Recipes

Five Spice Pulled Pork Bowls

Serves 4-6

| Prep Time: 25 mins

| Cook Time: 4 hours

| Total Time: 4 hours 25 min

You may need: Chinese Five Spice

Discover The Recipe

Prepare yourself for a taste explosion! Our Five Spice Pulled Pork Bowls are made of tender pork infused with classic Chinese flavors, perfectly seasoned with just the right amount of heat and savory, complex spice notes. The cooked pork and broth are then served over rice for a filling meal.

This recipe uses our freshly ground Chinese Five Spice, which is star anise, Sichuan peppercorns, fennel, cinnamon, and cloves for the most authentic Chinese flavors! When you purchase Five Spice from a grocery store, it will rarely include the key ingredient, Sichuan Pepper, which provides a lemony-tingle to your taste buds.

Quick to prep, our Five Spice Pulled Pork Bowls do require some cooking time, so plan accordingly. Overall, the recipe is very hands-off making it easy for a busy weekday or a lazy Sunday game day. Optional ingredients elevate the overall flavor but are nice-to-have. Chinese Five Spice is one of the best-known Chinese spice blends. The spice mixture has a wide range of culinary uses, often added when cooking with fatty meats as much as it is included in sweet dishes. In Hawaii, some restaurants place a shaker of Five Spice on each table!

Ingredients

Five Spice Pork:
3 lbs pork shoulder (bone in)
1.5 Tbsp brown sugar
1.5 Tbsp Piquant Post Chinese Five Spice
1.5 Tbsp Kosher salt
.5 Tbsp black pepper
Savory Chinese Sauce:
3/4 cup chicken broth (or water)
1/4 cup fish sauce
1/4 cup lime juice, freshly squeezed
4 cloves garlic
1 Tbsp sriracha (optional)
4 cups rice, cooked
Optional toppings: hoisin sauce, cilantro, sliced jalapenos

Notes

We highly recommend buying a bone-in piece of meat. Bone-in will result in a more flavorful and rich mouthfeel. However, if boneless is the only option available, this dish will still be delicious!

To contrast the richness of this dish, we love to serve this alongside pickled vegetables.

There will be extra pork juice after cooking. Place in a glass container and use as a broth in soup, or cook your next batch of rice with it for extra flavor!

Optional ingredients add a little character and flavor but don’t sweat it if you don’t have them.

Instructions

Season the pork: combine brown sugar, Piquant Post Chinese Five Spice, salt and pepper. Rub seasoning into pork. Let pork marinate in the rub for at least 20 minutes, up to overnight.

Combine the sauce: chicken broth, fish sauce, lime juice, garlic and sriracha.

Lay the seasoned pork in the base of a slow cooker. Pour sauce over pork. Cook on high for 4 hours, or low for 8 hours.

Remove pork to a bowl and using two forks, shred the pork. Add some of the juice from the slow cooker to the pork. Serve on top of fresh rice and top with hoisin sauce, cilantro, and sliced jalapenos.

Alternatives & Substitutions

If you prefer to not use pork, lamb shoulder or beef brisket will be a great substitute.
For vegan/vegetarian options, try our delectable Chinese Garlic Eggplant recipe. Or, try Tofu and Mushroom Wrap or this Five Spice Noodle Soup, or even our Five Spice Tofu Bao.
Try using Chinese Five Spice in our Five Spice Chicken Wings or in these Five Spice Crusted Duck Breasts , or this Five Spice Beef Stir Fry.
Try this versatile Five Spice Marinade to use on your choice of protein or stir fry.
Be sure to leave comments and feedback on your meals and experiments in the comments for others to read.
Post pictures of your masterpiece meal on social media and tag us. We repost!