Homemade Char Siu Sauce - Full of Plants (2024)

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I have a confession to make – for months, I used a non-vegan char siu sauce. Although I was confident that the char siu sauce I was buying at my local Asian store was just composed of sugar, soybeans, and five-spice powder, it was actually not the case! One day, as I was waiting for my tofu to marinate, I checked the label on the packaging. It contained honey! How could I miss that!?

Long story short: As a huge fan of char siu, I decided to come up with my own plant-based version. It not only tastes incredibly SIMILAR to the store-bought one, but it’s also healthier! My wife and I use this sauce literally EVERYWHERE. From marinating tofu or seitan to brushing roasted veggies, or making a sauce for noodle stir-fries, it’s incredibly versatile and will make your dishes addictively delicious!

⭐️ Why You Will Love It

It tastes like the original.

If you are familiar with Lee Kum Kee char siu sauce, you will feel right at home with this homemade version! My recipe has the same delicious taste and thick texture! Plus, unlike the pre-made version, it is free from refined sugar and added additives, making it a healthier alternative.

As a big fan of the flavor of the Lee Kum Kee sauce, I tried my best to make this homemade sauce as close as possible to the original. It’s quite sweet and salty, with notes of garlic and five-spice. If you want it less sweet, you can use brown rice syrup, or dilute the sauce with water when using it as a marinade, for example.

Ready in 15 minutes.

The thing with homemade condiments is that I tend to make them a few times, and later on, out of laziness, I will just buy the stuff from the supermarket. This is not the case with this recipe. It’s fuss-free, ready in less than 15 minutes, and very hard to mess up. To be honest, since creating this recipe, I have never bought a jar of char siu sauce again.

It keeps for weeks.

Due to its high sugar and salt content, this sauce keeps incredibly well. You can store it for at least two weeks in the refrigerator. You can actually probably store it for longer than that, but I have never tried as we tend to use it all within 10 days.

📘 What Is Char Siu Sauce

Char Siu sauce (叉烧酱), also called Chinese barbecue marinade, is a popular condiment commonly used in Chinese cooking. It is thick, sweet, salty, and flavored with five-spice powder. It is often used to glaze braised or grilled meats but can also be used as a marinade or to add flavor to noodle dishes, stir-fries, etc.

🧄 Ingredient Notes

Here are the ingredients you will need to make your own char siu sauce:

Agave syrup

To replace the different types of sugar used in the original version (they use a combination of sugar, honey, and malt syrup), I use agave syrup. It does a great job sweetening the sauce and giving it a syrupy consistency. I also tried this recipe with brown rice syrup, and while it results in a slightly less sweet sauce, it works great too.

I do not recommend using maple syrup as the flavor would be overpowering. If not vegan, simply use neutral liquid honey.

Hoisin sauce

The original sauce uses fermented soybean paste which is quite tricky to find. I cannot always find it, so instead, I use hoisin sauce which is more widely available. Hoisin sauce adds a kick of umami and a subtle tanginess. You can use store-bought or follow my recipe to make your own hoisin sauce.

Brand recommendation: My favorite brand of hoisin sauce is Amoy, but Lee Kum Kee tastes pretty good too.

Soy sauce

A teaspoon of soy sauce adds extra saltiness and gives the sauce a darker color. I use regular soy sauce from Kikkoman but tamari or coconut aminos will work too.

Garlic

You can use either 1/4 teaspoon of dried garlic or one clove of fresh garlic. I personally prefer the latter as it gives the sauce a slightly more pungent aroma.

Five-spice powder

Five-spice powder is a Chinese spice blend that, as its name suggests, consists of five spices: anise, cloves, cinnamon, Sichuan pepper, and fennel. It’s a very popular spice mix used in Chinese cuisine that is used in marinades, stews, soups, or to rub meats before cooking. Five-spice powder adds depth and complex flavors to the sauce and is essential to creating that typical char siu flavor.

Where to buy it: Nowadays, five-spice powder can be found in most supermarkets, in Asian stores, or online.

Cornstarch

Without any thickener, the sauce tends to be quite runny, hence I thickened it with cornstarch. If you don’t have cornstarch on hand, tapioca starch or potato starch can be good alternatives. Just be aware the consistency will be slightly different if you use any of those.

🥣 How to Make It

1. Add the liquid ingredients. Add the agave syrup, water, hoisin sauce, and soy sauce to a high-speed blender.

2. Add the dry ingredients. Next, add the salt, five-spice powder, garlic, and cornstarch.
3. Blend until smooth. Blend on high speed for 20-30 seconds or until the garlic is fully blended into the liquid.

4. Heat until thickened. Once blended, transfer to a saucepan and heat over medium heat, whisking constantly, until the sauce thickens. At first, the sauce will have a light brown color but will darken as it cooks.
5. Let cool. Remove the saucepan from the heat and let the sauce cool for a few minutes before transferring to a clean jar. The sauce is now ready to use!

📔 Tips

• Adjust the sweetness and saltiness. While I tried to balance the saltiness and sweetness as best as possible, you can definitely adjust it to your liking by using more/less agave syrup and salt.
• Do not omit the five-spice powder. It is a key ingredient in char siu sauce. It’s what gives the sauce its specific flavor.
• Adjust the consistency. If you want a thicker sauce, slightly increase the amount of cornstarch.

🍜 How to Use It

Char siu sauce can be used in many different ways. Here are a few ideas:

• As a marinade: This is probably my top use for this sauce! Marinade tofu, tempeh, jackfruit, soy curls, or vegan chicken with a few tablespoons of char siu sauce for 1 hour before either sautéeing, grilling, or baking them.
• In vegetable stir-fries: Stir in a tablespoon or two of the sauce at the end of cooking for a sweet and salty dish.
• In noodle dishes: Dilute a couple of tablespoons of the sauce with a tablespoon of the noodles cooking water. Add some chopped chili and a teaspoon of rice vinegar, and coat the noodles with the sauce! I personally love these Vegan Char Siu Beef Noodles!
• As a glaze: Brush the sauce over baked tofu, seitan, burgers, vegan ribs, or your plant-based meat of choice!

Marinate for at least a few hours. When using this sauce to marinate your plant-based meat of choice, ensure you let it marinate for at least 1 hour or preferably overnight. This will allow the plant-based meat to absorb the rich flavors of the char siu sauce.

❄️ Storing

• To store: This char siu sauce can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks. I don’t recommend freezing it, as it contains cornstarch and that would affect its consistency.

💬 FAQ

This Char Siu sauce is SO good! It is garlicky, sweet, salty, and packed with complex flavors from the five-spice. You will never want to go back to the store-bought one!

⭐️ Did you like this recipe? Let us know in the comments below, and tag us on Facebook, Instagram, or Pinterest!

Note:This recipe was first released in June 2021 and was updated in May 2024 with new photos and process shots.