Slow Cooker Asian Pork

I love Costco, but one downside is the sheer amount you must buy. The prices are great, but in a household of two, you have to strategically purchase items. Recently we bought some pork shoulder, and quickly came home and divided it up into approximately 2-pound chunks, bagged them individually, and froze them. And since that means our freezer is suddenly stocked with a lot of pork, we're always on the lookout for more ways to use it than just bbq pulled pork.

So when I was flipping through this month's Real Simple magazine and saw a slow cooker pork recipe with Asian flavors, I was all over it!


Asian Pork with Red Peppers
adapted from the March 2011 issue of Real Simple

1/2 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
2 tbs rice wine vinegar
1 tsp sesame oil
1 1-inch piece fresh ginger, peeled and chopped
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
2 pounds pork shoulder, trimmed and cut into 2-inch pieces
1 large red bell pepper, cut into 1 inch squares
Chopped cilantro, for serving
Chopped unsalted roasted peanuts, for serving

In a bowl, mix together the soy sauce, sugar, vinegar, oil, ginger, and crushed red pepper. Place pork pieces in the slow cooker, and pour mixture over the pork. Cover and cook until the pork is tender but not crazy falling apart (ok Real Simple didn't say that last part), on low for 7-8 hours or high for 4-5 hours.

Five minutes before serving, sautee the red bell pepper chunks in a pan on the stove with a little bit of olive or peanut oil.

Put your favorite kind of rice in a bowl (we used short grain brown), add red bell pepper, then pork pieces. Use some of the liquid in the crock pot as a sauce. Sprinkle fresh chopped cilantro and peanuts on top.