Air Fryer Char Siu (Chinese BBQ Pork)

Walk past a roast-meat shop in Guangzhou or Hong Kong and you'll see it hanging in the window: char siu — literally "fork-roasted" — strips of pork suspended on long forks over fire, glazed in maltose and honey and fermented bean paste until the surface goes glossy and the edges char to that unmistakable sweet-red. It's the workhorse of Cantonese cooking, the thing that crowns a plate of rice, fills a steamed bao, fries into rice, and tops a bowl of wonton noodles. Few dishes have traveled further or fed more people across the Chinese diaspora.

The honest tradeoff: real char siu gets its character from open fire and the deep, smoky char of meat hung over heat — an air fryer can't give you that smoke or the slightly chewy, rendered fat of a long roast. What it can do, surprisingly well, is build that sticky lacquered crust. The circulating heat caramelizes the honey-and-hoisin glaze fast, and brushing in layers during the last stretch gives you those dark, candied edges that are the best part. Use pork shoulder, not loin — you want the fat to keep it juicy — and don't rush the glazing. Note the allergen panel: hoisin carries both wheat and soy, so this one isn't gluten-free.

Use our go-to air fryer and a fast thermometer to hit doneness without drying the pork out.