Recipe: Easy Chicken Char Siu 雞叉燒

Last weekend, we had pork-free dim sum for brunch and it was pretty nice. So this week, when I was craving for char siew (and I was too lazy to go to the wet market to get pork belly), I thought "Let's make pork-free char siew" aka chicken char siu  雞叉燒.

I tweaked my char siu marinade recipe (left out the nam yue cos Hubby is not a fan of that) and basted with more honey cos Hubby likes it sweet. I would say that the chicken char siu turned out to be a success; I sliced and served one piece of chicken first, and by the time I reached the dinner table to serve the second piece, the family have already finished the first serving. Woohoo! Furthermore, I could see the satisfied looks on their faces and Baby D kept going "mmm mmm yum".

Would I make it again? YES.

Of course, chicken char siu is different from pork char siu. I used chicken breast, which is lean, and hence much healthier. You don't get the sinful melting layers of fat as you would with pork belly, but chicken char siu is also tender, and you can still enjoy the taste of char siu in a healthier manner. Plus, we always have chicken breast in our fridge, so that means we can make chicken char siu whenever we want.

You can easily put together the marinade ingredients in less than 5 minutes, then simply leave to marinate overnight in the fridge and cook for dinner the next day. It takes only about 25 minutes to cook, a lot less time than making pork char siew (BBQ Pork) - easy peasy!

A special shoutout to Capilano Honey for sponsoring me with many bottles of honey.. so excited to be experimenting in the kitchen and creating lots of delicious honey recipes to share with you all. Tastewise, Capilano honey is quite neutral, which make it perfect as an addition to savoury recipes. Will be posting more honey recipes in future, so keep a look out for them! ;)

Life sure is sweet for this young boy ;)

Chicken Char Siu  雞叉燒
Recipe by Baby Sumo
Preparation time: 5 minutes
Cooking time: 25 minutes
Serves 4

Ingredients
700g chicken breast

For the marinade
1 1/2 tbsp light soy sauce
1 tbsp cooking oil
1/2 tsp white pepper
1 tbsp Shaoxing wine
3 tbsp honey
2 tbsp oyster sauce
1/2 tsp five spice powder
1/8 tsp ground ginger

Extra 2 tbsp honey for basting



1. Combine marinade ingredients in a bowl, and mix well.

2. Cut the chicken into half lengthwise, then halve it again - you will end up with 4 long strips. Place the ingredient into a resealable Ziploc bag and then pour in the marinade. Close the bag, and ensure the chicken is well coated with the marinade. Marinate chicken over night in the fridge (I marinated for 18 hours).

3. Preheat oven to 200°C (roast mode).

4. Line a baking tray with tin foil, then arrange chicken in a single layer. Pour over marinade, and cook in oven for 18-20 minutes. Take out half way to baste the chicken with the marinade and turn over. 

5. After 18-20 minutes, remove tray from oven and baste with honey, both sides. Turn on the grill to highest setting and place under grill for 1-2 minutes (keep an eye as it will brown quickly). You want the chicken to be slightly charred and sticky all over.

6. Remove and slice. Serve with any remaining sauce in tray and sliced cucumber.

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