Chinese Char Siu Ribs

[Gary H. NJ]

I’ve made char siu (pronounced “char shew”) for a long time on my OTG; a favorite with friends, Asian and otherwise -- a natural for pork ribs, tasting like the barbecued ribs at Chinese restaurants, only better.
Basic Char Siu Marinade:
2 T Chinese soy sauce
1 T Chinese dark soy, optional
2 T brown sugar
1 T minced garlic
1 T brown bean sauce
1 T hoisin sauce
1 T red bean curd (tofu), or a dash of dry sherry
1 tsp five-spice powder
Note: This recipe adapted from Ken Hom’s book,
Chinese Technique.

I also smoked a set of "Aztec" ribs today.

 

[Darrell J.]

Wow, very nicely plated. I've always been impressed with how chinese-style ribs have such a nice shine or glaze on them. Did you do anything special for your glaze?

 

[Gary H. NJ]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Did you do anything special for your glaze? </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
A light brushing of hoisin, a dash of ketchup, and a couple drops of sesame oil mixed together right after the ribs come off the smoker.

 

[Jim Lampe]

Gary!
FANTASTIC!
Who in this world are you feeding with all this food

?
Very Good Lookin' Cooks You're Done! Tre-MenDOUS!

 

[Another Bob B]

Wow Gary - Nice job. Great looking glaze on the ribs and nice moist looking plated up. Bob

 

[JimK]

Wow, Gary. Those look awesome.

 

[Michael G. (Canada Mike)]

Thanks, Gary. I've been looking for a good Asian rib recipe for a while and your ribs look great! I notice there's no 5 spice in there, think it might add something?

 

[Jeff_B]

Oh Ya those look mighty tasty there Gary!

Picture perfect also

 

[Gary H. NJ]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">I notice there's no 5 spice in there, think it might add something? </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
It's there now; I had simply edited it out when posting originally. Thanks.

 

[r benash]

Excellent Gary! Thanks for posting all the details.

 

[j biesinger]

Awesome, between this and your Aztec ribs you move up on my "must read" list of posters. I'm a sucker for atypical, or world bbq flavors.

BTW, have you gotten word of what they are doing in Brooklyn at Fatty 'Que? it sounds like a place you and I would really dig.

As for the chinese ribs I do something similar and like to take it one step further with a plum sauce glaze.

I'd love to know what your sides were. I like my chinese ribs with a big pile of fried rice.

and how do you like that hom book?

 

[Gary H. NJ]

Thanks J. I tend to keep an eye on your posts as well. Fatty Que? Never heard of it, but would be interested in checking it out. If you get down to the NYC area, give me a shout. My email is in my profile; give me a few days notice.
I do a fair amount of Chinese/Singaporean cooking. When I have the time, I love to do little banquets for friends, but this time around I wasn't too energetic, so sides were very simple: red potatoes and grilled asparagus.
Thanks for your links. I need to remember to go for the big flavors when smoking; and I think high heat is the way to go for baby backs. Next time!
I love the Hom book. Not a pretty book; my paperback is black&white only, but it was my go-to cookbook for 20 years. One day I thought to myself after suffering through a bad meal of sweet and sour pork with bright orange sauce at a Chinese restaurant, "This can't be what the Chinese are eating in China. What is authentic Chinese food really like?" Hom's book teaches all the essentials of cooking methods and correct knife usage/prepping. It was invaluable for me.

 

[j biesinger]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Thanks J. I tend to keep an eye on your posts as well. Fatty Que? Never heard of it, but would be interested in checking it out. If you get down to the NYC area, give me a shout. My email is in my profile; give me a few days notice.
I do a fair amount of Chinese/Singaporean cooking. When I have the time, I love to do little banquets for friends, but this time around I wasn't too energetic, so sides were very simple: red potatoes and grilled asparagus. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Gary, my wife usually creates our itinerary when we get to nyc and its usually devoid of free time, I'm lucky if I can sneak away for an hour or two to catch up with some college buddies that live there. She does an awesome job of planning in great eats (and drinks) so I just go with the flow and enjoy the ride. We got back-to-back trips planned this spring, so she may run out of ideas, I'll plant the seed

.

fatty cue menu

 

[Gary H. NJ]

Fatty Que: Red Curry Rubbed Duck. I am so there! Thanks for the tip.

 

[Jim Babek]

I love char siu and have made it several times but never on the smoker. Im definately going to have to try this because Im sure its phenominal.