Cha Shao

[Huh? What?]

This is a traditional Chinese barbecued pork. From what I have read, it is not generally made at home. Food shops make it in quantity and sell it. Someone here may be able to correct this, if I am wrong.

I'm making it for our Christmas banquet and just put together the marinade for a test run. Once the marinade cools, it'll go over the pork and sit in the refrigerator until tomorrow, when I'll smoke it.


The ingredients...

Cha Shao

For 5 lbs pork

1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup sea salt
2 tbsp light soy sauce
1 tbsp dark soy sauce
2 tbsp dark molasses
2 tbsp Chinese rice wine
1 tbsp honey
1 tbsp palm sugar
1 tbsp red miso
1 tbsp oyster sauce
1 tbsp hoisin sauce
1 tbsp garlic chili paste
2 tbsp Chinese five spice powder
2 tbsp ground annatto



Note the use of miso in bold. Miso is, of course, Japanese. It is being substituted in place of an ingredient called tian mian jiang, which is a Chinese bean paste, which I can't get. I have been told that I can substitute miso and not be too far off. Again, someone else might dispute this.


The garlic chili paste was not added directly to the marinade. Not everyone who is coming to the dinner can handle spicy food. Yeah, I know, but what are ya' gonna do? So, I'll rub a portion of the meat with the paste before it goes into the smoker, and leave the rest plain. See how it comes out.


As far as the type of pork, that seems to be debatable. Some use pork shoulder, some use pork loin, and I've seen pork belly called for. I'll be using pork shoulder this time, cut into slabs.

This will get smoked tomorrow, probably over apple wood and maybe some jasmine tea.

 

[jwtseng]

You might try to get some tian mian jiang from a local Chinese restaurant. If you've ever ordered Moo Shoo Pork before, tian mian jiang is the sticky, sweet, dark brown sauce they put on the pancake before wrapping it up. If you've never had Moo Shoo Pork before, you gotta try it too! It's like a Chinese burrito...every culture's got a burrito! Good luck with the cook...looking forward to pics!

 

[haunas]

I make it at home all the time and call it Charsiu. And I don't smoke but roast over an open fire. I don't have pictures of me making but will do. I hang my meat on my UDS and towards the end last 10-15 mins I mix up honey and wine and coat it for a nice glaze. ONO!!!!

And never tried or made with garlic chilil sauce since Chinese can't handle spice to well.

Oh I use wayyyy more hoisin too.

My recipe not really measured and adjust to your liking is:

Hoisin almost one bottle maybe like 1-1.5 cup or so
1/2 cup or so of a Sweet wine
1 cup or so Brown Sugar
1 tsp or so of five spice
3 Chinese soup spoon or so miso
Pinch or so of salt

I used to put baking soda on the pork after cutting up to take off slime but don't find a difference.

 

[landarc]

It isn't commonly made in Chinese homes anymore, but, that has as much to do with urbanization and the tendency to not eat that much meat, as anything else. Certainly here in the States, it is something bought from butcher shops and restaurants. All that being said, we make it at home, and it is better than what can be purchased in most places. Hawaii is different, there, it is made at home.

 

[landarc]

You might try to get some tian mian jiang from a local Chinese restaurant. If you've ever ordered Moo Shoo Pork before, tian mian jiang is the sticky, sweet, dark brown sauce they put on the pancake before wrapping it up. If you've never had Moo Shoo Pork before, you gotta try it too! It's like a Chinese burrito...every culture's got a burrito! Good luck with the cook...looking forward to pics!

Question: Are you suggesting he use this in the marinade or as a condiment when eating? Just curious, as none of our family recipes include it in the marinade.

 

[Huh? What?]

You might try to get some tian mian jiang from a local Chinese restaurant. If you've ever ordered Moo Shoo Pork before, tian mian jiang is the sticky, sweet, dark brown sauce they put on the pancake before wrapping it up. If you've never had Moo Shoo Pork before, you gotta try it too! It's like a Chinese burrito...every culture's got a burrito! Good luck with the cook...looking forward to pics!

Around here, they generally use Hoisin...

 

[Oak-n-hickory]

Same here - mu shu pork is always served with Hoisin sauce around here, and we're not exactly lacking in Chinese grocery stores, restaurants, or citizens. You might try looking for the sweet bean paste under any of its several aliases, but if you can't find it, Hoisin sauce is about as close as anything else you could substitute.

 

[Huh? What?]

It already has a bunch of Hoisin in it.

 

[haunas]

Question: Are you suggesting he use this in the marinade or as a condiment when eating? Just curious, as none of our family recipes include it in the marinade.

You guys are all talking the same thing...tian ming jian or whatever is miso which Huh has in his marinade. I ain't gonna go out to buy special miso so I use the Japanese one too. Turns out fine.

My wife just called and said shes pulling some I made from the fridge. Maybe will get a pic of mine as I fry some up.

 

[Huh? What?]

I have a friend that lives in Canada who is married to a woman he met in China. She is Chinese, and is a cook. I'm going to ask her what it is. Details to follow, depending on how long it takes me to get an answer.

I don't know why I didn't think to ask her in the first place.

 

[Huh? What?]

The smoked Cha Shao. It smoked for about five hours at 225 over cherry wood.

The flavor is good tonight, and will be better tomorrow. The color could be a little more red.

 

[Huh? What?]

I think for the party, I'll use pork belly for this, and use more annatto.

 

[Desert Hawg]

Have you gone to Lee Lee's Market to look for your tian ming jia? There is one in the East Valley and one in the West Valley on 75th Ave.