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by Todd + Diane
This popular Asian oven pulled pork recipe is a favorite for tacos, sliders and burritos. The juicy pulled pork is irresistible . It’s been a favorite recipe since we first published it in 2014.
Favorite Pulled Pork Recipe
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.
Video: Making the Juicy Asian Oven Pulled Pork Recipe:
Flavorful Asian Oven Pulled Pork – Umami Blast
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 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.
Don’t be scared of Fish Sauce
Is fish sauce necessary? Yes, we get asked this all the time and fish sauce can be daunting to cook with if you’re new to it. Of course, it has a funky, strong and pungent smell. But when it’s added as part of the marinade, you don’t taste any “fishy” flavors in the end result. What you get is a super delicious, savory and umami flavor that is wonderful and satisfying. Read our article on the Magic of Fish Sauce and our favorite brands.
Still not sure? What about soy sauce or other options instead of fish sauce?
We tried and if you’re still not daring enough to try fish sauce, we understand. If we can’t convince you to use the fish sauce, then here’s some other alternatives to give an “almost” equal amount of umami:
- Soy sauce will definitely still give great depth of flavor.
- Liquid aminos are another good option for savory umami
- Gluten free tamari has good flavor
- DON’T FORGET SALT! you still must use enough salt to bring out all the flavors. So taste the cooked pork, and if you feel like it still needs “something” then add more salt. If you’re cautious about any fish sauce, then at least use enough salt to season the pork.
How to Serve Our Juicy Asian Oven Pulled Pork
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 asian oven pulled pork and have some new ideas on how to eat it with, let us know. We’re all ears.
Enjoy,
diane and todd
Asian Oven Roasted Pulled Pork Recipe
Yield: 8 Servings
Prep Time: 15 minutes mins
Cook Time: 4 hours hrs 30 minutes mins
Total Time: 4 hours hrs 45 minutes mins
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!
4.88 from 16 votes
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Ingredients
- 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)
Instructions
Pre-heat oven to 350° F.
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.
Sear each side of the pork shoulder on the hot pan until the pork is brown. About 3 minutes per side. Remove the pork from the skillet and set aside.
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.
Add tomatoes, ginger, fish sauce, chili garlic sauce, mustard, brown sugar and black pepper. Stir together until well combined.
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.
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.
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.
Nutrition Information per Serving
Calories: 430kcal, Carbohydrates: 14g, Protein: 49g, Fat: 18g, Saturated Fat: 6g, Trans Fat: 1g, Cholesterol: 153mg, Sodium: 1038mg, Potassium: 1092mg, Fiber: 2g, Sugar: 11g, Vitamin A: 118IU, Vitamin C: 7mg, Calcium: 72mg, Iron: 4mg
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: American, Asian, Pork
Calories: 430
More Easy Recipes:
- Sweet and Sriracha Spicy Pulled Pork
- Asian Pulled pork tacos with kimchi
- Air Fryer Juicy Pork Chops
- Grilled Pork Ch0ps with Apple Cranberry Glaze
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79 comments on “Juicy Asian Oven-Roasted Pulled Pork”
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Karen — July 16, 2022 @ 10:26 am Reply
This is a great recipe! I’ve been making this since they first published it. I don’t have a “normal” or regular type oven so I would always make it in the slow cooker. Now I do it in the Instant Pot, sear it and pressure cook it. No matter how you do it, it’s always delicious. Friends and family always rave about it. And don’t skip the fish sauce, you won’t notice it, but as said, it does give it that extra Umami flavor.
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Finn — July 16, 2022 @ 12:35 am Reply
This pulled pork is packed with flavor. We made tacos out of this recipe and my family just can’t get enough. Thanks for an awesome recipe.
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Lilac — May 22, 2023 @ 2:04 pm Reply
I made this in a slow cooker on low today and it is so yummy! The sauce is delicious! I used a 3.5 lb shoulder roast and the amount of sauce is perfect for my family. I served it over a rice/quinoa mix with steamed broccoli on the side. Will definitely be making this again and again.
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Todd + Diane — May 28, 2023 @ 10:25 am
Hi Lilac! Thanks for sharing and so happy it worked great in the slow cooker. Thanks for sharing!
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carol copeland — April 2, 2022 @ 6:25 am Reply
This was my COVID recipe discovery. I had a pork butt in the freezer and all the ingredients for the sauce. I have made it several times and the last two times I used chili crisp instead of the garlic sauce. Last night I made it over bone in chicken thighs and it was different but equally delicious. Thanks so much
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Todd + Diane — April 2, 2022 @ 4:04 pm Reply
Hi Carol, thanks for letting us know and so glad you enjoyed the recipe. Chicken thighs in this sauce sounds amazing!
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Annie — July 25, 2020 @ 1:49 pm Reply
I’ve been using this recipe for a few years now and just LOVE it! I usually use my crock pot on high for a few hours and serve it with raw spinach and crusty bread. It’s my absolute favorite pulled pork recipe ever. I’ve used it multiple times to serve guests and it’s always a huge hit. I’ve made various substitutions based on stuff I don’t have and it always turns out. Thank you for sharing this! One quick question, what chili garlic paste do you use and where do you get it? I always substitute for that one I’m afraid. Thanks again!
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— July 29, 2020 @ 1:58 pm Reply
Hi Annie,
So glad you love the pulled pork. For the chili garlic sauce, we usually use the Huy Fong Foods brand. Where we are at in California, we can find it in nearly any Asian grocery store as well as a lot of the major brand grocers. But feel free to substitute what you can find. We’ve yet to have one that wasn’t delicious.
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Ciru — June 13, 2020 @ 8:49 pm Reply
This is OMG soooo good! I have been making it once a week for the last two months and used it for at least 4 meals each week. It is just perfect…on its own, in lettuce wraps with red cabbage, carrots, cilantro and green onion, in Mexican style tacos, in burritos, with peanut sauce, with eggs for breakfast….any way you have it you can’t go wrong.
The first time I made it I followed the recipe exactly as written but the sauce ended up a little too intense/salty. Going forward I cut the amount of fish sauce in half and there was no looking back. I now control the salt level by adding a little sprinkle of sea salt once the pork is shredded. Perfection!Thanks for sharing.
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— June 15, 2020 @ 2:52 pm Reply
Thanks so much for sharing. We did have the recipe a little on the “intense” side with the fish sauce, knowing most will be eating it with something which could benefit from the extra seasoning. Your approach is a great solution in backing off the initial fish sauce and then salting it to taste after cooking. Happy cooking!
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Ciru — June 22, 2020 @ 9:37 pm
I’m thinking of making this using ground beef. What changes, if any would you recommend, especially regarding cooking time?
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Ciru — June 28, 2020 @ 4:09 pm
For anyone that’s thinking about it, I made this recipe using ground beef instead of pork and it was done in 2 hours. I kept everything else the same (still used half the fish sauce as mentioned above), and baked in a covered dutch oven. I browned and crumbled the ground beef before adding partially cooked sauce ingredients. In exactly 2 hours the extra juices from ground beef and tomatoes had evaporated but the beef with still moist. Very good flavor and worked perfectly in everything you would use pulled pork.
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Ariya — January 31, 2020 @ 8:03 pm Reply
I love the flavors that came out of this pulled pork! So tasty!
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Jun — January 26, 2020 @ 2:22 pm Reply
I gotta prepare these again for the Super Bowl. This is the perfect pulled pork recipe and crazy easy.
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Theresa Rawlings — October 17, 2019 @ 6:42 pm Reply
I have tried this recipe many tomes with many happy results, but tonight i gave it a cajun kick in the butt/shoulder.
I used the cajun holy trinity, onion, bell pepper and celery in equal amounts to the called for onion. I used one half a large onion, one bell pepper (male) equal in size to my 1/2 onion, and abould 1/2 a head of celery stalk, all minced well. This made more veggie bulk to my sauce, so I also added about 4 oz can of tomato sauce.It is in the oven now and smells fabulous. I hope my addition adds a thickness to the sauce which will feed my sauce needs. I just like a gravy to my meat, more sauce thr better. My husband prefers it drier. So i make more sauce, then reserve some of the sauce off the meat once it is shreaded for my extra dressing preferences.
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Lydia Chan — May 18, 2017 @ 11:57 am Reply
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. 🙂
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— May 22, 2017 @ 2:11 pm Reply
Awesome! So glad it turned out great for you! thanks for letting us know.
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Beth — March 14, 2017 @ 3:59 pm Reply
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!
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