Slow Cooker Asian BBQ Pork Lettuce Wraps
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These Asian BBQ Pork Lettuce Wraps are made with BBQ sauce, soy sauce, and plenty of spices all wrapped up in lettuce and served with rice and radishes.
It’s that time of the year again. School is getting super busy, the weather is cold, and when I get home I don’t want to cook. That means it’s time to pull out the slow cooker.
WHat is a slow cooker?
A slow cooker is a countertop electrical appliance designed for slow cooking at low temperatures. It is often called by the brand name Crock-Pot. This method of cooking is good for making tougher cuts of meat tender and flavorful, as well as soups, stews, and other dishes that benefit from long cooking times. It’s also a great way to cook meals while you are at work.
I have a love/hate relationship with the slow cooker. I think it’s great for easy to make meals that take little time to prepare and little effort to make. However, I also think that it over cooks meat easily.
I do make a lot of dishes in the slow cooker. One of my favorites is this flavorful Pasta Bolognese. We also tend to make French Dips a lot because it makes the beef really tender and the dipping sauce is so good. For an easy to make 5 ingredient meal Slow Cooker Mississippi Roast can’t be beat.
But a slow cooker isn’t just for cooking meals. In winter I love making this tasty Gingerbread Latte in the slow cooker. Plus it’s great for parties. We also love serving this Caramel Apple Cider in the fall.
But this is a pork recipe. I think pork is one of the best things to cook in a slow cooker. My husband isn’t a huge pork fan but I really thought he’d like the flavors in this dish. It’s a pulled pork lettuce wrap.
Now this isn’t your tradition pork in bottled BBQ sauce. This is pork in an Asian BBQ sauce which tends to have a little heat behind it. It’s got a soy base with a little bit of spice and a whole lot of flavor.
Ingredients:
- granulated sugar
- salt
- boneless pork roast (or a boneless pork loin)
- fresh ginger
- rice vinegar
- chicken stock (or you can use beef stock)
- garlic cloves
- chili paste (or chili garlic sauce)
- soy sauce
- BBQ sauce (one that’s a little sweeter works best)
- black pepper
- romaine lettuce (or Bibb lettuce works well)
- radishes
- rice
To make the pork first rub the pork roast with the sugar and salt. Wrap it in plastic wrap and place it in the refrigerator over night. This will help tenderize the meat. If you don’t have time to do this simply rub it with the sugar and salt and set aside while making the sauce.
Place the pork in the slow cooker and turn it on low heat. Combine the ginger, vinegar, chicken stock, garlic, chili paste, soy sauce, BBQ sauce, and black pepper in a bowl and mix well. Pour over top of the pork.
Cover and cook on low heat for 8 hours or high heat for 4 hours. After it has cooked remove the pork from the slow cooker and shred.
How do you shred pork?
Shredding pork with two forks is a common and easy way to shred pork. Take two forks and insert them into a piece of meat. Pull the forks in opposite directions to tear the meat into shreds. You can also use one fork to hold the meat steady while using the other to shred. You can also use meat claws to shred the pork. Meat claws are basically two large forks joined together, which can make shredding faster and easier.
Spoon rice into the lettuce leaves. Spoon the pork and sauce over top of the rice. Top with the thinly sliced radishes.
Can you make ASian BBQ Pork Lettuce Wraps in the Instant Pot?
You can easily make these in the Instant Pot. Place the pork roast in the bottom of the Instant Pot. Pour the sauce over top. Heat on high pressure for 40 minutes. Allow the pressure to naturally release for 15 minutes then manually release the rest of the pressure. Shred and fill the lettuce wraps.
I wasn’t sure what to expect but the scent that greeted me when I got home was mouthwatering. It smelled like soy and BBQ sauce. I quickly cleaned a few lettuce leaves and chopped up some radishes to put on top.
We put the rice and pork on the lettuce wraps and topped them with the radishes. The crunch of the lettuce with the delicious pork and peppery radishes was amazing! We both ate multiple lettuce wraps and enjoyed every bite. My husband even told me to save this recipe he liked it so much.
We had a ton leftover so I figured we’d have it for dinner again the next day. On a whim I made pulled pork nachos instead of the pulled pork lettuce wraps and they were super tasty. I piled on this pulled pork, cheese, green chilies, salsa, and sour cream and it made a delicious nacho dish perfect for dinner or game day.
Pulled Pork Lettuce Wraps
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 Tablespoons sugar
- 1 Tablespoon salt
- 1 2 1/2 lb boneless pork loin
- 1 Tablespoon ginger grated
- 2 Tablespoon rice vinegar
- 1 c. chicken stock
- 3 garlic cloves minced
- 1 Tablespoon chili paste
- 3 Tablespoons soy sauce
- 1/3 c. BBQ sauce
- 2 teaspoons black pepper
- 12 romaine lettuce leaves
- 1 c. thinly sliced radishes
Instructions
- Combine sugar and salt in a bowl. Rub over pork loin, wrap in plastic wrap, and refrigerate over night.
- Place the pork loin in a slow cooker and turn on low heat.
- In a medium bowl combine the ginger, rice vinegar, chicken stock, garlic cloves, chili paste, soy sauce, BBQ sauce, and black pepper. Mix well and pour over top of the pork.
- Cook on low heat for 8 hours.
- After 8 hours remove the lid and shred the pork.
- Spoon pork into lettuce leaves and top with radishes.
Notes
