Char siu pork, or Cantonese BBQ pork, is a classic dish that’s so well loved. You’ll see it served as a cold cut on the classic Cantonese BBQ platter at a dim sum restaurant, packed into rich, juicy char siu buns, cooked into flavorful crispy char siu fried noodles, or accenting scrumptious char siu fried rice. Did you know this meat is actually super easy to make at home?
Why air fryer char siu pork
I’ve shared the oven roasted char siu pork in the past. But once I cooked the char siu pork in the air fryer, I could never go back! Because the air fryer char siu pork is:
Very fast cooking. You only need 12 to 16 minutes to finish the cooking. The glaze cooks better. Thanks to the circulated hot air, the glaze sticks to the pork better, resulting in a restaurant-quality result. The pork remains more juicy and tender due to the short cooking time.
Ingredients
What cut to use for air fryer char siu pork
There are several approaches you can take for char siu pork depending on your preferences. My favorite cut for air fryer char siu pork is pork shoulder or butt. These two cuts have a perfect lean-fat ratio. The well marbled cuts keep juicy while not being overwhelmingly greasy, and the lean meat is quite flavorful. If you prefer a fattier cut, pork belly is another popular choice. You will usually see it served at dim sum restaurants as an option for a richer mouthfeel. If you prefer tender lean meat, pork loin or tenderloin can be used as well.
Ingredients for the marinade
Making char siu marinade is quite easy and the ingredients are easy to source. It’s important to get a good quality oyster sauce and hoisin sauce. For the red color, traditional recipes use red yeast rice (红曲米) as a natural food coloring. I often opt for conventional red food coloring because it’s much more convenient. But if you prefer a more natural approach, you can purchase some red yeast rice, grind it into powder, and add it to the marinade.
What is maltose and why it’s important
Maltose (麦芽糖, mai ya tang) is a super thick syrup that’s commonly used in traditional Chinese cooking. It is the secret ingredient that gives the char siu its beautiful glossy look. Maltose is made from rice and malt. At room temperature, it’s ten times thicker than your regular syrup. It won’t fall from the cup if you hold it upside down. It will become soft and sticky once heated up, but never runny. That’s why it gives the BBQ pork the best glaze that sticks to the surface. If you don’t want to use maltose, you can use honey to replace it. The coating will not stick as well but it will still end up delicious.
The perfect glaze
The air fryer char siu glaze is made with the marinade of the pork, maltose and a splash of water. It’s very important to reserve some of the marinade for glaze once you’ve mixed it, before adding it to the pork. When the marinade is added to the pork, it will extract moisture from the meat and make the marinade watery. That watery marinade is not ideal for the glaze. The very small amount of water matters a lot, because it creates a proper glaze that is not too runny. On the other hand, it keeps the glaze sugar ratio to the proper level, so the glaze will set properly before it burns.
How to cook air fryer char siu pork
How to cut the pork
It’s very important to cut the pork to the proper size for the best result. When you use pork shoulder or butt, you should cut it into smaller strips along the grain. So when the char siu is done cooking, you can then slice the pieces against the grain for the best texture. I like to slice the pork into 1.5” (4 cm) thick pieces, which gives the pork just enough time to develop a nice layer of glaze while keeping the meat tender.
Cooking process
The whole cooking process takes about 12 to 16 minutes, depending on the type of air fryer you use. I use a Cuisinart Air Fryer Toaster Oven currently. It is quite powerful and it only takes me 12 minutes to cook the char siu. If you use a different air fryer, the cooking might take longer.
Storage tip
Air fryer char siu pork tastes the best the day you cook it. When you store the pork in the fridge, the glaze will start to lose its shine but the taste will remain good. To always have freshly made air fryer char siu pork, I usually marinate the pork in smaller bags by dividing the marinade. I would cook one bag, and freeze the remaining bags. The next time I’m ready to cook, I simply thaw the bag with the pork in the marinade. Since the pork cooks so fast in the air fryer, it’s a really convenient way to enjoy freshly made char siu.
How to serve and use leftover air fryer char siu
There are so many ways to serve air fryer char siu! If you have leftover char siu, here are some fun dishes you can make:
Char Siu Chow Mein (叉烧炒面) Char Siu Bao (Steamed BBQ Pork Buns) 叉烧包 Baked BBQ Pork Buns (Char Siu Bao) XO Fried Rice with Char Siu Singapore Noodles (星洲炒米粉)
