Cantonese · main
Char Siu (BBQ Pork)
叉烧 · Chāshāo
Cantonese roast pork — marinated, hung in special ovens, glazed with honey and maltose. Eaten over rice or in buns.
Char siu (lit. 'fork-roast' from the Cantonese) is the canonical Cantonese roasted meat, the centrepiece of the siu mei (roasted-meat) tradition that supplies Hong Kong and Guangdong restaurants and shops with the hanging arrays of lacquered proteins visible in any street-level kitchen window.
The marinade varies by shop but typically combines hoisin sauce, fermented red bean paste (nan ru), honey, dark and light soy sauce, Shaoxing wine, five-spice powder and, in many commercial versions, red food colouring to produce the characteristic deep rust-red exterior. Pork shoulder (the most common cut) is marinated for several hours or overnight, then hung from metal forks in a barrel-shaped roasting oven at around 200°C, where it cooks by radiant heat and basts in its own caramelising sugars as drippings fall.
The result is distinctive: a sweet-savoury exterior with caramelised edges, a tender interior that varies from lean to fatty depending on the cut used. Premium char siu uses pork collar (the fatty neck) for a higher fat content that keeps the meat moist during the high-heat roasting.
Served sliced over rice (char siu fan) with a ladle of sauce and a piece of blanched vegetable, it is a daily working meal across Guangdong and Hong Kong. As a dim sum filling — char siu bao in both baked and steamed forms — it appears on every yum cha cart. As a noodle topping — wonton noodles or won ton mee — it is the standard Cantonese noodle configuration.
Where to try
Hong Kong's Yat Lok, Joy Hing Roasted Meat, Kam's Roast Goose. Guangzhou's siu mei stalls.
Dietary notes
Pork.
Cities to try Char Siu (BBQ Pork)
Other south dishes
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- Beef Chow Fun干炒牛河
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More Cantonese dishes
- Beef Chow Fun干炒牛河
Flat rice noodles dry-fried with silky marinated beef, beansprouts and spring onion over a fierce wok flame.
- Beef Chow Fun干炒牛河
Stir-fried wide flat rice noodles with sliced beef, scallion, bean sprouts and a smoky wok-hei flavour.
- Cantonese Roast Goose烧鹅
Whole goose roasted to crisp-skinned tenderness. The most prized of the Cantonese siu mei roasted meats.
- Char Siu Bao (BBQ Pork Buns)叉烧包
Steamed white buns with a sweet-savoury BBQ pork filling. Two styles: traditional steamed and modern baked.
- Char Siu Pork叉烧
Cantonese barbecued pork glazed with honey, soy and fermented tofu — a cornerstone of roast-meat culture.
- Cheung Fun (Rice Noodle Roll)肠粉
Translucent rice-flour roll filled with shrimp, beef or BBQ pork. Served with sweet soy sauce.
- Claypot Rice煲仔饭
Rice steamed in a clay pot over charcoal with toppings like lap cheong, chicken or salted fish, finished with a soy-sesame dressing.
- Dim Sum點心
The Cantonese tradition of small shared dishes served during morning or midday tea (yum cha). Har gow, siu mai, char siu bao, cheung fun, lo mai gai, chicken feet, and egg tarts are the pillars of the format. Eaten communally over tea and conversation.