Chinese BBQ Pork - First attempt

On my most recent trip to my Safeway, I noticed that they started to carry already cooked Chinese BBQ pork near the meat section, and my first reaction was " >_< " (that's the face I made, in case you're wondering.) It looked very artificial, however, I have not tasted it so I cannot comment on how it taste. It is very possible that it tastes decent or maybe it'll be the best Chinese BBQ pork I'll ever have, but for some reason, I doubt that. If someone has already tried it, feel free to set the record straight. I'm going to try to get a photo when I go there next time.

This prompted me to ponder how hard/easy it is to make Chinese BBQ pork at home, and having my boyfriend bugging me every so often to re-create the best Chinese BBQ pork he had when we were in Beijing earlier this year helped, too. So after a little research, I've prepared myself to go into the kitchen for my first attempt at Chinese BBQ pork (aka Cha Xiu).

I got a bottle of Lee Kum Kee Chinese BBQ Sauce, which you can get at any Asian supermarket. You might be able to get it in the normal supermarkets, but I will need to confirm that since I never look for Asian ingredients in Safeway. Below is a picture of what the bottle looks like.

Here is the recipe that I used:

2 pounds Pork loin
8 tablespoon Lee Kum Kee Chinese BBQ sauce
1 tablespoon rice wine
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1/2 tablespoon sugar ( I used brown sugar)
1 tablespoon water

Mix all the ingredients together and marinade the pork loin for 3 days.

Now the marinade has penetrated deep into the pork loin, the wait is finally over! We can start the roasting process! Preheat oven to 350F.

What I did was I took a couple big paper clips and bent them so they will have double hooks, one on each end. I hooked one end through the meat and hanged the other side on the heating coil and I put a roasting pan with water on the bottom to catch the drippings like the picture below. Please be extremely careful if you attempt to do this, as the oven is hot, and if you're accident prone, I would suggest you just roast the meat on a oven roasting pan.

I roast it for 20 minutes, took them out and brushed the pork loin with some Chinese BBQ sauce that I mixed with a little water and a drop of red food coloring I found in the pantry. Turned the heat to broil, put the pork loin back into the oven for another 10 minutes. And below is what I got.

The meat was definitely very flavorful, and the final glaze gave it a shiny and sticky look, which also added to the flavor. It was a little tougher than what I would like, but I found out it was because of my own stupidity; apparently during the last 10 minutes of broiling the meat, I was suppose to leave the oven slightly open, plus I roasted it a tad bit longer. I don't think the flavor is spot on, but it's decent. And for the first try, I think I'll cut myself some slack.

I have bought some pork shoulder loin from Costco already that has a bit more marbling and I think it will be more tender and juicier. I'm also thinking about testing out a few other recipes to see which one produces the most authentic flavor. So look out for Chinese BBQ Pork - part II later!