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Sliced char siu pork tenderloin with sticky glaze, served with rice and green beans

Sticky Char Siu Pork Tenderloin

Pork tenderloin marinated in hoisin, honey, soy and five-spice, roasted hot, then brushed with the reduced marinade and broiled until sticky and charred at the edges.
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Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 40 minutes
Marinating Time 4 hours
Servings: 4 servings
Course: Dinner, Main Course
Cuisine: Chinese
Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients
  

Char Siu Marinade
  • 3 tbsp hoisin sauce
  • 2 tbsp soy sauce
  • 3 tbsp honey
  • 1 tbsp Shaoxing wine or dry sherry optional
  • 1 tsp toasted sesame oil
  • 1/2 tsp Chinese five-spice powder or the homemade blend below
  • 3 cloves garlic minced
  • 1 pinch white pepper black pepper works too
  • red food coloring a few drops, optional
Pork
  • 1 pork tenderloin about 1 1/2 lb, silver skin trimmed
Homemade Five-Spice Blend (if you can't find it)
  • 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 1/4 tsp fennel seed crushed
  • 1 small pinch ground cloves
  • 1 pinch black pepper
  • 1 pinch ground anise optional

Equipment

  • Sheet Pan
  • Aluminum Foil
  • Small Saucepan
  • Instant-Read Meat Thermometer
  • Basting Brush

Method
 

Marinate
  1. Whisk together all the marinade ingredients.
  2. Pat the tenderloin dry and put it in a zip-top bag or shallow dish. Pour the marinade over it and turn to coat. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours or overnight, turning once if you can.
Roast
  1. Heat the oven to 425°F and line a sheet pan with foil.
  2. Lift the tenderloin out of the marinade and let the excess drip back into the bowl. Save every bit of that marinade for the glaze. Place the pork on the sheet pan.
  3. Roast for 30 to 35 minutes, until the thickest part reads 135°F. A thinner tenderloin may be ready closer to 20 to 25 minutes, so start checking early.
Glaze and Broil
  1. While the pork roasts, pour the reserved marinade into a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Bring it to a full rolling boil, stirring constantly, and boil until it reduces by about a third and coats the back of a spoon, 3 to 5 minutes.
  2. When the pork hits 135°F, turn the oven to broil. Brush the glaze over the whole tenderloin. Broil about 6 inches from the element for about 5 minutes, until the glaze bubbles and chars in spots. Watch it closely.
  3. Rest for 5 minutes (it should reach about 145°F). Slice and drizzle with any leftover glaze.

Notes

Five-spice: no store-bought five-spice? Mix the homemade blend and use all of it in place of the 1/2 tsp.
Cooking sherry is already salted, so don't add any extra salt.
Temperature: tenderloin is lean. Pulling it at 135°F and letting the broil and rest carry it to 145°F keeps it juicy.
Leftovers keep 3 to 4 days in the fridge and are great in fried rice.
🛒 Shop the gear I used in this recipe