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Prep time
12 hours 30 minutes
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Cook time
1 hour
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Serves
6
Author Notes
I love char siu in Chinese takeout food, but I don't like the red food coloring used in the sauce. I thought cherries might work instead, so I replaced the food coloring and much of the sugar with fresh cherries.
Char siu can be made with pork or chicken. This char siu sauce is not as red as some bottled sauces, and it tastes fruity and spicy.
Make sure to baste the chicken as it cooks, this gives you a glossy and delicious chicken! Prep time includes marinating.
—Leith Devine
Test Kitchen Notes
Wow. This was really good. The cherries shine in this sauce, even though there are a lot of other flavors. I mean cherries with soy sauce, Sriracha, and Chinese five-spice? I was intrigued, and it definitely paid off. This is another recipe that only requires blending, marinating, and grilling. All comes together with minimal effort, but the flavors are really quite impressive. I loved basting the chicken while it grilled and it gave it a nice sticky exterior. (Caveat: I have never made char siu, so I can't really say how this compares to the original.) I would change one thing: I would boil the sauce as recommended, but then set aside 1 cup for basting and reduce the rest even further to use for serving. The sauce is really nice to have if serving with rice. —figgypudding
Ingredients
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3 pounds
skinless, bone-in chicken thighs
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1 pound
fresh or frozen pitted cherries
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1/3 cup
ketchup
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1/4 cup
brown sugar
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1/4 cup
soy sauce
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2 tablespoons
Shaoxing wine or rice wine
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2 tablespoons
hoisin sauce
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1 tablespoon
Sriracha
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3
cloves garlic, crushed
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1 teaspoon
Chinese five-spice powder
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2 teaspoons
salt
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1/2 teaspoon
white pepper
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1 tablespoon
sesame oil
Directions
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Place chicken in a large zip-top bag.
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Mix together all the ingredients (except sesame oil) for the sauce in a food processor. Process until smooth.
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Pour sauce over chicken and mix well. Marinate overnight or up to 24 hours.
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Remove chicken from the bag, reserving the leftover marinade. Add sesame oil to the leftover marinade and boil until slightly thickened. Use this as the basting sauce. Reserve 1 cup for serving.
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Preheat grill to medium heat using indirect heat. Place marinated chicken on the grill. Brush with basting sauce and turn chicken every 10 minutes, basting each time, until chicken reaches an internal temperature of 165° F. Don't let it burn like I did!
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Remove from grill and let rest for 10 minutes. Serve with brown rice and vegetables.
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To make in the oven, preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cook chicken on a foil lined pan until internal temperature reaches 165 degrees, basting every 10 minutes. If you want a crispy exterior, turn to broil at the end and broil for 5 minutes until exterior is browned and crispy.
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