My family like calls this dish: 'fake char siu'. It's our go-to dish when we don't know what else to cook or short of time.
It's so easy. All you need is a slab of pork belly or pork shoulder. You most probably have the rest of the ingredients: sugar, soy sauce, dark soy sauce, and white pepper powder.
My mother's confinement lady taught her this dish. Because she had to cook lavish dishes for my mother, the confinement lady didn't have much time to prepare food for herself. So she resorts to simple words like this.
This is an easy and versatile dish. You could...
- marinade the pork at night and cook it when you're back from work. If you don't have time to marinade it, it's fine too.
- ook the pork whole (like in the video) or slice it (like this written recipe)
- add water to braise or leave it as it is
TOOLS
- Chopping board + knife
- Wok/pan with lid + stove
RECIPE CARD
Cheat Easy Char Siu Pork
Ingredients
- 300 g pork belly, sliced into 1.5 cm strips
- 4 tbsp sugar
- 4 tbsp light soy sauce
- 1 tbsp oyster sauce
- Few dashes of white pepper powder
- 150 ml of water
Directions
- Step 1 PREP: Chop pork into 1.5 cm strips.
- Step 2 MARINADE: Place pork in a bowl. Add in sugar, soy sauce, dark soy sauce, and a few dashes of pepper. Mix well. Let it marinade for 30 minutes (optional).
- Step 3 ADD WATER & COOK: Pour marinated pork into the wok. Add 150 ml of water. Cover with lid and bring to a boil (about 3 minutes). Then, turn fire to low and braise pork for 20 minutes or until water has evaporated and pork are caramelised.
- Step 4 SERVE: Serve with fluffy white rice.
SHORT RECIPE
Chop 300 g of pork into 1.5 cm strips. Marinade with 1.5 T sugar + 2 T soy sauce + 1 tsp dark soy sauce + few dashes of pepper. Bring pork + 150 ml water to a boil. Simmer for 20 min.
STEP-BY-STEP
1. PREP: Chop pork into 1.5 cm strips.
2. MARINADE: Place pork in a bowl. Add in sugar, soy sauce, dark soy sauce, and a few dashes of pepper. Mix well and let it marinade for 30 minutes, or if you have time, overnight.
3. ADD WATER & BRING TO A BOIL: Pour marinated pork into the wok. Add 150 ml of water. Cover with lid and bring to a boil (about 3 minutes).
4. BRAISE: Then, turn fire to low and braise pork for 15 minutes or until water has evaporated and pork are caramelised.
5. SERVE: Dish out and serve with fluffy white rice.
COOKING TIPS
- You can use pork shoulder too It's best to use pork belly; it has more fats hence will still be moist (not dry) after braising. However, my sister who prefers to eat less fat like it better with pork shoulder. Besides, pork shoulder is more affordable than pork belly.
- After 20 minutes, if the water has not evaporated, remove the lid. Let it cook until water is gone and pork caramelised (darken and dries).
When you have no time and don't know what else to cook, consider this easy and delicious dish!