Adapted from Stir-Frying to the Sky’s Edge
If you don’t want to make it yourself and you live near a Chinatown you’ll see it hanging in the windows of some Cantonese restaurants. The homemade is of course far superior to store bought which often has red food coloring. For the hoisin sauce and bean sauce I prefer Koon Chun brand.
1 pound boneless pork shoulder or butt, well trimmed
2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon hoisin sauce
1 tablespoon dark soy sauce
1 tablespoon Shao Hsing rice wine or dry sherry
1 tablespoon bean sauce
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1/8 teaspoon ground white pepper
1 tablespoon honey*
Halve the pork lengthwise. In a small bowl, combine the sugar, soy sauce, hoisin sauce, black soy sauce, rice wine, bean sauce, sesame oil, and pepper. Pour mixture over the pork, making sure the pork is well coated. Loosely cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate overnight, turning the pork from time to time.
When ready to roast, let the pork come to room temperature for 30 minutes. Preheat the broiler. Place a rack in a roasting pan and add enough water so that it reaches a depth of 1/4-inch in the pan. Remove the pork from the marinade, reserving the marinade. Place the pork on the rack, leaving about 1-inch of space between the pieces. Using a spoon drizzle the honey as evenly as possible over the pork.
Carefully place the pan under the broiler (the pork should be about 4-inches from the broiler element), and broil until the meat is just beginning to char slightly, 7 to 10 minutes. Monitor the water level in the roasting pan to make sure it never falls below 1/4-inch. Turn the pork, brush with the reserved marinade, and broil until the meat is just beginning to char, 7 to 10 minutes, or until pork registers 155°F when tested with a meat thermometer. If pork is getting too charred, lightly cover with a small piece of aluminum foil. Carefully, remove barbecued pork from broiler and set on a cutting board to cool for 10 minutes. Cut the pork into 1/4-inch-thick slices and serve warm or at room temperature or save to use in Yangchow Fried Rice.
*Here is the local honey that we used: Old Greenwich Honey
