We all love BBQ Chicken. We all love pork Char Siu. So I ask you. Why not combine them and make char siu grilled chicken?
I was scrolling through old posts the other day, looking for grilling recipes to make this weekend, when I rediscovered my dad’s recipe for Char Siu on the grill. Now, that recipe WAS pretty brilliant.
If you’re not familiar, Char Siu is a savory, slightly sweet barbecued pork popular in Cantonese cuisine. If you’ve ever walked past a Cantonese restaurant in whatever Chinatown happens to be nearest you, you’ve probably seen it––in metal pans underneath fluorescent lights and the roast ducks hanging in the window.
Adapting Our Char Siu Pork Recipe for Chicken
Char siu happens to be one of my favorite things in the world. I was raised on the stuff. I remember taking it to preschool for lunch. It would be in a little plastic container, nestled in my purple Pocahontas lunchbox, with some rice and stir-fried vegetables. The other four-year-olds next to me would side-eye it whilst holding their PB&Js. (Not sure if they were jealous or just confused.)
But though grilled Char Siu pork sounded like a great idea for Memorial Day festivities, pork isn’t what I had in the freezer. I had chicken. Lots of it. Thighs and drumsticks, to be exact. Family packs. (Read: …way too much chicken.)
Unwilling to schlep out to the grocery store (pretty sure I was in sweatpants and hadn’t even brushed my teeth yet when all this was going down), and looking for a way to use up said family packs, I went downstairs to my parents’ overflow freezer in the garage, where the spoils of Costco mega trips and dumpling-making marathons go.
I grabbed a couple packs of chicken thighs and drums, and decided to defrost them for a little experiment.
A few hours later, I was tweaking my dad’s char siu sauce recipe and using it to baste the chicken on the grill, and voila! Char Siu Grilled Chicken entered the world.
A Simple, Unique BBQ Chicken
This unique take on BBQ chicken is delicious and very easy to make. The sauce doesn’t need to be cooked beforehand. You just mix up a bunch of ingredients and drop your chicken onto the grill.
One important thing to note here, is that because there is a good amount of sugar in the BBQ sauce from the brown sugar and the hoisin sauce, you’ll need to grill the chicken for a good amount of time before you begin basting it with the sauce, or the sauce will burn. A little char is good, but you don’t want the chicken to get TOO dark.
It’s all in the instructions. Let’s start!
Char Siu Grilled Chicken: Recipe Instructions
Mix together the BBQ sauce by combining the brown sugar, hoisin sauce, Shaoxing wine, five spice powder, pepper, sesame oil, garlic, and red food coloring (if using). Put 1/2 of the BBQ sauce in a small bowl for serving, and set aside. The other half will be used to baste the chicken on the grill.
Prepare a medium-hot BBQ grill or preheat the broiler. If using the broiler, line a rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil.
Season the chicken with salt to taste, and put the chicken on the BBQ grill or, if broiling, put it on the prepared baking sheet. Grill or broil, turning once, for 10 minutes per side––making sure to keep an eye on the chicken to ensure it doesn’t burn.
Baste the chicken with the other half of the sauce mixture…
And continue to grill or broil until the chicken is cooked through (time will vary depending on the size of your chicken thighs and drumsticks).
Transfer your char siu grilled chicken to a serving platter, brush with the reserved sauce, and serve.
Summer is upon us so enjoy this Chinese char siu grilled chicken today!
Chinese Char Siu Grilled Chicken
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons hoisin sauce
- 1 tablespoon Shaoxing wine (can substitute rice wine or beer)
- ½ teaspoon five spice powder
- ¼ teaspoon white pepper
- ½ teaspoon sesame oil
- 2 cloves garlic (minced)
- 5 drops red food coloring (optional)
- 2 pounds chicken thighs and drumsticks (900g)
- salt
Instructions
- Mix together the BBQ sauce by combining the brown sugar, hoisin sauce, Shaoxing wine, five spice powder, pepper, sesame oil, garlic, and red food coloring (if using). Put 1/2 of the BBQ sauce in a small bowl for serving, and set aside. The other half will be used to baste the chicken on the grill.
- Prepare a medium-hot grill or preheat the broiler. If using the broiler, line a rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil.
- Season the chicken with salt to taste, and put the chicken on the grill or, if broiling, put it on the prepared baking sheet. Grill or broil, turning once, for 10 minutes per side––making sure to keep an eye on the chicken to ensure it doesn’t burn.
- Baste the chicken with the other half of the sauce mixture, and continue to grill or broil until the chicken is cooked through (time will vary depending on the size of your chicken thighs and drumsticks). Transfer the chicken to a serving platter, brush with the reserved sauce, and serve.
Partner loved it
I’ve made your dad’s Char Sui pork and it is delicious. I can see adapting the sauce and spice recipe to chicken. This recipe will be on my menu this upcoming weekend, along with homemade brats and a smoked (full packer) brisket. Happy eating.
Love that, Craig! Enjoy!
This recipe is amazing! Tastes exactly like char siu! My whole family loved this recipe!
You guys are amazing! I’ve literally never made anything that wasn’t amazing!! Thank you for all you do!
You’re welcome, Bree! So glad the family enjoyed this one!
Hello. I would like to marinate over night and back chicken in oven like the traditional pork char sui. Should I use that BBQ sauce recipe instead of the grilled one?
Can i just marinade it then grill it instead grill then baste it because i really like the rich flavour! I am really worried my chicken will dry out and not have a thick sauce if i grill it first than baste it, would it have a different change?
This was a very good recipe. I skipped the food coloring, doubled the cloves of garlic. Soaked the chicken drumsticks in the marinade for 30 minutes. I cooked 8 drumsticks in the oven at 375 F. Turned the meat over at 20 minutes, bushed the chicken generously with the marinade. Put back in the oven until meat is cooked (approximately 10 -15 minutes). Delicious. Sharing this recipe with friends. I did not need sauce for dipping the cooked meat.
Hi Annie, thanks for sharing your cooking details and for spreading the word to your friends ;-)
Wow! I loved it, my husband loved it! I made a little extra sauce, so that I could marinate the chicken in it. Dumped out the “marinade” and cooked on the BBQ grill. Will make again!
Hi Rebecca, I love this char siu chicken on the grill too!