Air Fryer Char Siu Recipe · i am a food blog

Is there anything better than a simple plate of rice and char siu?

Chinese barbecue is a weird and wonderful thing. As with European community bread ovens, its origins date back to ancient times, when Chinese villages could only support a single central oven capable of slowly roasting meats. There would be a barbecue master, and in his window would hang whole pork carcasses, ducks and always sweet and smoky char siu.

Making char siu at home is not difficult, and there are many recipes online, but most of these recipes are oven-baked. But in my opinion, an air fryer It’s a million times better. It heats up faster; air circulation allows you to obtain better coal; and the inside is perfectly cooked in a tenth of the time.

What is char siu

Char siu, if you’ve never had it, is Chinese barbecue pork. It’s a little sweet, smoky and tender but firm. You’ll often see small pieces of it in restaurant fried rice, but if it’s done right, it’s best served in thick slices over plain rice and wok-fried vegetables.

How to make char siu in the air fryer

1. Cut the pork into cubes. Because we’re doing this in an air fryer, surface area is your friend. Plus, more charcoal equals more flavor.
2. Prepare the marinade. Only 5 ingredients, plus a few optional ones.
3. Marinate overnight. You can go for as little as 30 minutes, but more is better.
4. Air fried to perfection: 8 minutes at 375º, that’s what I did.
5. Appreciate over fluffy white rice with fresh greens, or use it in a recipe of your choice (more below).

Is it better than baked?

This recipe is based on our standard char siu recipebut replace the oven with an air fryer, and honestly I’ll probably never go back to a conventional oven again unless I need a giant batch. Hey, it could happen.

I also substituted a 1.5″ thick, well-marbled pork chop for the standard pork shoulder. It was much easier to find at the store than a pork shoulder. In addition, it turns out juicy, sweet and delicious, as Chinese barbecue should be. Like Steph with her pastries, sometimes a small batch is the way to goalthough, given how delicious it is, you may want to save the marinade and make an easy second or third batch. It will go quickly.

What to do with char siu

Air Fryer Char Siu Recipe

Serves 1

Preparation time 2 minutes minutes

Cooking time 8 minutes minutes

Total duration 10 minutes minutes

• 1 kg thick pork chop
• 2 tablespoon Honey
• 2 tablespoon hoisin sauce
• 1 tablespoon I am willow
• 2 cloves garlic breeze
• 1 thumb ginger slice
• 2 teaspoon Shaoxing wine optional
• 1/2 teaspoon Chinese five spice powder optional
• 1/4 teaspoon ground white pepper optional

Note: If you prefer your pork on the more well-done side, set it to 10 minutes instead.
Feel free to store the marinade in the refrigerator to reuse within 24 hours, or bring it to a boil for 1 to 2 minutes to use as a sauce or glaze for extra rich char siu.