On a cold day in the middle of winter, nothing hits the spot quite like a big bowl of soup. If you’re looking to change up your soup routine, this Szechuan style pork stew is remarkably easy in the slow cooker. There’s just something about the sweetness of soy and brown sugar mixed with the sour, salty and spicy flavors in the other ingredients that makes me feel warmed from the inside out.
You probably have many ingredients in your pantry already. Once the ingredients go in the slow cooker, it’s hands off until serving time.
The broth is flavored with soy, chili sauce, hoisin sauce, brown sugar, star anise, orange peel, chili pepper and ginger, giving it tons of flavor and intense aromatics. Then, you just add fresh vegetables like bok choy, onions and cabbage. As it cooks, the flavors meld with the pork and create a flavorful, satisfying stew no one can resist.
Serve the Chinese pork stew straight from the slow cooker crock. Offer up extra sriracha sauce, red pepper flakes, limes and cilantro for garnishing and an extra burst of bright flavor. This filling soup will definitely get you out of a chicken noodle rut, but won’t make you work too hard for it. The next time you need to satisfy a cold-weather craving, whip out the slow cooker and try this unique pork stew instead.
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 4 pounds boneless pork shoulder cut into 2-inch pieces
- 1 leek trimmed, sliced
- 1 small onion quartered
- 6 garlic cloves minced
- 5 stalks bok choy trimmed, sliced lengthwise
- 2 carrots peeled, sliced 1/2-inch thick
- 1 cup sliced Chinese cabbage
- 2 ounces cans chicken broth 14 1/4each
- 1/4 cup low sodium soy sauce
- 1/4 cup sriracha hot chili sauce
- 1/4 cup hoisin sauce
- 2 tablespoons light brown sugar
- 4 star anise
- 4 pieces orange peel 1x3-inch
- 2 dried chili red pepper
- 1 piece fresh ginger peeled, grated, 1-inch
- Sliced bok choy if desired
- sriracha hot chili sauce if desired
- Sliced limes if desired
- In a large skillet over medium-high heat, heat oil. Add half of the pork. Cook until browned on all sides. Repeat with remaining pork. Place browned pork in slow cooker crock.
- Stir in leeks, onion, garlic, bok choy, carrots, cabbage, chicken broth, soy sauce, sriracha hot chili sauce, hoisin sauce, brown sugar, anise, orange peel, chili pepper and ginger to crock.
- Cover slow cooker and cook on HIGH for 4 to 4 1/2 hours or LOW for 8 to 8 1/2 hours until meat is tender. Remove anise, orange peel and chili peppers before serving. Stir in bok choy. Serve with extra sriracha sauce and sliced limes.
For the cook who is busy all day but wants a home-cooked dinner at night, a slow cooker is the answer. And with the Set & Forget® Programmable Slow Cooker, technology takes a big leap forward from the outdated slow cookers found in yesterday’s kitchens.
TAGS: pork, slow cooker
CATEGORIES: Everyday Recipes, main courses, soup & stews
this was my husbands review:
I love you and I love that you try new things. But this was horrible, I need to eat something solid so when I do throw up, it won’t hurt as much.
Hi Kelly, thanks for your feedback. We’re sorry this didn’t work for your husband’s tastes.
YUM!!!!! Made mine pot roast style on the stove on low using beef broth (I thought I had chicken stock when I went to the store) and browned the pork in the pan. Nice deep , spicy flavor and so easy! Once the pork was browned, added the broth, and just kept adding everything as I came to it. Put the lid on and let it simmer on low for a couple of hours. Perfect!!!! Will definitely make again!!!!
Thanks for your feedback. We loved this stew so much we couldn’t stop raving about it during testing and the photo shoot. We’re glad it was a hit for you, too. Thanks for letting us know how it worked out!