Slow Cooker Chinese Hacked Pork
Slow Cooker Chinese Hacked Pork is like a pulled pork recipe with a Chinese five-spice twist! Learn how to make this tender, flavorful Chinese BBQ Pork Recipe that is amazing over rice, or noodles, or folded into lettuce wraps! One of our favorite slow cooker meals.
Update February 2018: I have decided to dig WAYYYYY back in the archives this year and breathe some new life into some of my oldest, earliest recipes. This Slow Cooker Chinese Hacked Pork was originally published in May 2012. The original post didn't even have photos! But the recipe is SOLID.
My small boys inhaled this meal when it was part of our regular rotation six years back. Six years! Holy hell I have been publishing recipes on the internet for a long little while.
Anyway, my now teen-aged and mostly grown guys also inhaled this recipe. It's a good one.
Stick around for a few tips and tricks + pantry hacks just in case you can't find a few of the ingredients.
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Original post text/ what was I thinking follows...
It is no secret that I love to read. I have an insatiable appetite for words on a page- newspapers, magazines, short stories, memoirs, blogs, and everything in between. Novels are are like the frosting on my daily read cake. When I feel like the dishes and laundry can spare my attention for a little while, when there's no third grade homework begging my not-so-patient direction, when our evening meal is done being stirred or sauteed, I reach for whatever novel has captured my imagination and tune everything out. I deserve a time out, right?
Right.
Something happens to my family when it appears as though I'm trying to read. Suddenly everyone needs to talk to me. Everything is very urgent. Like the imaginary house Andrew built while playing Minecraft. Or Evan's musings about why he can't hear me talking to him when the TV is on. Chad needs my opinion on new tail lights for the rail buggy and has 17 funny clips for me to watch on You Tube.
In retaliation I have decided to cook dinner at 10 o'clock in the morning so I can steal a few precious moments of quiet with a book. Oh yeah.
The crock pot.
Okay. Chinese Hacked Pork calls for a couple of ingredients that you should be able to find in the international section of your grocery store, but I know that the stores where I live can be hit or miss, so let's talk.
The two things that make this pork recipe special are:
- Chinese Five Spice Powder
- Hoisin Sauce
Chinese Five Spice powder includes star anise, fennel, cinnamon, cloves, and black pepper. I cannot ever find it with the actual spices in my local grocery store. It's always in the international aisle hiding with the soy sauce and water chestnuts.
[socialpug_tweet tweet="Pro Tip! @BadiaSpices has great AFFORDABLE spices in the int'l aisle. Find your Chinese Five Spice Powder there" display_tweet="Pro Tip! @BadiaSpices has great AFFORDABLE spices in the int'l aisle. Find your Chinese Five Spice Powder there" style="1"]
Hoisin Sauce proved tricky to find the last time I made this recipe. Fortunately! It's easy to make your own with a few pantry staples in a pinch.
- 4 tablespoons soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons creamy peanut butter
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 2 teaspoons white wine vinegar
- ⅛ teaspoon garlic powder
- 2 teaspoons sesame oil
- hot sauce to taste
- ⅛ teaspoon black pepper
The hoisin sauce is crucial to the flavor of this particular so if you can't find it in the store, definitely take a minute to make your own.
Important! After you cook the pork, you are going to scrape the liquid from the slow cooker into a saucepan. You'll whisk together a little chicken broth and cornstarch, and when you cook it all together you get this deliciously thick sauce to serve with the pork. IT IS SO GOOD. Don't skip it.
With an arsenal of slow cooker recipes up my sleeve I plan to get my read on.
But I'd be willing to bet that without my nose stuck in a book in the company of my family, the novelty of talking to me will disappear. Unless I'm on the phone.
Slow Cooker Chinese Hacked Pork Recipe
Slow Cooker Chinese Hacked Pork is loaded with flavor from Chinese Five Spice Powder and hoisin sauce! This pork is delicious over rice, noodles, or wrapped in buttery leaves of lettuce!
Ingredients
- ¼ cup low sodium soy sauce
- ¼ cup honey
- 2 tablespoons hoisin sauce
- 4 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
- 2 tablespoons ginger, finely chopped
- 1 teaspoon Chinese five-spice powder
- 2 pounds boneless pork roast
- ¾ cup low sodium chicken broth
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
Instructions
- Whisk together the soy sauce, honey, hoisin sauce, garlic, ginger, and five-spice powder.
- Place the pork in the slow cooker and pour the sauce over it.
- Cover and cook on low for 6 hours or high for 4 hours.
- When the pork is done, remove it from the slow cooker and set it aside to rest before shredding.
- Pour the sauce into a saucepan and bring it to a boil. Whisk together the chicken broth and the cornstarch and then pour into the boiling liquid. Continue cooking and stirring for another minute.
- Shred the pork and spoon the sauce over it.
Notes
***The original recipe calls for marinating the pork overnight before cooking. I skipped that and it was still full of flavor. But it couldn’t hurt.***
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Nutrition Information:
Yield:
12Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 260Total Fat: 16gSaturated Fat: 6gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 9gCholesterol: 68mgSodium: 293mgCarbohydrates: 9gFiber: 0gSugar: 7gProtein: 19g
(from Family Circle, April 2012)
Looking for more Slow Cooker Meals? Look no further...
Crock Pot Cuban Pork Sandwiches are my simple weekday way to feed my Cuban sandwich cravings. Let the pork cook low and slow all day and then the sandwiches come together super quick when you are ready to eat.
Tender beef cooked with onions and then layered between tortillas with loads of cheese! Slow Cooker Philly Cheesesteak Quesadillas are a fun twist on a sandwich favorite!
The pork looks so tender! I have not had much experience cooking or eating pork, barring pork sausages. The snow peas look beautiful. And I think getting dinner out of the way for the sake of a book is wonderful.
If you eat pork I would try the recipes as is with a nice lean cut of meat. If you're more partial to poultry I think this recipe would be wonderful with chicken. The sauce was a major hit. We don't eat snow peas enough cause they're a little pricey, but gosh they're good!
Wow that does look good - I could have done this with the leftover pork..next time!
For sure 🙂
Omg, the whistle tip you tube video is my hubbies favorite. When I get mad at the dogs for waking me up, he hides behind them and says "its early in da monin' you spose ta be up cookin' breakfast fo somebody" because I am the one who feeds them in the morning. He thinks he is hilarious...
That IS pretty hilarious! I love that clip hahahahha.
"It's jus fo decorayshun." Oh Lil Sis... what did we laugh at before you and Bub Rub came along?
Also- I think you are the only person that clicked that link lol. Everyone else missed out.
I found myself nodding away to myself while reading this post! Everytime I pick a book up, I'm urgently needed somewhere! Love the sound of this recipe. I'm always looking out for new recipes for my slow cooker. I've just discovered your blog and love it. I have a Liebster blog award for you over on my site. 🙂 http://cookiescakesandbakes.wordpress.com/2012/05/02/spreading-the-blogging-love-around-the-world-long-overdue-post-49/
Thank you so much, Nickki! I'll be sure to post this as soon as I get a second and am looking forward to checking out all your stuff! So glad you stopped by! Thanks again!
Oh My! I made this last night for my family...the boys named it Ninja Pork. 🙂 It was a huge hit! Chad and the boys loved it, the guys working in the barn loved it, and I loved it! The only thing I was asked to change.....my boys are not rice lovers so they asked for a seasoned noodle next time. THANK YOU! Next week, I'm trying your chicken on a stick recipe!
I'm so glad you liked it! The original recipe called for lo mein to serve with this but I hate running to the grocery store, so I scrapped noodles for rice 🙂 And you just reminded me that we should have that chicken satay again soon. Chicken on a stick IS AWESOME!
I LOVE to read but sadly there is just not enough time in the day! What used to take me 2 days now takes me 2 weeks. 🙁 But things could be worse!
I think I have the same crockpot. I need to dust mine off and actually use it though!
I'm fortunate to be able to read while I do other things. Like I can read while I wash dishes- I just prop my nook up on the window sill. It's a handy skill haha. Also no one tries to talk to me when I'm washing dishes (wonder why?) so I can read in relative peace! It gets so flipping hot here I don't know how I survived our evening meals without this slow cooker. Vegetable soup with a dab of pesto on top is my favorite.
I'm not a big pork roast person, but do you think I do this with chicken, too?
I think chicken would work wonderfully. Cooked like I did the pork here, or even if you just used it as a marinade. The sauce was super. And really easy!
I don't even like pork yet I want to eat this! What are you doing to me!! lol This looks seriously delicious!!!
Rachael (look! up there!) says she might use the sauce on chicken-- it would be great that way. And the article was called Low-Calorie Slow Cooker recipes (I think the nutrition info may be available if you click the link; I just hate the Family Circle website lol). So don't stress! Use low sodium soy sauce and broth and a lean cut of meat & you'll be good to go 🙂
haha what?
I'll have to keep my eye out for the Chinese five spice powder to try this. Love my crockpot and try to use it every other week or so.
Definitely try this, Sandra. I never did find the five-spice powder; I may try to order it. I just used a dash of each (except star anise cause I didn't have it) to season the sauce and it turned out wonderfully. My family loved it! I bet it would have been even better if I'd found the right seasoning 🙂
I like your strategy for reading! Who needs to be wasting time cooking dinner at dinner time?
Seriously. 🙂
This sounds so good! And I love the crock pot for saving time!!!
Me, too! And I love that it doesn't make the kitchen hot! In my book it's the best part!
Yum yum yum yum! Without the oven, I'll improvise on the pork - but I bet the seasoning would work just as well grilled or on chicken, and thank you so much for enlightening me about what's in 5 spice - everything's a mission to get here, but now I can put it all together! What are you reading - any good?x
No crock pot? You could totally improvise this-- just cook it low and slow. And you're right: it would make a great chicken marinade or sauce over something grilled. Genius.
Just finished the Hunger Games series (thanks to my crock pot). Yes I realize I am probably the last person on earth to read those books, but I get it now 🙂 Looking for something good (and cheap!). Anxiously awaiting the next Sookie Stackhouse book (later this month). Suggestions?
Well, I'm even further behind than you - I haven't read The Hunger Games! Not sure they're my thing, but if *everyone* has read them you sort of feel you should...hmm! suggestions probably deènd on what sort of thing you like (I don't know sookie Stackhouse either, sorry!) I love Barbara Kingsolver, if you don't know her, give her a try - Bean Trees or Poisonwood Bible maybe. Are you on goodreads - I love that for to-read inspiration!
This sounds wonderful 😀
And reading is my life - food blog stalking comes pretty close though 😛
Cheers
Choc Chip Uru
Thanks!
And me, too 🙂
It is crazy how your life is soooo similar to mine! My husbands name is Chad, 2 boys, minecraft and third grade homework, except I gave up trying to read all together! I have a pork roast in the freezer and this is going on our menu for this week! Sounds and looks delicious!
Haha that IS crazy! My kids ate this meal up. It was reeeeally a winner 🙂 And what is up with the Minecraft, anyway? It's possibly the weirdest game I've ever seen them play.
I know! I call it the digital version of legos! My husband doesn't build rail cars....just buggies for rock crawling and jeeps! And I don't care about watching the YouTube videos about it all that much! But that's our little secret. 🙂