Char siu has been a favorite food of mine for my entire life. More or less the Chinese equivalent of American barbecue, this tender, sweet pork can be used in so many recipes and meals. Eating pork buns? You’re probably eating char siu. Eating sticky rice? You’re also probably eating char siu. While there is no doubt that its a fantastic, delicious meat to cook with, making it yourself might seem more complicated. But hold on, because the keyword is “seem”. Just last week, my mom made char siu. With a simple recipe involving very little ingredients or preparation, it passed out of our expectations. Being a homemade dish, it’s way fresher and you don’t have to stand in line at Chinatown or Ranch 99. It’ll also likely be a bit cheaper too. Just like my last post, the recipe is too simple. After getting however many pounds of pig butt, marinate your meat with a special char siu sauce that you can buy at places like Ranch 99 (or online). You don’t need a ton as my mom didn’t even use up the full jar, but you do want to make sure that the majority of the pork can be soaked in it. Let that sit overnight. Before cooking, preheat your oven to 350. Do 15 minutes and then flip the pork over and repeat with another 15 minutes. To finish it off, brush your cooked char siu with honey (how much is up to you, of course), and do a quick 2 minutes in the oven to finalize. And there you have it: homemade char siu! Juicy, soft, and glazed with the most mouth watering flavors, this dish, especially homemade, is something that you won’t want to miss. Eat it by itself or with something else. Either way it’ll surely be the highlight of your day. Char siu also makes for really great leftovers or as a condiment in something like chicken soup. If you’ve never tried this before, what better time is there than right now to make a homemade version? You just read it: the recipe is absurdly simple for what it gives you. Does it require a little extra work? Yes… but was it worth it? Absolutely.