Sesame Ginger Pulled Pork Three Ways

I couldn't decide what preparation I liked most, so you get three for the price of one.

Something about being a mom of two has really inspired me to amp my meal prep game. It’s really easy to fall into a takeout trap with a newborn at home, and while I’ve definitely enjoyed my fair share of Goop Kitchen over the past few weeks, I think of dinner as this sacred time where we can connect with Ozzie after a long day at school and eat something nourishing (lord knows I need it!). So, I’ve been planning and cooking in big batches like never before. We’ll have some for dinner, then I’ll repurpose it for lunch during the week and freeze the rest so we can have it again in a few weeks. I literally just took some pulled pork out of the freezer this morning so we could have it for dinner tonight — this way of cooking makes meal prep and family dinners infinitely easier.

Pulled pork can be done in a number of ways, but I am partial to this recipe. Most of the similar recipes I saw had a fair amount of sugar or honey it, so I swapped that for the juice of 1 orange, and it added a touch of sweetness without all the added sugar. The pork itself takes about 10 minutes of prep and cooks slowly in the slow cooker for about 6 hours. From there, you can decide what to do with it: a grain bowl with some veggies, tacos, or lettuce wraps, perhaps. I love the idea of cooking one thing, and being able to enjoy it multiple ways. Excited to see what you do with it!

Enjoy!

xx Mia

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Recipe: Sesame Ginger Pulled Pork

Ingredients

1 cup tamari (this is gluten free soy sauce)

1 cup chicken broth

Juice of 1 orange

2 tablespoons chopped garlic, from 3-4 cloves

2 tablespoons sliced ginger

1 tablespoon coriander seeds

1 cinnamon stick

3 whole star anise

1 tablespoon red pepper flakes

2-3 pound boneless pork shoulder, with as much fat cut off as possible

Garnish

Toasted sesame oil

Zest and juice of 1 lime

Sliced green onions

Sesame seeds

Directions

1. Add the tamari, chicken broth, orange juice, garlic, ginger, coriander seeds, cinnamon stick, star anise and red pepper flakes to the slow cooker, then nestle the pork in. Don’t worry if it doesn’t cover the pork completely.

2. Cook for 4-6 hours, turning every few hours. Remove the pork when it’s so tender it shreds with the slightest touch of a fork.

3. When to pork is ready, remove it with tongs and shred.

4. Strain the liquid, discard the star anise and cinnamon stick, and add any garlic and ginger pieces in with the pork. You can store the pork in an airtight container in the fridge for 4-5 days or freeze.

5. If I am reheating this, I will add to a skillet over medium-high heat. The fat that’s already in the pork makes it crispy (and 10x more delicious).

6. To finish, add the juice and zest of one lime, a few drops of toasted sesame oil, sliced green onions and sesame seeds (or whatever your heart desires, really).

Optional: Strain the fat off the top of the liquid and add some to a pot with some gluten free all purpose flour (1/2 tablespoon at a time) to create a gravy. I normally don’t save this and think it’s fine, but if you feel like it needs a sauce, try this.

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Serving options: Here are a couple of ideas, but feel free to play around with what you have. I always try to incorporate at least a serving of vegetables to make it a complete meal.

1. Grain Bowl: Here are two versions depending on the vibe

   1. Lazy Grain Bowl: Steamed vegetables, brown or white rice, soy sauce and lime

   2. Fancy Grain Bowl: Bok choy, brown or white rice, cucumber slices marinated in rice vinegar (or just sliced cucumbers), Gomasio (a sesame salt that every pantry needs)

2. Street tacos: Small tortillas (I love Coyotas, but Siete or organic corn tortillas also work), avocado, thinly sliced cabbage, avocado, cilantro and hot sauce (optional)

3. Lettuce wraps: Butter lettuce leaves, quick pickled carrots (basically just marinated in rice vinegar like the cucumbers), sesame seeds, and avocado.

I know I said three ways, but the options are really endless. I actually made this as a salad last night with butter lettuce, shaved carrots, avocado, toasted quinoa and sesame seeds with a 2-minute dressing made of tamari, rice wine vinegar and a little toasted sesame oil. It was yum!