Wednesday, May 12, 2010

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.

35 comments:

  1. I like char siu done any way =P I'm just a greedy pig!

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  2. I have seen this char siu sauce here, but never thought buy them, now i have no excuse for purchasing the sauce, chicken looks delicious and mouthwatering..

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  3. salam tummy..your dish looks delicious..i don't know whether the sauce is halal or not..so can you suggest any other sauce which is halal that can replace the char siu sauce..thanks.

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  4. the last photo is look exactly like those serve outside restaurant, simply yummy!

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  5. They sell this in mainstream supermarkets in the UK! They call it red cooked Chinese chicken.

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  6. I love marinated chicken ; love the flavours.
    Hope you have a great day!
    Big hugs!
    Betty xx

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  7. Fabulous dish yaar...tempting n colorful click...thanks for the new recipe.

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  8. Suresh the Incredible strikes again! What can't you make? ;)

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  9. Looks great! Next time I'm at the Asian market I will pick up some char siu sauce and try this.

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  10. Absolutely delish! The sweet and sticky taste is adorable!!

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  11. Who can ever resist 'char siew'! They all taste as good! Salivating already!
    Regards, Kristy

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  12. What a coincidence! I'm marinating some chicken with charsiew sauce for dinner tonight =)

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  13. nice. I will have that with wonton mee please

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  14. I would love to try chicken char siew!!

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  15. Oh this is great, I have never thought of using chicken for char siu before. Love your Malaysian char siu noodles with wonton!

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  16. The chicken char siu looks fantastic and your wonton noodle is making me really homesick!

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  17. msihua ,
    Haha perhaps! :)

    Priya ,
    Thank you! You must always have a jar in your pantry! :)

    mohdandmeriam ,
    Terima kasih makcik! Saya kurang tahu kalau sos tu hala atau tidak. Tidak ada apa apa gandungan binatang, cuma gula, soy, tepund dan perwarna. Saya akan kirimkan satu homemade resipi untuk sosnya.

    Sonia,
    Thank you very much! Food I love when I miss home.

    Mr Noodles,
    Oh really! That is very interesting!

    Betty,
    Thank you very much! You too xxx

    Jay,
    Thank you! I am glad you like it!

    Ju,
    Thank you very much dear! I can't bake like you :)

    Bo,
    Please do! You will love it!

    Joy,
    Thank you very much!

    the lacquer spoon,
    Totally sweet, sticky and delicious :)

    Kristy,
    Thank you! I can agree more! :)

    pigpigscorner,
    Oh really! What a coincidence indeed! :)

    penny aka jeroxie ,
    Anytime! I'll give you extra green chilies!

    KennyT,
    Not a problem!

    rosa ,
    Thank you! It is great with chicken so do try it! :)

    KL girl in MELB ,
    Thank you! I haven't found a place that serve the Malaysian style so I always make my own!

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  18. I wish I could have some it looks so good.

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  19. Harriet from CarltonMay 13, 2010 at 12:42 AM

    Wow this is great! I love char siu but they are often too fatty for me, will certainly try your chicken version. Do post the noodle meal soon, it looks really great!

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  20. Whoa! easy there.. You can't torture us by putting such delicious pictures like that :-)
    I'm going to try this tonight itself, it looks so yummy.

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  21. Hey I've just watched a TV cooking show featuring char siew chicken and now I'm drooling over your char siew chicken now !

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  22. Yes, I also like your last picture. Looks exactly like what is served at the food store.

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  23. What a lovely chicken recipe! Love the sticky sauce like this. Yum!

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  24. The to-do list from your blog is getting longer..I didnt know what a Char Siu was until I clapped eyes on these lovey dovey dish. Yum!

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  25. I absolutely love your blog!!!


    I need some guidance on pans/woks/equipment...I'm very new to this style of cooking. What types would you recommend and what do I need to get started?

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  26. This is a great looking meal. I am feeling deprived too, that I have never enjoyed such a wonderful char siu chicken. I am curious about the char siu sauce too. What is it?

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  27. I love char siu, I want to try the Malaysian style char siu noodle too!

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  28. I will still prefer pork version but it sure looks very moist and tender

    W

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  29. I have tried the char siu noodles in KL. I am going to buy some char siu sauce so post the noodle meal soon!

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  30. I have never tried chicken char siu before, it looks good!

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  31. Lyndsey ,
    Thank you! this is perfect for your bento!

    Harriet,
    Thank you! I will!

    prerna,
    Thank you! I hope you did try it! :)

    peralyn,
    Thank you! I just made more tonight!

    Anncoo ,
    Thank you very much!

    Sook,
    Haha it is sticky and delicious!

    Cool Lassi(e,
    Oh thank you! you must start to cook some soon! :)

    wretchdz ,
    Thank you very much! :)

    You don't need a lot of equipment... I have an old battered wok, a stock pot, a good stainless steel pan and a few clay pots. I would suggest for you to get a carbon steel wok, 2 clay pots of different sizes, a good stock pot, a good non stick pan and a good heavy bottom casserole pot. I hope this is of any use to you.


    Velva ,
    Thank you! It is a honey and soy based sauce. If you have seen red strips of pork hanging in the windows of Chinese restaurants, those are char siu.

    shanshan,
    I will try to post that soon!

    Anonymous,
    Thank you! mee too but chicken version tastes good too!

    darren,
    Glad you have tried my favourite dish before. Will do that soon!

    love to eat ,
    Thank you! It is a must try!

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  32. wow...macam menarik resipi ni, boleh saya dah dapatkan resipi homemade sos tersebut

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