Char Siu Chicken

Char siu is the sticky, glossy, sweet-savory barbecued chicken, and I refused to give it up. The problem was never the chicken. The problem is the sauce math: made with bottled sauces, a serving of this runs about 915mg of sodium — most of my whole day, on one plate.

Mine runs 137mg a serving, and it still glazes like it means it.

The marinade is where it happens: my homemade soy sauce substitute and my homemade hoisin (those two live in my kitchen and, for now, in the book — I'm not printing them here), plus honey, garlic, rice wine vinegar, sesame oil, and five spice. The chicken sits in it at least half an hour, overnight if the day allows, then sears in a hot pan while the leftover marinade cooks down into the glaze.

Ten minutes of prep, fifteen on the stove, and dinner tastes like the takeout place I don't go to anymore. Better, honestly — because I know what's in it.

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The soy sauce substitute in this marinade is my Saltless Chef Soy Sauce.

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