Charah

We are Clara and Flora. We are close friends who grew up in Hong Kong, lived internationally, and are now based in Brooklyn, New York.

For close to two decades in the US, we craved eating char siu (叉燒). Char siu is an iconic Hong Kong dish: juicy, thick-cut slices of meat (typically pork) glistening beneath a caramelized, charred coat, striking the perfect balance between sweet and savory, with a hint of rose wine fragrance and a depth no other barbecue reaches.

Our shared desire to eat authentic Hong Kong-style char siu set us on a five-year quest to perfect the recipe, squeezed in over nights and weekends around our careers in law and tech. After many tastings, countless iterations, and validating it with our closest friends (and often harshest critics!), we finally landed on a flavor that tastes just like home.

That’s when it hit us. If we couldn’t find it on the shelves, we’d have to put it there ourselves — so more people could make authentic char siu at home in a few simple steps, and take the flavor even further as a marinade, a glaze, a stir-fry sauce, or even a dip.