This popular Asian oven pulled pork recipe is a favorite for tacos, sliders and burritos. The juicy pulled pork is irresistible . 
This is the unabashed, meat-lovers edition of pork. Apologies if the photo is an abrupt, in-your-face visual of juicy and saucy pork in its entirety. In fact, there’s no scattering of pretty garnish nor greens nor linen-pretty. It’s a delicious and amazing pulled pork dish and that’s pretty much all we wanted to share with you. Sometimes it’s more effective to just past all the words and give you a taste of the recipe as soon as possible.
The pulled pork is so amazing, we decided to get past all the fuss and get straight to the point. And here’s the point: make this as soon as you can.
Watch the video making the Juicy Asian Oven Pulled Pork:
A few weeks ago we found some frozen pork shoulder in the freezer (surprise!) and needed to make something with it before it was forgotten again in the dark, abyss of the garage freezer. We had remembered a Lucky Peach magazine recipe for an oven pulled pork. Fast forward a few years later we now have some pork shoulder and an appetite for something porkie.
We went a little crazy with the spices, adding some big punches of flavor to the marinade and sauce. We’re not apologizing for it, but rather, we’re warning you because you’ll be so addicted to the flavor combination of garlic, fish sauce, mustard and sugar that you just might want to use this on some other of your favorite meats.
This was the pulled pork recipe that kept on giving. For our first meal, we had pulled pork tacos. Next, indulged in pulled pork over rice. Later, it was pulled pork sliders. Last, with what was leftover, we made a fabulous pulled pork pizza.
It wasn’t until we pigged out on all these juicy pulled pork dishes that we realized just how versatile and wonderful it was. And we’re not tired of it yet, because with Super Bowl next week, we’re already planning some stellar uses for our next batch. And how about you? If you make this and have some new ideas on how to eat it with, let us know. We’re all ears.
Enjoy,
diane and todd
You can use this pulled pork for tacos, sliders and sandwiches. It's also great on pasta and rice because the juicy sauce is so flavorful. Feel free to cook the pulled pork for a little longer to make the pork more tender and melt-in-your-mouth. We prefer to use a bone-in pork shoulder, but it works great with a de-boned chunk of meat too. And, remember, don't waste the sauce!
Update: This recipe was tested on a 4.5 pound pork butt. But if you're cooking with a smaller pork butt around 3.5 pounds and don't like too much sauce, then make half the sauce. If you're making the full batch of sauce on a 3.5 pork butt, you'll have plenty of sauce left over for your pasta, noodles or rice. Also, if you cook it a little longer, the sauce cooks down and caramelizes and becomes a sticky, sweet brown sauce.
Slow cooker note: we have not tested this recipe in a slow cooker, but from reader comments below, they have had success!
- 4.5 pounds pork butt or pork shoulder (1820-2275g)
- 1 onion , diced
- 2 Tablespoons olive oil (30ml)
- 5-6 cloves garlic , minced
- 15 oz. diced or crushed tomatoes (425g)
- 2 Tablespoons finely grated or minced fresh ginger (30ml)
- 1/4 cup fish sauce (60ml) or soy sauce (but fish sauce tastes better! try it) For Gluten Free use Tamari
- 2 Tablespoons chili garlic sauce (30ml) or Gluten Free Hot Sauce
- 1 Tablespoon spicy brown mustard (15ml)
- 1/4 cup brown sugar, packed (60ml)
- 1 teaspoon fresh cracked black pepper (5ml)
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Pre-heat oven to 350° F.
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Lightly coat the pork shoulder with oil and season all sides with salt and pepper. Heat large cast iron pan or deep oven proof skillet on medium-high heat.
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Sear each side of the pork shoulder on the hot pan until the pork is brown. About 3 minutes per side.
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Remove the pork from the skillet and set aside.
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In the same skillet the pork was just removed from, heat over medium heat. Then add oil, onion and garlic. Cook onions and garlic until soft and fragrant.
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Add tomatoes, ginger, fish sauce, chili garlic sauce, mustard, brown sugar and black pepper. Stir together until well combined.
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Add the seared pork back into the skillet with the sauce and ladle the tomato sauce mixture over the pork. Cover the pork with aluminum foil.
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Bake the pork for about 4 hours, or until the pork is tender and easily shreds with a fork. We like to skim off any excess fat, then shred the pork in the sauce.
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Allow the pork to rest for about 15 minutes before shredding the whole shoulder. Keep foil over the shredded pork to keep it warm before serving.
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This was delicious! I tossed it with whole wheat spaghetti and served it with sauteed bok choy to rave reviews. Quick question: The sauce charred on the bottom of my dutch oven. Any ideas on how to prevent that for the next time I make this recipe? More liquid? Because there will be a next time. 🙂
Awesome! So glad it turned out great for you! thanks for letting us know.
Absolutely, love this dish! Have made this at least 4 times in the past few years and love it more every time! Thank you. Perfect for a snow day in NH!
I can’t wait to make this recipe this week. My husband and I love to do a pork butt in the slow cooker but this sauce well provide the change of taste we’re looking for! {Charlie, http://www.lemonbutterlove.com}
Is the searing step necessary? I don’t have a cast iron skillet or pot and just a roaster. I was wondering if I could just toss the raw pork butt in with all ingredients and cover for the 4 hours in the oven?
Anthony- The pork will probably taste just as delicious if you didn’t sear it. We sear it to hold in the juices a bit more and it ads a nice caramelized crust when it comes out of the oven. Enjoy!
The pulled pork looks so delicious. I love how you put an Asian twist to pulled pork. Can’t wait to try making in next week.
Just finished dinner… l am sooo full – it was one of those flavors that was so delicious that you keep eating. I made an asian slaw with rice vinegar, onions, cilantro, lime and veggies, also added white rice and beans and it reminded me of something hawaiian. Can’t wait till I am hungry again.
Sliders with pulled pork and cole slaw anyone?
E-
This looks yumm!!! You think it will come out the same in slow cooker?
If you read the comments, other readers have had success in the slow cooker too!
it looks so delicious! can’t wait to ask mom to do this 😉
Made this today – it is really delicious! And the aroma while it was cooking was heavenly
This was SO yum & easy to make! Entire family loved it. Thank you for the recipe.
Hmmmm Look Sooo Delicious! Well I’ll Try this Recipe hope everything so as per plan and taste good.
Thanks 🙂
I made this last night!! Juicy Asian Oven Roasted Pulled Pork made into sliders, street tacos, pizza topping, pretty much every dish imaginable until it runs OUT! I WANNA MARRY THIS SAUCE! O-M-G! I never cooked with fish sauce or garlic chili sauce before, but those combined with fresh grated ginger, onion, brown sugar, spicy mustard, crushed tomatoes, onion, sea salt and fresh cracked pepper made me lose my friggin MIND! The cast iron skillet was a new idea for me to just stick into the oven. I didnt have the foil on all the way on one side so it slight scorched the sauce on that side…but basically caramelized it into a rich gooey delight on that part of the pan. The rest was perfectly simmered, silky fall apart meat and the SAUCE! WOW! I cant believe how amazing this turned out! I would have baked it 1/2 hour under the 3.5 hours and maybe checked it at 2.5 hours in…worth every damn minute! The whole apt and building was saturated in Happy Smells! This was worth the oven time as opposed to my beloved SteamPot….Makes me wonder how this would work with chicken..and did I tell you about the SAUCE?!! I did? Well Imma say it AGAIN! O-M-G the sauce will blow your head OFF!!
Sounds delish! If I make this with a smaller amount of pork, like 2.5 pounds, should I half the recipe for sauce and decrease cook time?
Hi Trisha,
yes, most likely it would be best to half the sauce recipe and cook it for less. But keep checking it and if it’s not tender enough, then cook it for a little while longs. Best of luck and let us know how it turns out!
Um…there are no words to describe how much we LOVED this!!!! LOVED. I mean, that’s a word…but it just doesn’t seem to capture how much we enjoyed this recipe. I got a 4.5 lb cut…so it lasted for many meals. Just finished the last bit tonight. First night we used it in tacos with a Wasabi Slaw I make (cabbage, green onion, shaved carrots, wasabi mayo, cilantro). Second round was on it’s own with a side salad. Third and Fourth mixed it into a soft egg scramble with a bit of crème fraîche for breakfast, and again for dinner tonight. Yum, Yum, Yum.
One quick question…sounds crazy…but if we wanted to swap out the decadent pork for less exciting (but healthier) chicken, any reco’s on edits? Would you recommend a full bird? Or pieces on the bone? Thoughts on cooking temp and time?
I’ve never made pork before, so…thank you for making it so easy, and, absolutely delicious!
Sincerely.
A full chicken would work great. Same temp, less time. Maybe about 1 1/2 hours. If you do pieces on the bone that would work too, just reduce the time even more. I’m guestimating about 45 minutes, depending on their size.
Awesome! I was thinking the SAME thing! Though Im in love with the pork shoulder!
I did this recipe in the sous vide, 176 for 16 hours. pulled the liquids and reduced by half, added some cornstarch and water, mixed back into the shredded pulled pork. Fabulous pork awesome!
I made this tonight. Just as good as I expected! Next time I would double the sauce because mine roasted away. I did think it was salty too but I was thinking next time if serve over rice with a baby bok Choy side … I think that would balance. I will definitely make again! Made me smile & my house smells soooo good! Thanks for another great recipe. Ps. Your blog is my original favorite & defined for me what “blog” even meant. From one food loved to the next… Thank you Diane & Todd. One final note… Your book was first on my Christmas list this year… Congrats!
I made this last night and it turned out awesome! I cooked it in a crockpot but seared the meat first. Looking forward to left overs. I will definitely make this again.
Ok, I am going to answer my own question. I made it with about 3 lbs of tenderloin. Probably cooked for 2-2.5 hours. It’s super tasty but WAY too peppery. I ended up adding half a can of coke to cut the pepper and put it back in the oven for 15 mins. I think I’ll add the coke upfront next time and cut the brown sugar. Very tasty!
“Wow” is what my husband said when he tasted this. He absolutely loved it. I then tried to convince him that we needed to buy your cookbook.. didn’t need much convincing!
Yum!
Has anyone made this with pork tenderloin or is that too lean?
I have made this recipe several times with pork tenderloin and it has always turned out wonderfully. I put it in the slow-cooker on low for around eight hours. 🙂
YES! I’ve been looking for a pulled pork recipe using a cast iron skillet or similar… something that doesn’t require any special equipment, but lots of time to heat the apartment despite all our drafts. This looks so amazing and I can’t wait to try.
A friend of mine posted this on Facebook a couple of days ago, and I thought it looked wonderful. Today I cooked up my own version of it. You can see my take on this delightful dish at http://constructingalife.com/2014/02/09/adventures-in-pork/
We made this today. It was quite good though a bit on the salty side — perhaps it was our Golden Boy fish sauce. We served it as part of our lettuce wraps with red lettuce, a bit of rice and some Vietnamese pickled carrots. The pickles added a bright sweet and sour note to the dish. Yum.
With pork shoulder, it usually has a large layer of fat on it, usually I leave it on and then just remove it, drain some of the juice out before before shredding, then adding the shredded pork back into my slow cooker (this is for a BBQ recipe). With this recipe should I remove the layer of fat from it, at all/before/after/part way through cooking?
We always leave it, but everyone has their own personal preference.
LEAVE IT!! It adds SERIOUS Umami or FLAVOR! It just DOES!
Yesterday I par-boiled some country style pork ribs til fall off bone tender,shredded it up,threw in some taco seasoning and minced jalepino and made some killer
TACOS!
I’m definitely going to make this as soon as I can. That just looks so delicious!
Made this for the Super Bowl and got rave reviews! Served with a tangy slaw and quick pickled red onions. The fish sauce was a great addition. Thanks!
I love making pulled pork! I usually make a Mexican style version, but I would love to mix it up and try this. Thanks!
Amazing!
We made this for dinner last night and was it ever good. We used sriracha sauce in place of the garlic-chili sauce and it was so hot that we had to add another small tin of tomatoes, which made it perfect. Thanks for sharing such a great recipe.
This pork sounds like it would be great for something we call Asian Roll Ups-saute a little garlic and ginger in a skillet-add coleslaw mix or grated cabbage until it wilts a little, add your pork and some hoisin if you need extra liquid. We wrap this up in small flour tortillas with Chow Mein noodles, or almonds for a little extra crunch!
This looks outrageously delicious!
That pork looks utterly amazing!! It’s the meal that keeps on giving!
This looks amazing! Where do you get the chili garlic sauce (which brand)? Also the spicy brown mustard, I’ve never heard of this, is there a substitute?
For the chili garlic sauce we’ve used a few brands in house and there hasn’t been too much of a difference. The one we have right now is by Huy Foods inc., same maker as the popular “rooster” sriracha sauce here in the US. When we were in Oz I can’t remember what you all had available in the stores. Spicy brown mustard is a mustard made from brown mustard seeds. It is pretty common in US stores, but must not be in Australia. Play with any mustard you like, just about any should be great. You just might need to adjust the quantity of mustard depending on which one you use and to your taste. Enjoy!
Thanks for that, I’m making it now with a few substitutes, with a leg of lamb, in the slow cooker that I’ve never used before!! It will either be a miracle or a disaster!
How did the lamb work for this recipe?
Sorry Dawn just saw this post, it was great, I have made it with beef too, you can’t go wrong!
I used lamb in the slow cooker and it wonderfull….. high for 2 hours then low for 8 hours ..meat falls of the bone and shreds like crispy duck …..
i’m curious about what you used as toppings with the tacos and the pizza? going to make this thursday!
Yes, yes, YES. I make pulled pork all the time and this looks like a fun variation to try! Plus, I’ll actually make a decent dent in my container of fish sauce for once! 😉
Looks divine!
Do you think this is something that could be done in a slow cooker? Low-Heat, maybe 6-7hrs?
Ian- this can certainly be cooked in the slow cooker, what a great idea. Low heat for about 6-7 hours sounds reasonable. Please let us know how it turns out!
I made the pulled pork in the slow cooker and it came out absolutely perfect. It was literally falling apart, so much so, that I barely had to do any shredding.
I followed the directions in the recipe how to prepare everything and used a bone in pork shoulder. I cooked it on low for 8hrs, so it didn’t spend to much time on “Keep Warm”. Did I mention it was awesome? I served it over large shell pasta.
One thing I noticed is that it came out a little spicier than I anticipated. I don’t know if that is because of the slow cooker or because I put a little to much of the chill-garlic sauce. Anyways, I would make this again without hesitating.
Thanks for the recipe.
Ian, Did you have to adjust any liquid for the slow cooker version? I am planning on picking up 8-9lbs pork butt, Did you find that your slow cooker fit the 4lb butt perfectly? I may have to use 2 slow cookers I’m thinking
Stephen, I’m sure you’ve made the recipe already, but in case you haven’t or others are interested, I have made this recipe exactly as is on 3 or 4 occasions.. My slow cooker (6.6L / 7qt) had no problem holding the 4lb pork shoulder (haven’t used the butt yet); but if I had to do 9lbs, I don’t think it would fit or it would be a very, very tight squeeze.
When the cooking has finished time has finished, I do end up with a fair amount of liquid; but I ladle some of it out and thicken it to make a sauce for the sandwiches and have used the remaining liquid as a base for a pasta sauce or for a soup.
Hope this was helpful.
Ian- thanks for the helpful response! Glad you are enjoying the recipe.
Looks really good but I would like to substitute beef for the pork. What do you think? Any suggestions for what cut of beef would work best?
Dorthy- Beef would be great too. Any roast could work, as long as it’s cooked tender. So you might want to monitor the cooking time and see if 3-4 hours is enough. If not, cook it for longer.
Dorothy, use a beef chuck roast–not an expensive cut!
Any chance this would work in a slow cooker – because I have a pork shoulder in the fridge and class tomorrow night. It would be great to come home to this!
Amanda- yes, a slow cooker is great. We answered Ian’s comment about slow cooker options.
Great minds think alike, I posted a pulled pork recipe this morning too and I think you’d like it 😉 Yours looks crazy juicy, and you’re right, pulled pork is awesome for all sorts of stuff!
When I have leftover pulled pork, I love to make Asian styled steamed or baked pork buns. They simply are the best friend to the snackaholic. I have no problem with more recipes like this; we all need a bit of meat once in awhile.
It looks so tender and flavorful!