Instant Pot Char Siu makes it possible to make this Chinese BBQ Pork in a fraction of the time of the classic recipe. The meat is perfect for eating on its own with rice or Mantou steamed buns or in Char Siu Bao, Pork Fried Rice, or Singapore Noodles.
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Char siu (also called Cha Siu or Char Siew) is a staple of Cantonese cuisine and is ubiquitous in the Chinese BBQ shops in Chinatown.
You’ll see this type of Chinese barbecue pork—bright red and glistening with fatty goodness—hanging in shop windows. With its bright red color, you can’t miss it.
Good Char siu or Chinese roast pork is succulent, tender, sweet, and savory. It offers the perfect balance of salty and sweet flavors with succulent tender meat.
Why should you make char siu in an instant pot?
This Instant Pot Char Siu recipe uses a combination of the pressure cooker and oven to make the pork tender and give it that trademark sticky-sweet glaze.
An electric pressure cooker can produce perfect char siu in much less time than the traditional cooking method of roasting it in the oven.
Using the pressure cooker is also a great plan when it’s hot outside and you don’t want to heat up your kitchen.
What makes Chinese BBQ pork red?
Traditionally, the red color of the pork comes from red fermented bean curd or tofu, but many contemporary cooks use red food coloring.
You can also use beet juice, or even cherry juice for coloring.
Note that the pork in the photos was cooked with red food colouring. If you use fermented bean curd, you will get more of a reddish-brown color.
You likely wouldn’t be able to taste the difference between using the fermented tofu and the food coloring, so I usually opt for the latter. The recipe only requires a few drops and the food coloring is easier to keep on hand.
If you want to use the fermented red bean curd, it is available in jars and you can find it in a Chinese grocery store or Asian market or order it online.
What ingredients do you need?
- Honey
- Soy sauce (regular or dark soy sauce)
- Shiaoxing wine (or use sake, dry sherry, or dry white wine)
- Hoisin sauce
- Sesame oil
- Garlic
- Red food coloring or red fermented tofu
- Chinese five-spice powder
- Boneless pork butt
How to make Instant pot char siu pork
This char siu recipe is easy to make. Most of the time required is just marinating time.
- Mix up the marinade ingredients (or use char siu sauce) and marinate the pork, ideally overnight.
- Pressure cook the pork using the reserved marinade as the liquid until it is tender. If you don’t have a pressure cooker, you can braise the meat on the stovetop.
- Brush a soy-sauce-and-honey glaze on the pork and bake it in the oven, or cook it on a grill, until the glaze is sticky and blackened in places.
- Serve immediately or refrigerate for later use.
What is char siu sauce?
Char siu sauce is a sweet, savory sauce. It’s basically a Cantonese barbecue sauce made of hoisin sauce, honey, soy sauce, Shaoxing wine (or another cooking wine), five-spice powder, and often molasses, maltose, or brown sugar. Marinate the pork in this mixture to infuse it with flavor.
You can make your own char siu sauce from scratch, or you can buy char siu sauce in jars in an Asian market or online.
What cut of pork is best for making char siu?
The best cut of pork for making Char Siu is boneless pork shoulder or pork butt or (these are actually just two different names for the same cut of meat!). This cut has the perfect ratio of fat to lean for a succulent char siu.
You can use fatty cuts like pork belly, too, but I think the proportion of fat to lean meat is too high. The result is that you lose a lot of volume in cooking as the fat renders. The end product may also just be too fatty.
You can also use pork tenderloin, which is considerably leaner than pork butt. Personally, I find this cut a bit too lean. It is easy to overcook it, drying it out. Because it has so much less fat, you don’t get the delectable crispy edges that you get with a fattier cut of meat.
How to serve this chinese bbq pork
For a simple meal, serve this char siu pork sliced over steamed white rice with or without extra sauce. Add a side of stir-fried or steamed vegetables to make it a meal. I like Chinese Dry Fried Green Beans, broccoli, gai lan (Chinese broccoli), or bok choy.
You can also use this char siu recipe to fill Chinese BBQ pork steamed buns, or Char Siu Bao. Serve them as part of a dim sum feast including Har Gow and other dumplings.
It’s also perfect for tossing with stir-fried noodles, Singapore Noodles, or Pork Fried Rice.
If you’re in the mood for a different sort of meaty goodness, you have to try this super delicious Smoked Meatloaf or Air Fryer Pork Belly. Or try this Slow Cooker Pork Loin or slow cooker pork chops with cream of mushroom soup.
more chinese recipes you’ll love
- Mongolian Chicken
- Crispy Chilli Beef
- Char Siu
- Char Siu Bao
- Salt and Pepper Chicken
- Har Gow Chinese Shrimp Dumplings
- Singapore Noodles
- Sesame Noodles
- Pork Fried Rice
- Szechuan Shrimp
- Hoisin Spare Ribs
- Chinese Dry Fried Green Beans
- Vegetarian Dan Dan Noodles
- Sesame Chicken
- Kung Pao Chicken
- Fried Wontons
- Sweet and Sour Tofu
- Mantou Chinese Steamed Buns
Char Siu or Chinese BBQ / Roast Pork
Ingredients
For the pork
- ¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons honey
- ¼ cup soy sauce
- ¼ cup Shiaoxing wine or use sake, dry sherry, or dry white wine
- ¼ cup hoisin sauce
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil
- 4 garlic cloves minced
- 3 cubes red fermented tofu mashed, plus 2 tablespoons of the liquid from the jar (optional, see note)
- ¾ teaspoon Chinese five-spice powder
- 2 ½ pounds boneless pork butt
For the glaze
- ¼ cup soy sauce
- ¼ cup honey
Instructions
- In a large bowl, combine the honey, soy sauce, wine, hoisin sauce,
sesame oil, garlic, fermented tofu, if using, and five-spice and stir to mix. - Add the pork and turn a few times to coat all sides well. Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours or up to 24 hours.
- Pour the marinade into the Instant Pot and then put the trivet in. Place the pork on top of the trivet.
- Close the pot and turn the valve to the sealing position. Cook on high pressure for 35 minutes.
- Let the pressure release naturally for 10 minutes and then quick release the remaining pressure.
- Remove the pork from the pressure cooker.
- Preheat the oven to 450ºF.
- Cover a rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil and place a rack on top. Put the pork on top of the rack.
- To make the glaze, in a small bowl, stir together the soy
sauce and honey. Brush the mixture on the pork. - Cook the pork in the oven for 6 to 8 minutes. Turn the pork over, brush more of the glaze on it, and cook for another 4 minutes or so.
- Remove from the oven and let stand for a few minutes before slicing.
Video
Notes
I couldn’t find your note for an option on the fermented red tofu. What could be used? I’ve heard of possibly using maraschino cherry juice to get the bright red in Chinese dishes. Thanks.
Hi Judy! Thanks for posting. I’m not sure what you are asking. Are you looking for an alternative to the fermented tofu? I think most people use food coloring as an alternative. I suppose you could try the cherry juice. Beet juice would probably work, too. I have only used the tofu or food coloring.
I use “Aso Sauce”
It is red, sticky & salty
Check it out
Judy, I have also used the pre-made Char Siu sauce, available at most Asian grocery stores. It turned out great. Search for Char Siu sauce in Google to get an idea of what to look for.
Yes, Jake makes a good point. You can buy char siu sauce in jars. I think the jarred sauce probably has food coloring in it?
Found “Char Sui BBQ Cooking Sauce” at Smith’s (Kroger)
That’s great! Let us know how it is.
I guessed the “note” would be about using food coloring. But here is what is making us look for the other option. Copied from recipe- 3 cubes red fermented tofu, mashed, plus 2 tablespoons of the liquid from the jar (optional, sea note)
Thank you, Ron! I will fix that!
Red food coloring . It’s in her notes . Not in recipe just scroll up
What pound roast to use?
Hi Barbie, It is in the ingredients–2 1/2 pounds.
I love to eat Char Siu since i’m in grade school, my late father used to bring me to chinese restaurant in Ongpin China Town, Manila. During our college time in Cebu, he used to order take out from a chinese restaurant in Colon, Cebu City, Phils. And now i like to learn how to cook Char Siu. Please send me thru my email below on how to prepare, to serve, the ingredients in making Char Siu as shown above. Many thanks.
William Navarro
I am afraid that I will get a burn notice on my instant pot because there is not much liquid. has this been a problem?
Hi Deb! I have made it exactly this way dozens of times and have never gotten a burn notice. The pork will give off a lot of liquid as it cooks. I hope you try it! It is really yummy.
I’d like to use a pork tenderloin. What would I adjust the time to?
Hi, just curious, why do we put the pork on a trivet to cook and not directly into the sauce? What difference would there be?
Because you don’t want the meat to be boiled or braised.
I cant wait to try this.thank you
Thank you, Gloria!
So if you put it over the trivet.. is it something like steaming in the pressure cooker? Never done it. I thought when you use pressure cooker it has to be soaked with water/broth.
Hi Paula! Thank you for asking. No, you do not need to cover the meat in liquid. The liquid is there to create steam, which is what creates the pressure for pressure cooking. You only need 1 to 1 1/2 cups of liquid in a pressure cooker.
What kind of pork roast is used?
Pork shoulder or pork butt.
What about using a pork tenderloin?
I haven’t tried using pork tenderloin. It is so much leaner than pork shoulder that I think the end result will be quite different. I would look around for cooking times for tenderloin because it will cook much faster and will become very dry if it is overcooked.
Tenderloin is dry…
Yeah, I would be worried about that. Hard to cook pork tenderloin without drying it out.
Could I use some red miso instead of the tofu?
Sure! That would probably work really well. I would cut down on or eliminate the soy sauce, though, since both soy sauce and red miso paste are salty.
I want to try the char siu sauce with a little cherry juice
Sounds yummy!
Other recipes use
“red yeast rice”
I found it on Amazon
Interesting. I haven’t tried the red yeast rice. Did you use it?
I don’t see how much five spice to use in the ingredients but directions has it.
Hi Ellie. Thanks for your comment. The ingredients list says “¾ teaspoon Chinese five-spice powder.”
I read your recipe it called for 4 garlic cloves minced but in the recipe I didn’t read anything about the garlic do you just put it in with the soy sauce honey and the rest?
Hi Janie! Yes, the garlic is added in Step One along with the other marinade ingredients: “In a large bowl, combine the honey, soy sauce, hoisin sauce, sesame oil, garlic, fermented tofu, if using, and five-spice and stir to mix.”
Trying it with an Instant Pot and Instant Vortex Plus Air e
Great idea.
Just finished eating it…
My dog doesn’t like Pork …
He Lives it!
(He’s Chinese..a Shitz Tzu)
how long would i cook if using pork shoulder with bone in?
Hi Jen. It should be the same amount of time. Since it is cooking under pressure, it won’t make a huge difference whether it is bone-in or boneless.
Made the recipe and happy with the results! definitely making this again.
Can we use spare ribs and Ah-So sauce?
I don’t know! I haven’t tried either using spare ribs or Ah-So Sauce (I don’t actually know what that is). But try it! I have made ribs in the Instant Pot and they are great.
Hi Robin, was it your intention to leave out the cooking wine? Thanks.
My apologies! I fixed it. Thank you for letting me know!
YOu mention the option of cooking on a stove top instead of pressure cooker- how long does one cook on stove top for and at what temp if you don’t have a pressure cooker?
It will depend on the size and weight of the piece of pork you are cooking, but I would say probably 2 to 2 1/2 hours.
I’ve always wanted to learn how to make CharSiu at home. Thank you. Now I don’t have to wait to get it at our Chinese restaurant!
Pork Butt(Boston Butt) and pork Shoulder are not the same cut, Pork Butt comes from above the shoulder and has a meatier more marbel flesh.
Ah, you are (mostly) correct. Thank you for pointing this out! Pork shoulder includes both pork butt and pork shoulder (both come from the pig’s shoulder, but once butchered, one is called shoulder, the other is called butt, different parts of the shoulder). For the most part, you can use these interchangeably.