the next night. My only problem was that everyone loved it so much, there were hardly any leftovers! (Memo to self -- next time, bigger butt!)

This turned out great. My husband and I really enjoyed it. The 5 spice powder gives it a unique twist on the traditional pork b-bq.

This dish is easy to make and taste very good. I did omit the Katchup. Thought that was not to asian. Strained the sauce and cooked it down. Served with rice and stir fried snow peas. It was wonderful.

I cook a significant amount from "Cooking Light," but this recipe did not add up. Meat is tender, but it was very bland. I even marinated the meat overnight. There are so many good "Cooking Light" recipes that I will not be making this again.

This is fantastic - my family was fighting over who got to take the leftovers. I used a 2.5 lb pork tenderloin trimmed. Since I didn't have a lot of time I cooked on high for 4 hours and then on low for about 1.5 hrs. Took the pork out and shredded it. Added the chicken stock and let cook for 30 min, then put the pork back in the pot to absorb the sauce. Next time I would definitely double or triple the sauce. Not authentic char siu but delicious none the less.

Awesome! So great! I subbed 2 tbsp of sugar for the honey since i didn't have honey on hand. I also only marinated for one hour and cooked on low for about 5 hours and it came out delish! Will be making this again!

This recipe was great. I couldn't find a pork butt roast, but used a shoulder roast, and it still was super-tender and sooo flavorful. In fact, when my hubby took leftovers for lunch at work, he was asked for the recipe!

I never buy fatty cuts of meat and I must say after reading the reviews was leery about buying the fatty hunk of pork butt, however, I did and I'm glad, I think it kept it super moist. You pull it once it is done cooking so I just used my fingers and made sure that I got all of the fat off. It was moist and falling apart. Also, I had a 4 lb roast so doubled the marinade recipe and extended the cooking time. I wouldn't worry about the previous comment on marinades, I cooked this from 7:30 AM till 7:30 PM, I don't think any bacteria could have survived. I put the sauce into a fat separator and discarded the fat and then added the meat back into the sauce when I was done pulling it and cooked it on low for another 30 min or so. Will add to our rotation.

Vicky WP- if you read the directions you would realize that the marinade is fully cooked

COOKING LIGHT - SHAME ON YOU! FOOD SAFETY DICTATES YOU NEVER, EVER USE THE SAME LIQUID TO COOK FOOD THAT WAS USED TO MARINATE RAW MEAT!

My family would not eat this - the left overs were thrown out...

This was good. I wound up using a whole boston butt, bone and all and marinated it overnight. I came home at lunch and turned it over. I double the recipe. If you take it and add white rice and put it on a soft tortilla and add pineapple and water chestnuts it would taste like mongolian bbq. Really good. Little one kept going back and getting more.

This is one of the most delicious things I have ever made from Cooking Light, and I cook at least one recipe from the magazine a week. My husband could not get enough of this meal! I served the initial dish with brown rice and stir-fried veggies. We used the leftovers (stored with the juices) in lettuce wraps with cilantro, pineapple, and carrots. Absolutely fantastic!

Keep in mind, I'm Chinese, so I'll be more critical than most. If you know what real char siu looks and taste like, you would never know this was suppose to be char siu. It lacked that sweet flavor you normally would get from the glaze of the real stuff. Even without comparing it to real char siu, the flavor missed the mark. My family (husband not Asian) ate it but didn't go back for seconds or left overs the next night. We also found it a little salty too.

I made this recipe with pork tenderloin and it was sooo delicious. Very easy and flavorful!

Delicious! Flavoring was awesome. Husband loved it and refused to put hot sauce on it because he "didn't want to ruin the spices." Made some brown fried rice with edamame, corn, water chestnuts and cashews, which was a delicous compliment to the dish. Will be making this again for sure.

My family didn't eat this--they inhaled it. My extremely picky daughter devoured it. The meat was flavorful and tender, and even had a bit of an Indian flavor from the cinnamon in the Chinese 5-spice powder. I wish I would have made more, and next week I will. One minor thing I will change next time: we live above 5,000 feet, and slow cookers don't seem to get the job done on low heat at this altitude. I will cook this on high next time, like I do with several other slow cooker dishes that I make.