Tomorrow is my husband’s birthday. It’s been a rough few months as we have been living apart .. he started his new job in Madison, WI back in mid-August and I stayed in Washington with the girls so we could maintain some stability for them while waiting to close on our new house. Fortunately, Paul was able to come back and visit once a month and on his last visit in October, I made one of his favorites.
Asian Pulled Pork.
Inspired by the rice bowls you can get at Chipotle, I wanted to create an Asian inspired rice bowl dish with pulled pork. I highly recommend pork shoulder or pork butt (which costs less as well!); not a lean pork loin for this recipe. You want a good slab of pork with an average amount of fat, which, when slow cooked, will come out delicious and your kitchen will smell amazing.
Because your slow cooker is doing all the work and you’re just cutting up raw veggies, this is really an easy meal to pull together. You just need to plan ahead, set the pork in the slow cooker in the morning and you will have a delicious meal to come home to. I hope you enjoy!
Asian Pulled Pork Brown Rice Bowl
Ingredients
For the pork:
- 1/4 cup low-sodium soy sauce + more for mixing in the rice bowl if needed
- ½ cup hoisin sauce
- 3 tablespoons ketchup
- 3 tablespoons rice vinegar
- ¼ cup honey
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1½ tablespoons peeled and grated fresh ginger
- 2 tablespoons sesame oil + more for mixing in the rice bowl
- 1½ teaspoons Chinese five-spice powder optional
- 2 pounds of boneless Boston butt pork roast or pork shoulder; cut into large chunks
For the Toppings:
- romaine lettuce shredded or cut lengthwise
- assortment bell peppers red, yellow and/or orange, cut in thin strips
- shredded carrots
- green onions diced
- dried seaweed gim for garnish
- sesame seeds
- cooked brown rice
Special equipment needed:
- slow cooker or crock pot
Instructions
For the pork:
- Whisk all the sauce ingredients together in a medium sized mixing bowl. Set aside. Place the pork (cut up into large chunks) into the slow cooker, add in the sauce and toss to coat. Cover and slow cook the pork on low for about 6-8 hours. Start checking the pork at about the 4 or 5th hour if possible. When the pork is ready, remove the pork from the slow cooker and shred the pork with two forks. The pork should easily come apart. At this point, you can add the pork back into the slow cooker to soak up more of the liquid and flavor or you can simply assemble your rice bowl.
For the toppings and to assemble:
- Chop, slice and prep all of your raw vegetables. Set aside. Place your cooked brown rice into serving bowls, top with the shredded romaine lettuce and top with some of the pulled pork. Continue to top with the rest of the fresh, raw veggies: bell peppers, carrots, green onions. Lightly drizzle on some sesame oil and low sodium soy sauce. Garnish with the gim and sesame seeds. Mix and enjoy!
Recipe adapted from my Bibimbap Tacos with slow cooked Asian Pork recipe.
If you follow me, you know I am a part of a fabulous group called Sunday Supper. . well, we also celebrate WEEKDAY suppers!! Here are some great ideas and recipes for weekday suppers. I’m closing out this awesome week but be sure to check out this fabulous line-up for Weekday Supper from earlier this week!!
- Monday – Supper For A Steal – Spinach and Mushroom White Pizza
- Tuesday – Cindy’s Recipes and Writings – Shrimp and Crab Cakes
- Wednesday – Basic N Delicious – Chickpeas and Chicken Stew
- Thursday – Adriana’s Best Recipes – Fideo Mexican Style
