This recipe for Keto Chinese BBQ Pork is also known as Char Siu. It's a zero carb food that makes a great low carb appetizer or main.
Oy.
My fire alarm has been going off all morning as I cooked up this Keto Chinese BBQ Pork recipe. I have an overly cautious fire alarm, I'm afraid.
It reminded me of something funny that I read the other day.
"I wish my fire alarm had a button for 'I'm just cooking." Ain't that the truth.
The fire alarm was going off because I steamed a Keto BBQ pork tenderloin in the oven, and I had to open the oven door to baste it a couple times.
It got pretty steamy up in here. But the end result was worth it. I had a zero carb Chinese BBQ pork tenderloin or "char siu". Regular BBQ pork has somewhere between 8-10g net carbs per serving, which is crazypants. 10 carbs? For meat? No thank you.
Luckily we can make the BBQ sauce sugar-free very easily.
I based this recipe on a "healthified" char siu from the the Skinny Fork. She used a pork tenderloin instead of the usual pork butt to cut down on fat, but if you are on a fat loving Ketogenic diet, you might want to switch back to pork butt.
How'd this Keto Chinese BBQ Pork get so red?
I used red food coloring to make the Chinese BBQ sauce look authentic, but if you are just making it for yourself, you should probably skip the red dye. It's a bit of a mess.
Besides, you'll have your hands full dealing with the fire alarm.
📋 Recipe
Keto Chinese BBQ Pork (Char Siu)
This recipe for low carb Keto Chinese BBQ pork is also known as Char Siu.
- Prep Time: 4:25
- Cook Time: 1:20
- Total Time: 5 hours 45 minutes
- Yield: 8 servings 1x
- Category: Entree
- Cuisine: Chinese
Ingredients
2-3 pounds pork tenderloin (2 one pound pork tenderloins)
BBQ Sauce:
½ cup sugar-free pancake syrup
6 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
6 tablespoons coconut aminos or soy sauce
½ cup Swerve or equivalent granulated sweetener
1 tablespoon sriracha sauce
3 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
½ tablespoon sesame oil
1 teaspoon Chinese 5 spice blend
1 teaspoon red food coloring (optional)
Instructions
1. Wash pork tenderloins and dry with paper towels. Trim the fat from the pork tenderloins.
2. If using food coloring, wear plastic gloves when handling BBQ sauce. Add all BBQ sauce ingredients to a blender and blend until garlic is liquified, 30 seconds.
3. Add BBQ sauce to a small sauce pan and bring to a boil. Simmer for 20 minutes until somewhat thickened. Allow to cool for 10 minutes.
4. Add pork tenderloins and BBQ sauce to a 1 gallon plastic bag and coat all sides with sauce.
5. Marinate in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours and up to 24 hours.
6. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Fill a large casserole dish or roasting pan with water and place a cooling rack on top. Place pork tenderloins on rack and put it in the oven. Add left over BBQ Sauce to a small bowl.
7. Roast for 45-60 minutes until internal temperature reaches 145 degrees F. Remove from the oven every 10 minutes during roasting to turn the pork tenderloins and brush both sides with more BBQ sauce.
8. Allow pork tenderloins to rest for at least 10 minutes before cutting into ¼ thick slices.
Notes
Nutritional Info is for a 2 pound pork tenderloin, cut into 8 (¼ pound) servings
Nutrition
- Serving Size: ¼ pound
- Calories: 224
- Fat: 10
- Carbohydrates: 0
- Fiber: 0
- Protein: 30
Keywords: Low Carb BBQ Park, Keto BBQ Pork, Low Carb Char Sui, Keto Char Sui
If you liked this Chinese appetizer, then you might like my recipes for Scallion Pancakes, Dumplings and Chicken Potstickers.
aNNa says
This is the best keto char sui I've tried yet. Thanks for the recipe!
★★★★★
Emily Krill says
No problem!😊
Christina says
Making this tonight, can't wait!
★★★★★