Char Sui Extreme!

I'm looking forward to the Parent/Child Dim Sum class that coming up on October 12 because my current appetite mood is definitely East, not West.

Maybe it was all the noodle shops we frequented on vacation; when we got tired of deciding where to eat at night, one of us would invariably say, "let's go to the Noodle Box". Back at home and facing an empty fridge, my first impulse was to load it up with all the usual suspects. But then the Asian noodle craving took over again.





(An aside: I'm not talkin' ramen noodles, friends. A brick o' fried noodles with a sachet of MSG and salt? Pass. Unless you're ramen-broke, there's no reason to eat these.)

So why not just continue the noodle vogue? Chuck would happily eat Asian noodles every night of the week and I love their ease and versatility. They are actually a very easy weeknight meal, especially if you devote the odd half-hour to prepping ingredients to future fry-ups. And it's easy to whip up a big jar of stir-fry sauce - or buy a commercial one (ugh!).

Noodle and veggies - great. But what about the protein? Well, there are always slivers of BSCB (boneless skinless chicken breasts) which we loathe, so forget it. Beef is nice, but on the not-so-much list. Ditto tofu. Frozen shrimp rock, since (a) they're always in the freezer, and (b) they take no time to thaw. But having some char siu on hand is the best.

Char siu is a Cantonese thing, a reddish, charred pork you sometimes see in Chinese restaurants and it's the bee's knees. We'll be using it in the upcoming dim sum class, but it's good in dumplings, stir-frys - and noodles!

If only I had a stack of those Chinese take-out boxes to serve them in...

Char Siu ("Forked Pork")

This is great prepared on the grill, too. You can make it redder by adding a little red food coloring - but that would be gross.

12 oz. Boneless pork tenderloin
3 Tablespoons soy sauce
1 Tablespoon hoisin sauce
1 Tablespoon rice wine or sherry
2 minced garlic cloves
2 teaspoons brown sugar
Minced grated ginger and a pinch of five-spice powder

Combine marinade ingredients.  Pour over pork (use a plastic bag, sealing tightly).  Marinate at room temp for 45 minutes  or overnight in fridge (bring to room temp before roasting).

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. 

Remove the pork from the bag - reserve a little of the marinade. Place meat on rack in a shallow roasting pan.  Roast for 20-25 minutes (or to an internal temperature of 155 degree F.)

Switch the oven to Broil. Brush the pork with the reserved marinade, move the pan closer to the heat source, and char it for a few minutes. Let the meat stand for 5 minutes before slicing thinly.

Cool and wrap; will keep in the fridge for 3-4 days.