Instant Pot Char Siu (Chinese BBQ Pork)

I was super excited as we decide to test this Instant Pot Char Siu Recipe (Chinese BBQ Pork).

Still remember the days that I would do my happy dance when my parents bring home a white Styrofoam box full of these sweet and savory pieces of Char Siu. I could never wait that long until dinner to eat them. 😛

Since, they usually leave them on the dining table as they prepare dinner in the kitchen, my siblings and I would go in stealth mode and gobble up a few pieces, then pretend nothing really happened. lol~ Actually, we weren’t the only ones, because Jacky did the exact same thing!

Now we don’t need to wait for those white Styrofoam boxes of goodies anymore because making Instant Pot Char Siu Chinese BBQ Pork at home is much easier than you’d think.

Ingredients for Instant Pot Char Siu

• Pork butt meat
• Honey
• Regular soy sauce
• Water
• Kosher salt
• BBQ Marinade
  • Chu Hou paste 柱侯醬
  • Chinese fermented red bean curd cubes 南乳
  • Chinese BBQ sauce 叉燒醬
  • Sesame oil
  • Shaoxing wine
  • Garlic powder
  • Regular soy sauce

Why Pork Butt Meat?

Pork butt meat or Boston butt is one of our favorite cuts of pork. Don’t worry, we’re not asking you to eat the rear end of the pork. 😉 This is actually the upper part of the pig’s shoulder, above the picnic shoulder cut in the front legs.

This cut of pork is marbled with enough fat to keep the meat moist while cooking. So, remember to pick a piece of pork butt that has some nice marble and fat if you want some melty results for your final Char Siu. Plus, pork butt is a relatively budget cut.

That’s why a lot of people like to use it to make BBQ pulled pork. More importantly, it’s one of the most common cuts to make the best Char Siu in Hong Kong.

Make sure you have these tools for making this Instant Pot Char Siu Recipe.

Ziploc bag is used for the marinate the pork with it.

Silicone basting brush: you’ll need to use it to baste and coat the pork with the honey sauce before placing it into the oven.

Testing for Instant Pot Char Siu

We’ve done 3 separate tests before we were satisfied with the results in converting our recipe for the Instant Pot Electric Pressure Cooker.

First Test

We’ve tried pressure cooking the pork butt meat by submerging it in one cup of water in High Pressure for 18 minutes and Natural Release for 12 minutes.

Results: The Char Siu meat was moist. However, it lacked flavors because the water diluted some of the flavors from the marinade.

Second Test

We’ve used the steam roasting method: pour one cup of water into the inner pot, place a Vegetable Steamer into the pot and place the pork butt meat in the basket. Then. pressure cook at High Pressure for 18 minutes and Natural Release for 12 minutes.

Results: The Char Siu meat was moist and has stronger flavors than the first result.

Third Test

We’ve used the steam roasting method with the same timing and release method. However, we’ve mixed one cup of water with the leftover marinade in the ziploc bag as much as we could and poured all the marinade mixture into the pot.

Though the marinade water mixture in the pot won’t touch the meat, the steam inside the pot will be infused with the flavors of the liquid. So when you pressure cook, the steam will force the flavors into the meat. But the flavor enhancements will be mild.

We’ve also seasoned the marinated meat with a pinch of kosher salt on each side to further enhance the flavors.

For Next Time: We want to try injecting some of the marinade into the meat before pressure cooking. hehe~ So, that’s it for now.

Now it’s your turn to take out your pressure cooker and cook some Instant Pot Char Siu (Chinese BBQ Pork)!