Slow Cooker Asian Shredded Pork
Gosh, I love this Asian Shredded Pork recipe. Tender pulled pork soaked in crazy flavorful Asian-inspired spices. 10-minute prep and the slow cooker does all the work. Lots of leftovers, a.k.a. no cooking for a few days.
Whether you throw it over a bed of rice, or make a yummy Asian-inspired taco out of it, this is a super easy, highly flavorful meal that is a gem for any busy person trying to make a home cook meal!
What meat to use for Slow Cooker Asian Shredded Pork?
The beauty of this Asian Pulled Pork meal is that we let the slow cooker do ALL the hard work.
And when I say ALL the hard work, I mean it.
The awesome thing about slow cookers is that they can handle a pretty tough slice of meat, which also typically means, a fairly cheap slice of meat.
Use pork shoulders or pork butt, and the slow cooker will break down the fibers of the meat during the long and slow cooking process.
The end result is a piece of meat that is tender, melt-in-your-mouth, and easily-broken-apart.
Other Ingredients
Flavor is huge for me in my foods and cooking, and while the slow cooker is breaking apart the fibers of the meat, we will go ahead and let some yummy sauces and spices combine and permeate into the meat for many, many hours.
Because WHY NOT.
This recipe calls for fairly common Asian spices, and they can be found in the Asian aisle in your local grocery store. If not, see the affiliated links attached.
The sauces and spices used to make this delicious Asian Shredded Pork recipe are:
- soy sauce
- honey
- brown sugar
- sesame oil
- rice wine
- hoisin sauce
- few cloves of fresh garlic – avoid using garlic powder!
How to make Asian Pulled Pork
This is a dump everything into a slow cooker kinda meal…and I love it!
To make Asian Pulled Pork, add the piece(s) of meat, along with all the sauces and spices, into the crock pot.
Let it cook on high for 4-5 hours.
After the 4-5 hours of cook time. Shred the meat, and let it cook for another 30 minutes so that the pulled pork is well soaked with the sauce.
And truly that is it.
You got yourself some (or a lot of!) flavorful, tender, delicious Asian Shredded Pork.
Slow cooker meals are total life savers. There is something lovely about coming home after a long day and having dinner ready to be consumed.
How to serve Slow Cooker Asian Shredded Pork
Slow Cooker Asian Shredded Pork can be served in so many ways!
- On a bed of white or brown rice, or check out my Easy Mixed Vegetable Rice recipe
- Wrapped inside a tortilla
- Over noodles
- A side for instant ramen noodles
- Between two slices of bread or bun
- The possibilities are endless!
However you serve it, don’t forget to add garnishes.
Garnishes are fun, and no-cooking is required. They can add lots of textures and flavors, and turn a simple dish into a more complex one, without having to do much work!
Garnish with all or some of the below (all are no cook and super easy!):
- Sliced green onions
- Shredded cabbage
- Shredded carrots
- Chopped cilantro
- Sliced pineapple
- Cucumber
- Lettuce
- Again…the possibilities are endless!
ENJOY!!
Another yummy Asian-Inspired meals!
- Asian Salmon Salad with Ginger Soy Dressing
- Garlic Soy Chicken and Veggie Rice Bowl
- Steak Fried Rice
- Shrimp Stir Fried Noodles
- Vietnamese Noodle Bowl with Grilled Pork
- Simple Thai Noodle Bowl
- Ramen Noodle Stir Fry
- Chinese Style Curry with Juicy Meatballs (by Kitchen Sanctuary!)
Other Slow Cooker Recipes
- Slow Cooker Chicken Burrito Bowl
- Slow Cooker Chicken in Tomato and Herb Sauce
- Slow Cooker Chicken Taco Soup
- Slow Cooker Asian Ribs
- Slow Cooker BBQ Chicken Thighs
If you make this recipe PLEASE let me know how it goes in the comment box below, and share pictures of your creations on instagram by tagging #joyousapron! And while you are there, don’t forget to follow me!
Slow Cooker Asian Shredded Pork
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 – 2.5lbs lbs pork shoulder or pork butt
- 1/3 cup soy sauce
- 1/4 cup honey
- 2 tbsp brown sugar
- 1 tbsp sesame oil
- 1 tbsp rice wine
- 1 tbsp hoisin sauce
- 4-5 cloves garlic
Instructions
- Optional: Remove fat from the pork shoulders or pork butt. Bring meat to slow cooker.
- In a small ramekin, combine soy sauce, honey, brown sugar, sesame oil, rice wine, and hoisin sauce. Pour into slow cooker. Add garlic cloves.
- Toss meat around to coat all its surfaces with the sauce, but it does not have to be completely submerged in the sauce.
- Cook on high for 4-5 hours. Discard garlic cloves. Then use a fork to shred the pork (it should come apart easily) and then cook on high for another 30 minutes.
- Serve with rice, noodles or taco. And don’t forget to add garnishes! Enjoy!
Thank you for the suggestion of cooking on low for 8 hours! It turned out perfect. This recipe is so unbelievably flavorful; it made my tastebuds sing! Thank you for sharing!
Yay! Happy to hear that it turned out so well! Thanks for your kind review 🙂
I am using a 6.5lb butt. Should I double the ingredients that go in the crock?
Yes, I would double it.
We loved the flavor of this recipe but had texture issues with 4 hours on high with our slow cooker (Didn’t really shred so I chopped instead). We would make again doing it 8 hours on low. We opted to serve this up burrito style with some rice, scallions, coleslaw mix, and a hit of Japanese BBQ sauce. Everyone had seconds!
Thanks for sharing how it went, Carrie! Love your serving ideas. YUM!!
Everyone loves the flavor and it is so easy, thanks much!
Yay! So glad everyone loved the flavors! Thanks for sharing 🙂
I am planning on cooking a 6lb pork shoulder. Do you think it’s ok to slow cook it on low for 19 hours? I did that with Kalua pork before. Just want to see it’s ok with this recipe. Thanks! Excited to try this recipe.
I have not cooked it for 19 hours before. I don’t think you should cook for 19 hours on the slow cooker, but if you are smoking it on low for 19 hours I’m sure that should be fine.
just do 8 hours on low and if it doesn’t shred apart easily let it go until it does. I’m cooking this for the second time with double the meat then the recipe works and taste perfect Everytime. especially if you had some bang bang coleslaw. 1/2 cup mayo 1/4 cup sweet Thai chili and 1/4-1/2 teaspoon of Sriracha
if you like spice.
Do you think this recipe would work with boneless pork spare ribs?
I think it should work just fine!
Absolutely delicious!
Thank you!!
Wow! This was absolutely delicious. I served it over ramen noodles. I made an extra 1/2 serving of the sauce and garnished with matchstick carrots s and green onions. I will definitely make this again! Thank you for sharing.
You bet! Happy to hear that you enjoyed it so much!
Hello – just wondered if it would be possible to reduce the size of this recipe and if so do I need to adjust cooking time? I have around 750grams which I think is a bit over 1 and a half lb of leftover pork shoulder from another recipe and would love to make this!
With 1.5pounds you can probably cook on high for closer to 3-4 hours.
I cooked on low for 6.5 hours and pressure cooked on low for 30 minutes. I also added a splash of Chinese cooking wine, red chili flakes, and pepper to the mix and holy cow it was delicious. Made a quick veggie stirfry and made lettuce boats. 10/10 highly recommend. Might try making spring rolls with the pork next time 😇
Thanks for sharing! I’m so glad you enjoyed this recipe!
This is one of my favorite recipes of all time!! So easy to throw in the slow cooker before heading to work, minimal ingredients, and so flavorful! My husband asks for it and the little kids eat it 🙂 thank you!!
Thank you so much for sharing, Amy! So glad your family enjoyed it.
Hello! I just discovered your website and excited to try this recipe for our family! Can I leave out the hoisin or replace with something? Thanks so much!
Thank you so much! Hoisin does provide a unique flavor but you can leave it out if you really want to. I do think the flavor has less depth without it. Another option is to use oyster sauce instead of hoisin – it’s a different flavor than hoisin but it does give it another level of depth.
Made this a couple of times and absolutely love it!
That’s wonderful!
Super easy and delicious! in Australia we have pork leg or shoulder, I used leg, removing the fat and skin, to make crackling later. Even the fussy 6 year old loved it.
That’s so great! Thanks for sharing!