The search for the missing Char Siew ingredient

There is so many version of recipe out there, it's hard to know which one will be "the one" that can produce the same taste and texture of our favourite Char Siew.

Actually, I do not really fancy Char Siew that much, I prefer them more as ingredient to a Char Siew Pau.

So why even bother to try making Char Siew when I can easily get my hand on the real deal?

To be honest I dunno, just out of curiousity I suppose from all the rave reviews that so many so call Char Siew recipe out there.

So where to start? Hmmm let's start with this one
http://lilyng2000.blogspot.com/2005/07/char-siew.html

As you can see her recipe ingredient is as follow

Lily Ng's Recipe for Char Siew
http://lilyng2000.blogspot.com/2005/07/char-siew.html

Ingredients:

250g pork - cut into 2 inches strips and score the strips(belly pork or marbled)

Seasonings:

2½ tbsp Hoisin sauce
1 tsp garlic powder
2 tsp soy sauce
1/2 cup sugar
1 tbsp wine - Mui Kai Lo
1/2 tsp 5 spice powder
1/4 tsp salt
Dash of pepper

Glaze:

1 tbsp dark soya sauce
1 tbsp honey or maltose
1 tbsp oil

Method:

Marinade pork with seasonings for 2 hours.(optional). Pork can be baked as soon as it is marinated.

Line a baking tray or stainless steel dish with aluminium foil. Transfer marinated pork on to it and cover with foil.

Bake char siew at 220 C/425 F for about 10 minutes.

Remove from oven. Open the top foil and bake again until gravy thickens and coat the pork.

Preheat grill and grill the pork until it is charred(not burnt), turning all the time for even grilling.

Dip into glaze and return pork to grill just for a short while, enough to give pork a shine.

---- end of Lily Ng's Char Siew instruction -----

I actually tried this one, my first try does not even come close to the taste of the Char Siew that is found in Kota Kinabalu. I baked it at 220 C for 10 minutes as instructed. Then I open the foil and bake them for another 10 minutes, turning it at 5 minutes. Then I grill the pork for another 10 minutes.

I might have overdone it because it was slightly dry :p but the taste is definitely different from those found in Kota Kinabalu.

So let me see what to fiddle to make it taste a little closer to the one I get here
1. Different part of pork
2. Some of the other recipe out have the following ingredients

• Oyster sauce
• Sesame oil
• Ginger
  
• Preserved bean curd
• Sweet yellow bean

Hmmmm I might also try a different type of wine, right now I use local rice wine because I don't know what is this "Mui Kai Lo" wine that Lily Ng suggested.

Oh well time to hunt for those ingredients :)