It’s firm enough to ensure it doesn’t just disappear in your mouth, lasting long enough for you to savour the flavours that leak out with every juicy bite.
Quick Bite
Eating this is a savoury experience that’ll leave you salivating throughout, and you’ll be left reminiscing about that charred flavour hours after you’ve finished. If you’ve never had char siew prepared like this, it’s definitely worth shelling out just to see what you’ve been missing out on. Full disclosure, it’s going to be hard to go back to ordinary char siew afterwards when this is just so good.
Char Siew takes many, many forms. There’s always at least 3 different types of char siew being sold in every hawker centre and all of them will be distinct. This also means that everyone’s favourite type of char siew is going to be different. It might not be your favourite, but I think Charlicious’ Black Pig belly char siew will probably rank up there on your list of all-time greats.
THE TEXTURE
Most places that serve char siew will still have a dry spot somewhere in the cut. You’ll be able to see it appearing as visible cracks in the meat where there’s not enough intramuscular fat to keep the muscle fibres from separating. Not here. The meat is consistently moist throughout, and holds it shape when sliced. Ask for it to come unsliced, and you’ll have free reign to cut it as thick or thin as your whims desire. Cutting through it reveals a few alternating layers of fat sandwiched between a good amount of meat on either side. It’s got a meaty tenderness to it, with a nice bounce. Most importantly, it’s firm enough to ensure it doesn’t just disappear in your mouth, lasting long enough for you to savour the flavours that leak out with every juicy bite.
The blackened surface adds a pop of character to the otherwise uniformly tender meat. The top is charred just enough to add a firm edge, with a slightly sticky and tacky consistency. It’s the part that defines great char siew, and it’s done perfectly here texture wise – not too hard, where the outer rim is dry and breaks teeth, and not too soft, where it leaves you feeling like you’ve missed something entirely. It’s fun to eat, sticks to your teeth and it’s arguably the high point of eating this char siew. The fat is rendered just enough to fall apart in your mouth, adding a pleasurable smoothness that contrasts against the thicker meat. The choice of pig really makes a noticeable difference here in terms of fat distribution and subsequent mouthfeel.
THE TASTE
The first thing you taste is that wonderful marinade glazing the surface of the char siew. Sweet notes start, followed by the oily flavour of the pork fat and rounding off with the burnt bits. If you like the sweetness of the glaze, Charlicious also kindly provides a little tub of less viscous sauce for dipping or pouring, but the flavours are well balanced out of the box as is. The slightly bitter, charred taste is a marked contrast from the sweet marinade and the fatty interior, adding a new flavour dimension that Singaporeans will know and love. Imagine “wok hei” (a kind of smoky aroma made by extremely high temperatures) but for roast meat. The flavours of the marinade persist throughout the meat, and you’re never left alone with any one flavour. Great care has been taken to ensure each belly cut has seen enough time to rest and marinate before the cooking process, and the results speak for themselves through the flavour and the eating experience.
