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Asian Pork Noodle Salad--using the slow cooker!

Asian Shredded Pork and Noodle Salad

Adapted from Brigit Binns
Course entree salad
Cuisine Asian
Author TheSpicedLife

Ingredients

For the pork and gravy:

  • 3 lbs pork shoulder or butt, trimmed of excessive fat
  • salt and pepper
  • 1 T vegetable oil
  • 1 large onion, chopped
  • 4 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1/3 cup Shaoxing wine (sub with dry white wine or sherry if necessary)
  • 1 T dark soy sauce
  • 1/2 cup chicken stock
  • 1 T brown sugar

For the salad:

  • 1 lb dried long Chinese noodles (I used wheat but egg would work as well; you could also sub spaghetti or angel hair)
  • 3 cups shredded Napa cabbage
  • 1 sweet bell pepper, thinly sliced
  • 8 oz bag of shredded carrots
  • 2 hothouse English cucumbers, peeled and seeded, and sliced into thin half moons
  • 1 cup chopped cilantro
  • 1/4 cup chopped mint

For the dressing:

  • juice of 3 juicy limes
  • 2 T fish sauce, to taste
  • 1 T sugar, to taste
  • 2 T vegetable oil
  • 1 t minced ginger

For serving:

  • Sriracha or Sambal Oelek

Instructions

Make the shredded pork:

  1. Pat the pork shoulder dry and sprinkle generously with salt and pepper.
  2. In either a stovetop-safe slow cooker or a large frying pan, heat the oil on medium high heat. When it is shimmering, add the pork and brown on all sides, about 6-8 minutes per side. Then remove the pork to a large bowl.
  3. Pour off some of the fat--I like to leave 2-3 tablespoons. Add the chopped onion and stir. Cook until starting to caramelize, about 8 minutes. Add the garlic and stir. Cook until fragrant, about another minute.
  4. Add the Shaoxing wine and deglaze the pan, scraping to remove any browned bits. Add the soy sauce and stock and bring to a boil.
  5. When the liquid starts to boil, either transfer it to your slow cooker or place the slow cooker onto its base. Add the pork shoulder with any accumulated juices. Stir in the brown sugar, and then cover and cook for 4 hours on high or 8 hours on low.

Make the salad:

  1. When you are ready to assemble the salad, cook the noodles to taste and then drain, rinsing with cold water to prevent stickiness.
  2. Chop the cabbage and prep the rest of the vegetables for the salad (peppers, cucumbers, carrots, cilantro, mint). Toss in a large bowl and set aside.
  3. Whisk together the dressing ingredients. Taste to make sure you like the balance of flavors--remember that it should be strong because it will be muted by a lot of other flavors. Set aside.
  4. Remove the pork from the slow cooker and shred. Add the shredded pork back into the slow cooker and stir it into the sauce.
  5. Assemble individual salads by tossing the vegetables and noodles and then topping with the shredded pork and some dressing. Serve with Sriracha or sambal oelek for those who like things spicy.