Chinese marinade for loin of pork or ribs
When you have certain chinese dishes, they contain roast pork - Char Sui - as it is known. Often, it is in thin slices with a red / brown coating. This is the marinade to use to achieve that on roast pork - at least all of the Char Sui I have eaten in the UK in Chinese Restraunts tastes like this.
This marinade can be used for almost any cut of pork, but loin of pork is my favourite, along with ribs for this.
A lot of people shy away from loin of pork because it can dry out if you cook it wrong - this marinade will help to stop this from happening. It can be cooked on foil on the BBQ or in foil in the oven - if you are new to roasting meats on the BBQ I would start with a leg of lamb first to get used to it - it will be more forgiving.
For the marinade:
(this is per pound of meat)
75ml Dark Soy Sauce
75ml Light Soy Sauce
75ml Runny Honey
50g Sugar (I used unrefined golden stuff)
60ml Rice wine / Saki (which ever you have to hand)
1 Piece of Ginger, about an inch cubed, grated fine
4 Decent sized cloves of Garlic, grated fine
5ml Rice Wine vinigar (or white wine / cider vinigar if that is what you have - if not, you can leave this out)
1 teaspoon 5 spice powder
Put all of the ingredients in a sauce pan, gently warming and stiring - you want the sugar to disolve and the honey to mix through. Do not let it get to hot - you will drive flavour off it.
Once the sugar has dissolved, take the pan from the heat and leave it to cool. Put it in an ice bath if you want or need it to cool quicker.
Once it is cool, cover the meat with it - ensure most of the meat is covered. You can marinte for 6 hours - its better if its at least 10 hours - but I would give it 18 tops, no need for more than that.
You are then going to have to more than likely make your own cooking container from foil, as you are going to cook the meat in foil with the marinade - the the meat will always be in a moisture rich enviroment. You want to get the oven up to around 220c or your BBQ should just be going to roasting coals just after the flams have died down (depending on the wood that is used for your charcoal).
Put it in an oven tray and put in the oven, as soon as you have the door closed, turn it down to 180c. After half an hour, turn the meat over so the it all gets coated in cooking liquid.
After another half an hour, open up the package and put back in the oven - after 15 minutes it should be sticky and bubbling - that is the sugars in there caramelising - open the even and spoon some over the meat, close the oven and leave it to cook on - get a good coating going - it should only take 15 minutes or so.
Once the coating is good and cooked - you are looking for a good jelly rather than a crust - take it out of the oven and leave to rest for 5-10 minutes before you cut it.
With ribs, I would let them cook for 2-2 1/2 hours before getting the coating going on them - they need a lot longer to cook.
This marinade can be used for almost any cut of pork, but loin of pork is my favourite, along with ribs for this.
A lot of people shy away from loin of pork because it can dry out if you cook it wrong - this marinade will help to stop this from happening. It can be cooked on foil on the BBQ or in foil in the oven - if you are new to roasting meats on the BBQ I would start with a leg of lamb first to get used to it - it will be more forgiving.
For the marinade:
(this is per pound of meat)
75ml Dark Soy Sauce
75ml Light Soy Sauce
75ml Runny Honey
50g Sugar (I used unrefined golden stuff)
60ml Rice wine / Saki (which ever you have to hand)
1 Piece of Ginger, about an inch cubed, grated fine
4 Decent sized cloves of Garlic, grated fine
5ml Rice Wine vinigar (or white wine / cider vinigar if that is what you have - if not, you can leave this out)
1 teaspoon 5 spice powder
Put all of the ingredients in a sauce pan, gently warming and stiring - you want the sugar to disolve and the honey to mix through. Do not let it get to hot - you will drive flavour off it.
Once the sugar has dissolved, take the pan from the heat and leave it to cool. Put it in an ice bath if you want or need it to cool quicker.
Once it is cool, cover the meat with it - ensure most of the meat is covered. You can marinte for 6 hours - its better if its at least 10 hours - but I would give it 18 tops, no need for more than that.
You are then going to have to more than likely make your own cooking container from foil, as you are going to cook the meat in foil with the marinade - the the meat will always be in a moisture rich enviroment. You want to get the oven up to around 220c or your BBQ should just be going to roasting coals just after the flams have died down (depending on the wood that is used for your charcoal).
Put it in an oven tray and put in the oven, as soon as you have the door closed, turn it down to 180c. After half an hour, turn the meat over so the it all gets coated in cooking liquid.
After another half an hour, open up the package and put back in the oven - after 15 minutes it should be sticky and bubbling - that is the sugars in there caramelising - open the even and spoon some over the meat, close the oven and leave it to cook on - get a good coating going - it should only take 15 minutes or so.
Once the coating is good and cooked - you are looking for a good jelly rather than a crust - take it out of the oven and leave to rest for 5-10 minutes before you cut it.
With ribs, I would let them cook for 2-2 1/2 hours before getting the coating going on them - they need a lot longer to cook.
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