Delicious shredded pork with a Thai flavor you will not be able to stop eating. This Slow Cooker Thai Pork has layers of flavor and is perfect served over rice, but would also make great pulled pork sandwiches.
Thai food is one of my favorites and this Slow Cooker Thai Pork does not disappoint. There is something about the background peanut flavor with fresh lime that keeps me returning to this type of food all the time. As a family we don’t always head to the Thai restaurant since I have one child with a peanut allergy. It scares me a bit that he would be accidentally exposed there. It’s better for me to just make Thai food at home and keep him away from it. I also love making this Slow Cooker Thai Noodle Soup. The taste is on point.
This particular thai recipe is simple to put together. I love to load up my slow cooker late in the evening and have it cook all night so it’s ready for lunch the next day. Always a great thing on the weekend. The only problem with slow cooking all night is the good smelling food wakes me up in the middle of night, usually about 3 AM. I can hardly sleep after smelling it. Does this happen to anyone else? I suppose it’s not too bad of a thing to be woken up to smells of wafting deliciousness.
These are Thai chiles and lemon grass stalks. They are very common in grocery stores and you should not have a problem finding them. Make sure to wear gloves when working with the chiles. The lemon grass stalks have a somewhat hard, outer shell. Run a knife lengthwise down the stalk and remove the outer layer before tossing them into the slow cooker.
This is what the pork will look like when done. The red bell pepper breaks up and dots the landscape of the sauce. It’s kind of perfection.
Serve the shredded pork over white rice, I prefer batsmati, but I think Jasmine rice would also be a good choice.
To round out the meal serve with steamed broccoli and make sure you have lime wedges available to give your portion a final squeeze of vibrant, fresh lime.
Hopefully you have leftovers, it reheats perfectly.
Make it soon and often!
Do you love slow cooked meals? Then you need to try this Slow Cooker Pesto Mozzarella Chicken…so good. A Slow Cooker Ham and Potato Soup might also be right up your alley.
Three years ago I made Slow Cooker Pulled Pork Chile Verde and it’s still one of the most popular recipes on this site. Six years ago Pomegranate-Balsamic Glazed Carrots were on the menu and have never left the rotation. Seven years ago Egg Foo Yong became my favorite make-at-home Chinese dish. Eight years ago the best dessert was Cherry-Pineapple Cinnamon Crunch Dump Cake and still is amazing to eat.
Slow Cooker Thai Pulled Pork
Ingredients
- 1 can (14.5 oz) low-sodium chicken broth
- 1 can (13.5 oz) coconut milk
- 1/3 cup seasoned rice vinegar
- 1/3 cup teriyaki sauce*
- 2 Tablespoons fish sauce
- 2 Tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
- 1 Tablespoon chili garlic sauce (found in Asian section of the market)
- 1 Tablespoon finely grated fresh ginger
- 1 teaspoon finely minced garlic
- 2 stalks lemon grass, outer skin layer removed
- 1 large red bell pepper, seeded and sliced
- 4 Thai chiles, sliced in half, stem removed, seeded and deveined**
- 1 (8-10 lb) pork shoulder***
- 3/4 cup creamy peanut butter (do not use natural)
- zest and juice of two limes
- extra lime wedges
Directions
- In the bowl of a large slow cooker (7 quart), add chicken broth, coconut milk, seasoned rice vinegar, teriyaki sauce, fish sauce, soy sauce, chili garlic sauce, ginger and garlic. Whisk mixture until fully combined. (Remember, coconut milk is not a homogeneous mixture and will even look curdled when mixed together...that's okay.) Add lemongrass, red bell pepper and Thai chiles to the mixture. Add pork shoulder. Cover and cook on low for 10 hours.
- Remove pork shoulder from the slow cooker and place on a large cutting board. Make sure to use a slotted spoon to find any pieces of meat and especially any bone that might still be in the sauce. Remove lemon grass stalks also. Whisk peanut butter and lime zest and juice into the hot, liquid mixture until fully combined. Pull meat apart with two forks, discarding all fat and bone pieces. Add pork back into the slow cooker to mix with the sauce and let sit for about 15 minutes. (It's a good idea to leave your slow cooker on the warm setting.)
- Serve over rice and with extra lime wedges.
- *For my teriyaki sauce I used one by Kikkoman called "Baste and Glaze". It's a little thicker than regular teriyaki marinade and is available everywhere.
- **Thai chiles are very common in grocery stores. I live in a rural area and they have them at my regular grocery market. When working with chiles it is advised to wear gloves to keep your hands from coming in contact with them and then possibly touching your face.
- ***A seven quart slow cooker is recommenced for this recipe with such a large piece of pork. If you use a 6 quart slow cooker I would only use an 8 pound pork shoulder so you have enough room for the sauce.
- Note: Leftovers are just as amazing. Since this recipe contains peanut butter it will harden when refrigerated, but melts nicely when reheated.
If you try a recipe, please use the hashtag #NOBLEPIG on INSTAGRAM so we can see what you’ve made. FOLLOW Noble Pig ON FACEBOOK | INSTAGRAM | PINTEREST | TWITTER to keep up with all our latest recipes.