Char siu pork substitutes
Char siu pork substitutes — 6 options, ranked, with the exact amount
Use Siu yuk (Chinese roast pork belly)
Same amount by weight as the char siu pork
Diced Chinese roast pork belly, siu yuk, from the same barbecue counter is the easiest swap, or use any cooked pork such as leftover roast or pork chops tossed in a quick glaze of hoisin, soy sauce, honey and a pinch of five-spice. In fried rice or noodles, Chinese sausage or even good ham plus that glaze will do the job convincingly.
- Verdict —
- You'll taste it
- Best for —
- fried rice
Updated 26 Jul 2026 · no sponsored swaps
Every option, one card
Ranked| # | Substitute | Instead of char siu pork | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Siu yuk (Chinese roast pork belly)fried rice | Same amount by weightYou'll taste it | You'll taste it |
| 2 | Cooked pork tossed in a quick char siu glazefried rice | Same amount by weight of cooked porkWorks | Works |
| 3 | Chashu (Japanese braised pork belly)ramen | Same amount by weightYou'll taste it | You'll taste it |
| 4 | Chinese sausage (lap cheong)fried rice | ¾ the weight of the char siuTweak it | Tweak it |
| 5 | Ham or thick-cut bacon plus hoisin and honeyfried rice | Same amount by weightPlus 1 tbsp hoisin and 1 tsp honey per 8 ozTweak it | Tweak it |
| 6 | Marinated firm tofu or seitan with char siu glazevegetarian bao | Same amount by volumeYou'll taste it | You'll taste it |
Siu yuk (Chinese roast pork belly)
different taste and texture
The crackling-skinned roast pork sold next to char siu at Cantonese barbecue shops.
- Best for
- fried rice, noodle soups, rice plates, stir-fries
Available at exactly the same counter, so it is usually the most practical swap. It is much fattier and salt-forward rather than sweet, and it has no red lacquer, so a plate of char siu rice made with it looks paler and tastes savoury instead of candied. If the sweetness matters, toss the diced pork in a teaspoon of honey mixed with a teaspoon of hoisin off the heat.
Cooked pork tossed in a quick char siu glaze
similar taste and texture
Leftover roast pork, pork chops or pork shoulder cut into strips and coated in a fast homemade glaze.
- Best for
- fried rice, bao filling, noodles, rice bowls, salads
The most faithful result you can get without a barbecue shop, and worth the five minutes. Mix 2 tablespoons hoisin, 1 tablespoon soy sauce, 1 tablespoon honey, 1 teaspoon rice wine and a pinch of five-spice, then toss the pork in it over medium heat until sticky. You will not get the roasted red edges, so it tastes right but looks less dramatic, which matters for bao and rice plates.
Chashu (Japanese braised pork belly)
different taste and texture
Rolled pork belly simmered in soy, sake, mirin and sugar until meltingly soft, the pork you find on ramen.
- Best for
- ramen, rice bowls, noodle soups
People confuse chashu with char siu constantly, since the name is borrowed from the same Chinese words, but they are different foods. Chashu is braised rather than roasted, so it is soft and silky with no sticky exterior, and its flavour is soy-and-sake savoury rather than five-spice sweet. In ramen it is arguably the correct choice; in fried rice it will fall apart and taste less bright.
Chinese sausage (lap cheong)
similar taste, different texture
Sweet, firm, air-dried pork sausage, sliced thin on the bias.
- Best for
- fried rice, clay pot rice, sticky rice, stuffing
Excellent when char siu's job in the dish is sweet-savoury pork flecks scattered through rice, which is exactly its role in fried rice. It carries the same sugar-and-rice-wine sweetness, so the flavour lands close. It is firmer and much fattier though, so use a little less, render it in the wok first, and cook the rice in the fat that comes out.
Ham or thick-cut bacon plus hoisin and honey
different taste, similar texture
Supermarket cured pork glazed to imitate char siu's sweet lacquer.
- Best for
- fried rice, noodles, quick weeknight cooking
This is a workaround and worth being straight about: the cure gives it a distinctly hammy, brined flavour that char siu does not have, and bacon adds smoke that is frankly out of place in Cantonese food. That said, in fried rice with egg and scallion, glazed diced ham is convincing enough that most people will not question it. Cut back on the soy sauce elsewhere in the dish because both are salty.
Marinated firm tofu or seitan with char siu glaze
different taste and texture
Pressed tofu or seitan glazed and roasted with the same hoisin and five-spice mixture.
- Best for
- vegetarian bao, fried rice, noodle bowls, rice plates
The meat-free option, and it works better than you would expect because so much of char siu's identity lives in the glaze rather than the pork. Press the tofu hard, cut it thick, roast or pan-fry it until the edges firm up, then glaze. Expect no pork fat and therefore less richness in the mouth, so add a little sesame oil at the end to compensate.
Questions
5 questionsWhat is the difference between char siu and chashu?
Char siu is Cantonese: pork shoulder or belly marinated in hoisin, soy, sugar and five-spice, then roasted until sticky and slightly charred. Chashu is Japanese: pork belly rolled and gently braised in soy, sake and mirin until it is soft enough to fall apart. The Japanese word comes from the Chinese one, which is why they are so often mixed up, but they taste and behave differently.
Can I just leave the char siu out of fried rice?
Yes, and the dish still works, but you will notice the loss because char siu is providing both the sweetness and the savoury pork depth. Compensate with a teaspoon of sugar or honey and an extra splash of soy sauce, or add another savoury element such as Chinese sausage, shrimp or a well-browned egg. Plain fried rice without any of these tastes noticeably flat.
Can I use pork tenderloin to make char siu instead of shoulder?
You can, and many home recipes do because it slices neatly, but the result is drier and firmer since tenderloin has almost no fat. Shoulder or belly stays juicy through the high-heat roasting that makes the glaze set. If you use tenderloin, cook it to 145F and no further, and glaze it more heavily to make up for the leanness.
Is char siu the same as Chinese BBQ pork?
Yes, char siu is what English-language menus and packages usually mean by Chinese BBQ pork or Chinese barbecue pork. You may also see it written as cha siu or char sui. The one product it is not is siu yuk, which is the crisp-skinned roast pork belly sold beside it and is salty rather than sweet.
Where can I buy char siu, and how much do I need?
Cantonese barbecue shops and the hot food counters of larger Asian supermarkets sell it by weight, usually already sliced. Most recipes use it as a flavouring rather than a main protein, so half a pound goes a long way in fried rice or a batch of bao. Frozen packaged versions exist too, and they take a glaze well if they taste underseasoned.
Tips for substituting char siu pork
5 tips- Almost everything char siu tastes like comes from its glaze, not from the pork itself. That means the fastest good substitute is not finding similar meat, it is putting the glaze on meat you already have: hoisin, soy sauce, honey or maltose, rice wine and five-spice, in roughly 2 to 1 to 1 to 1 proportions with a pinch of five-spice.
- Glaze at the end and over lower heat than you think. The sugar in a char siu glaze burns fast and turns bitter, which is why homemade attempts often taste acrid. Brush it on during the last 10 minutes of roasting, or toss cooked pork in it off the direct heat.
- Char siu is almost always used already cooked and diced, so a substitute needs to be cooked pork rather than raw. If all you have is raw pork, cook it fully first by any method, then glaze, and do not try to do both at once in a hot wok.
- Char siu and Japanese chashu are two different things despite the shared name. If your recipe is Cantonese, fried rice, bao or a rice plate, you want the sweet roasted version. If it is a bowl of ramen, chashu is what the recipe means, and using sticky sweet char siu will make the broth taste candied.
- The bright red edge on shop-bought char siu comes from food colouring, not from the marinade. If you make your own it will be brown, which is completely correct and tastes identical, so do not chase the colour.