Chicken char siu 雞叉燒

Purists might laugh and turn away immediately but for many of my Muslim and Jewish friends char siu is a delicacy that they have long been deprived of. I remember making char siu with chicken for the first time when I was living in Singapore, it was for a halal Chinese meal I cooked for my Muslim friends. I have seen beef versions being served at halal food stalls back in Malaysia, but personally I think chicken breasts works so much better (as long as they are not overcooked of course). These moist and juicy chicken char siu can be served just like normal pork char siu, as topping for noodles or rice, filling for delicious pastries or in stir fries.

P.S For pork char siu, use strips of pork neck instead and increase the cooking time to 25-30 minutes.

you'll need;

pre heated oven to 200 C

2 chicken breasts

4 tbs of char siu sauce

5 garlic cloves, minced

dash of Chinese cooking wine

dash of oyster sauce

2 tbs of honey for glazing

Mix everything in a bowl (except the honey) and marinate overnight.

Removed marinated chicken from the fridge at least half an hour before cooking.

Brown chicken pieces in a pot hot pan for 30 seconds on each side.

Spoon the marinade over the chicken breasts and place in the hot oven for 8 minutes. Remove pan from the oven and glaze the chicken breasts with honey, return to the oven for a further 2 minutes of cooking.

Rest chicken char siu for at least 5 minutes before slicing.

I used the moist and juicy chicken char siu for a simple meal of char siu noodles and prawn wontons Malaysian style. I will do a separate post on this meal.