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    home » Recipes » Slow cooker

    Asian Pulled Pork, slow cooker, pressure cooker or oven

    Published: Aug 26, 2021. Modified: Aug 26, 2021By:Kylie·This post may contain affiliate links·

    Jump to Recipe Jump to Video
    asian pulled pork in bowls with sesame seeds and spring onions

    This delicious pulled pork is filled with Asian flavours and sticky and yummy! Perfect for meal prepping, just set and forget in the slow cooker, or cook at speed in the instant pot or pressure cooker, the whole family is going to love this Asian Pulled Pork! You can even make this is in a dutch oven. Makes at least 8 serves, so you can freeze extras to reheat for dinner at another time.

    asian pulled pork in a bowl with spring onions and sesame seeds on top of ricer and steamed green veggies
    Contents hide
    1 Why you're going to love this recipe
    2 What goes into the recipe
    3 How to make this recipe
    4 Instant Pot, Slow cooker or Dutch Oven
    5 Expert Tips and FAQs
    6 More pulled meat recipes
    7 Asian Pulled Pork

    Why you're going to love this recipe

    What's not to love about this sticky and deliciously sweet pulled pork? It's super versatile too- use it as a filling for pork buns, instead of peking duck in pancakes, in rice paper rolls, pulled pork sandwiches and burgers or even as a wonton filling!

    Here's why you're going to love this recipe:

    • quick and easy to make
    • kid friendly flavours
    • hands off cooking
    • serve it with yummy, easy fried rice or plain rice and steamed veggies
    • great for meal prep, because you make a big batch and can freeze in portions
    • sticky, sweet and yummy
    • pork shoulder is a relatively cheap cut of meat, so this is a more budget meal
    • shredded pork is easy to eat, soft and delicious

    What goes into the recipe

    don't forget to scroll to the recipe card for full amounts and method

    pork, sesame seeds, ginger, garlic, spring onions, hoisiong sauce, honey, mirin, soy sauce, sweet chilli sauce, chinese 5 spice powder
    • pork shoulder- this is a 2kg piece of pork shoulder. When I opened it up, inside it was cut in segments through the meat, but not all the way through. If yours isn't cut like that, then it's worthwhile doing it with a knife, to ensure you coat everything with the spice powder.
    • chinese 5 spice- this amazing spice blend is so good in asian dishes. The flavour it imparts to the pork is ESSENTIAL. If you don't have any (I have found it in just regular supermarkets), then you could try this recipe.
    • mirin- mirin is a favourite around here, it's similar to sake but has a much lower alcohol content. You can also get mirin flavour from the supermarket and it works just fine!
    • ginger- I use fresh ginger in this recipe, because I try to have it in the fridge all the time. If you don't have any, jarred ginger will work too!
    • sesame seeds- we are going to be toasting these in the recipe, so you can also cheat and buy the toasted.
    • the sauces- hoisin, soy and sweet chilli all work together here to create the amazing flavour. The sweet chilli has no heat to it, we use it in a lot of recipes the kids love, like these Sticky Chicken Wings.

    How to make this recipe

    • Chop the spring onions (Image 1)
    • Grate the ginger (Image 2)
    • Mix together the mirin, soy sauce, hoisin sauce, sweet chilli sauce and honey (Image 3)
    • Press the garlic into the sauce and mix well. (Image 4)
    chopping spring onions, grating ginger, mixing sauce, mincing garlic
    • Coat the pork shoulder in the 5 spice powder. See how it is kind of hasselbacked? Get right into those crevices with the rub and coat all of it.(Image 5)
    • Fry the pork until golden (wither in your dutch oven fry pan or instant pot) (Image 6)
    • Add the sauce and cup of water and cook using your preferred method (see the recipe card) (Image7)
    • Check the internal temp if you have a thermometer (95º celsius or 203F) and remove the prok from the heat. (Image 8)
    rubbing the pork, frying the pork, adding sauce, cooking
    • Place in a large dish and check that it shreds. (Image 9)
    • Shred completely. (Image 10)
    • Place back into the cooking liquid then bring to the boil (move your dutch oven to the stove, do this in your instant pot, or transfer to a large pot). (Image 11)
    • Combine the cornflour and water and mix well to get rid of lumps. (Image 12)
    removing the pork, pulling the pork, returning to the sauce, mixing the cornflour and water
    • Add the cornflour to the pot and boil for 5 minutes, until the sauce thickens. (Image 13)
    • Put the sesame seeds in a large pan and dry toast until golden (Image 14)
    • Put the pork into a large dish and sprinkle with half the sesame seeds and spring onions and stir through. Serve over rice and steamed veggies and top with the remaining sessame seeds and spring onions.
    adding the cornflour, toasting the sesame seeds, adding spring onions and sesame seeds

    Instant Pot, Slow cooker or Dutch Oven

    It really doesn't matter whether you cook this shredded pork in your slow cooker, instant pot, pressure cooker or dutch oven- whatever you choose, the flavours will concentrate and it will be amazing!

    • instant pot
      it only takes 1 hour and 10 minutes to cook this in the instant pot! The added benefit is you can do the whole process in there. Start the recipe by toasting the sesame seeds and you'll only use one pot.
    • slow cooker
      unless you have a slow cooker with a sear function, you will also need a large pot for cooking the sauce off at the end and for frying the pork at the beginning. Cook for 8 hours on low.
    • dutch oven
      Dry fry the sesame seeds first. Use your dutch oven for the frying at the beginning and the boiling at the end. It's important when using a dutch oven that you check the pork is shreddable, either with a thermometer or with forks.

    Expert Tips and FAQs

    Do I need to toast the sesame seeds?

    Yes! They add flavour and texture to the dish!

    How can I make slow cooker food taste amazing?

    Flavour, flavour, flavour! It also helps to freshen the dish up at the end with fresh ingredients, like the spring onions. I can teach you how to use your slow cooker for so many awesome family meals!

    Can I freeze this dish?

    Yes! In fact, it is perfect for meal prepping and you can freeze it in portions. Great for nights when you are super busy as you can just cook some rice, steam some greens and you're good to reheat the pork and eat!

    How else can I use this Asian Pulled Pork?

    It's awesome as a steamed bun filling, in rice paper rolls, in pancakes as a replacement for peking duck, in sushi bowls, as a sushi filling or even as a dumpling filling!

    asian pulled pork in bowls with sesame seeds and spring onions

    More pulled meat recipes

    • Shredded Mexican Chicken Thighs
    • Shredded beef carnitas with lime, slow cooker and pressure cooker method
    • Pineapple and lime pulled pork: slow cooker goodness!
    images of recipes overlaid with: want more family-friendly recipes?

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    bowl of asian pulled pork topped with spring onions and sesame seeds

    Asian Pulled Pork

    Deliciously sticky and sweet, this asian pulled pork can be made in the slow cooker, instant pot or dutch oven! Great for meal prepping and super simple to make.
    5 from 34 votes
    Print Pin Rate
    Course: dinner
    Cuisine: Modern Australian
    Prep Time: 10 minutes
    Cook Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
    Servings: 8 people
    Calories: 417kcal
    Author: Kylie

    Equipment

    Slow cooker (Optional)
    Instant Pot/ Pressure Cooker (Optional)
    Dutch Oven
    Prevent your screen from going dark

    Ingredients

    • 2 kgs boneless pork shoulder mine came in a net, when I removed the net, it was roughly cut into sections (but not all the way through), you could do the same if you want to ensure maximum adhesion of the spice rub
    • 2 tablespoons chinese 5 spice

    Sauce

    • 3 cloves garlic
    • 2 teaspoons ginger freshly grated
    • ¼ cup hoisin sauce
    • 3 tablespoons mirin
    • 3 tablespoons honey
    • 3 tablespoons soy sauce
    • 3 tablespoons sweet chilli sauce
    • 1 cup water

    Finishing

    • 1 tablespoon cornflour
    • 3 tablespoons water
    • 3 tablespoons sesame seeds
    • 3 spring onions sliced on an angle

    Instructions

    • Slice the spring onions.
    • Grate the ginger.
    • Combine the hoisin sauce, soy sauce, sweet chilli sauce, honey, mirin and ginger in a jug. Crush in the garlic. Mix well.
    • Coat the pork in the chinese five spice powder. Get into all the crevices, if your pork isn't sectioned (not right through) you can also section it, to ensure more spice rub coverage.
    • Heat your frypan or dutch oven or instant pot to high heat and fry the pork on all sides until golden brown.

    Instant Pot

    • Add the sauce and 1 cup of water. Cook for 1 hour and 10 minutes on high. Manual pressure release.

    Slow Cooker

    • Add the sauce and 1 cup of water. Cook for 8 hours on low.

    Oven

    • Add the sauce and 1 cup of water. Cook for 8 hours at 120 degrees celsius.

    Finishing instructions

    • Remove the pork from the pan and shred. It needs to have reached 95º celsius or 203F internally (use a thermometer) the other option is to give it a go- if it shred easily then it's done!
    • Put the pork and sauce together (fry pan, dutch oven on the stove or instant pot) and bring to the boil.
    • Combine the cornslour and water and mix together, then pour into the pan, stir and allow the sauce to boil for 5 minutes.
    • Remove to a large dish.
    • Add the sesame seeds to a large dry fry pan and toast them.
    • Top the pork with half of the sesame seeds and half of the spring onions. Stir through.
    • Serve with rice and stead veg, topping with remaining sesame seeds and spring onions at the table.

    Notes

    Serving suggestions:
    perfect served over rice with steamed veggies
    Freezing:
    This meat is perfect for freezing, I do it in batches so it can easily be added to our dinner.

    Recipe video

    Nutrition

    Sodium: 767mg | Calcium: 69mg | Vitamin C: 2mg | Vitamin A: 51IU | Sugar: 14g | Fiber: 1g | Potassium: 1032mg | Cholesterol: 150mg | Calories: 417kcal | Trans Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 5g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Fat: 11g | Protein: 58g | Carbohydrates: 20g | Iron: 4mg
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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Jean says

      August 27, 2021 at 6:04 pm

      5 stars
      This recipe is perfect with a cup of rice.

      Reply
    2. Mihaela | https://theworldisanoyster.com/ says

      August 27, 2021 at 5:42 pm

      5 stars
      You just gave me a great idea for dinner tonight! Thank you:))

      Reply
    3. Sarah T D says

      August 27, 2021 at 5:02 pm

      5 stars
      Really delicious and 3 out of my 4 kids loved it too (which is amazing!). Will definitely be making it again. I made it in the slow cooker which is perfect when you have 4 kids under 6! I hate the dinner time rush so love my slow cooker. Do you think it would be nice with mushrooms?

      Reply

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