Char Siu Chicken (Chinese BBQ Chicken)

Char siu chicken is an incredibly flavorful chicken dish made with five-spice powder, hoisin sauce, and soy sauce. It’s perfect over a bowl of warm rice and steamed veggies for an amazing weeknight meal!

What is Char Siu chicken?

Char siu is essentially Cantonese roasted meat. The meat is marinated in a BBQ-like sauce, which is then roasted and basted with a sweet glaze that gives it its signature sheen!

You’ll find them being sold in most BBQ meat shops or even noodle shops around Chinatown. They make me drool every time seeing them hanging through the window…And I almost always end up giving in to get myself a whole container of char Siu.

Most typically, you’ll see char siu pork, but since some would much rather prefer different protein options, the chicken alternative is just as delicious!

Taste-wise, char siu is sweet and savory, which goes perfectly with a side of warm rice and green veggies like bok choy or Chinese broccoli. Oh, and it also makes your kitchen smell amazing from all the spices, so that’s another plus!

What makes Char Siu Red?

One of the notable characteristics of char siu is its beautiful red color. You can achieve that same color through one of two options: artificially (with the help of red food coloring) or naturally (using Chinese red fermented bean curd).

The food coloring option would definitely be the easiest to obtain. You’ll honestly see most restaurants go for this option since it’s more accessible, affordable, and you can really make the red color as vibrant as you want (depending on how many drops you put in).

For the fermented bean curds, this is more of the traditional route. They’re basically cubes of soybean curds that’s been preserved in rice wine, and the red color comes from the fermented red rice. This may or may not be more difficult to find, depending on where you live. But they should be carried by some Asian/Chinese markets.

So which to use? Honestly, either one works. I’ve tested the recipe with both options, and the outcomes were almost nearly identical. If anything, the bean curds do add more of an umami/savory taste to the final product. It also ends up being more of a dark-maroon color, rather than being a vibrant red when using the food coloring.

Ingredients for Char Siu chicken

• Chicken thighs: Dark meat will be your best friend for this recipe since they’re more flavorful and juicy. For this char siu, I used boneless thighs so you can easily slice them up and serve on a bowl. This also cuts their cooking time by about a half!
• Brown sugar, hoisin sauce, soy sauce, Shaoxing wine, sesame oil, five-spice powder, white pepper, garlic: This will make up the ingredients to make our delicious char siu chicken marinade.
• Fermented bean curd: Depending on your location, you’ll most likely find these being sold in Asian markets or Chinese groceries. They give a natural red hue to the char siu and a hint of umami. Go for this if you’re wanting a more traditional recipe, but red food coloring is also fine.
• Maltose: Maltose is a subtle sweetener used primarily for Chinese roasted meats (think roasted duck and BBQ pork). This is what will give our chicken its sheen and glossiness. You can find this in most Chinese groceries. Be warned, it’s incredibly thick, so I’d recommend microwaving the maltose for about 10-20 seconds to soften up so it’s easier to work with for the basting sauce. Honey can also work as a good substitute.

Instructions

Mix together the brown sugar, hoisin sauce, soy sauce, Shaoxing wine, salt, sesame oil, five-spice powder, white pepper, grated garlic, fermented bean curd (be sure to mash this properly so it incorporates into the marinade) and the fermented bean curd liquid.

Marinate the chicken in this mixture overnight, or at least for an hour.

Pre-heat your oven to 355 F. Place the marinated chicken on a wire rack and bake in the preheated oven for 10 minutes.

While the chicken is baking, prepare the basting sauce. Mix together the maltose, hot water, and fermented bean curd liquid until smooth.

After 10 minutes, remove the chicken. Brush the thighs with the basting sauce and return in the oven for 5 minutes.

After 5 minutes, remove the chicken, and brush again with the basting sauce. Continue cooking the chicken for 5 more minutes, or until fully cooked through.

Serve with warm rice and steamed greens. Enjoy!

Want some more easy weeknight meal ideas? Check out these other delicious recipes:

• Bistek (Filipino Beef Steak)
• Honey Garlic Salmon
• Sizzling Beef Pepper Rice
• Creamy Gochujang Udon