Siu ji yuk or Chinese crispy roast pork is one of my favorite things to eat. It probably stems from small kid time when I would go to Chinatown with my popo. We would always get little samples of the juice, crispy-skinned roast pork to taste whenever she went to her favorite stall.
Usually I eat siu ji yuk with a little bit of oyster sauce for dipping. But my newest favorite way of eating it is in this roast pork poke. The original inspiration comes from Side Street Inn‘s Kapahulu menu – one of our favorite places to go.
Culinary influences
Roast pork poke is a perfect example of the blending you find in modern Hawaii cooking. The culinary influences from Chinese, Hawaiian, and Filipino combine to create this dish and include:
- Chinese – siu ji yuk or Chinese crispy roast pork is the base of this dish
- Hawaiian – poke is traditionally fresh, cubed, raw fish with onion, green onion, and limu or ogo (seaweed) seasoned with soy sauce, sesame oil, salt, and other flavors. Forgoing the fish for roast pork, you will see many of the same flavors in this dish
- Filipino – lechon is whole pig, roasted on a spit creating tender meat with crispy, flavorful skin, similar to siu ji yuk. This dish takes the idea of the sauce typically served with lechon, which is sweet, tangy, and savory, as inspiration to create a vinegary, slightly sweet, and spicy sauce that is a perfect foil to the fatty pork.
To finish the dish, there is lots of fresh cilantro and halved grape tomatoes for freshness.
Serving tips
- Don’t make the poke too far in advance as you want to preserve the crispy skin of the pork. You can make it an hour or two ahead, at the most. If you’re taking it for a potluck, keep the dressing separate and toss together just before serving.
- The pork should be slightly warm or at least room temperature, not hot. Don’t serve it cold. If you purchased or made the pork a day ahead, heat it up slightly before pulling the dish together.
- The recipe calls for shallots because they’re milder and sweeter but thinly sliced onion will also work.
- If you don’t have fresh chilies, you can use a spicy sesame oil instead. Or you can leave them out if you don’t like heat.
Roast Pork Poke
- Total Time: 15 minutes
- Yield: 6 1x
Description
This dish blends Chinese, Filipino, and Hawaiian influences for a delicious appetizer, snack, or potluck dish.
Ingredients
1 pound siu ji yuk (Chinese roast pork)
2 large shallots, thinly sliced*
1½ cups grape tomatoes, halved
1 cup coarsely chopped cilantro
For the dressing
1½ tablespoons sugar
½ cup plus 2 tablespoons distilled white vinegar
2 tablespoons soy sauce
¾ teaspoons sesame oil**
Chopped fresh chiles, to taste, optional**
Instructions
Chop the siu ji yuk into bite size batons, making sure each piece gets a bit of the crispy skin. Place in a bowl along with the sliced shallots, halved tomatoes, and cilantro. Set aside.
In a separate bowl, add the dressing ingredients. Mix until the sugar is dissolved, Set aside.
Just before serving, toss the roast pork mixture with the dressing. Serve immediately.
Notes
Do not prepare this dish too far in advance. This dish is best served when the roast pork is slightly warm and the skin is still crunchy (definitely not when cold from the refrigerator).
*Can be substituted with ½ small onion, thinly sliced
**You may also substitute hot sesame oil in place of fresh chiles and regular sesame oil
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Category: Appetizers
- Cuisine: Hawaiian-American
Nutrition
- Calories: 224
- Sugar: 5 g.
- Sodium: 870 mg
- Fat: 14 g.
- Saturated Fat: 5 g.
- Carbohydrates: 10 g.
- Fiber: 1 g.
- Protein: 12 g.
- Cholesterol: 47 mg.
Keywords: Chinese roast pork
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