Slow Cooker Pork Tacos With Hoisin and Ginger

Reading the notes, I added to the base. 3 star anise, 1/4 cup of garlic chili sauce, 3 tbsp of honey, 1/2 tsp ground clove, 1/2 tsp cinnamon, juice of 3 limes (needed acid. really punched up all flavors!) 2tbs rice wine vinegar. Pork butt dusted with Zingerman's coffee spice rub. OMG this is righteous! I didn't add any Siracha until we made the tacos. Nice balance of flavors and very good meal.

I've made this several times, each time better than the last! I love that there is always plenty of amazingly flavorful broth left over which I turn into a terrific soup; rice noodles, shredded pork, more cilantro, bean sprouts.

Excellent made with chicken thighs instead of pork, will go into my slow cooker rotation.

I made this with pork loin instead of the shoulder. I chunked the loin and cooked it on high in the crock pot for about 3 hours. Then took out the pork, finely cut it, and added it back into the sauce. The meat absorbs most of the sauce. The first time I made this, I thought it was too salty (too much fish sauce), so I used less the second time, and liked it better.

You can go with your butcher's recommendation, sure. Fat is flavor. On the other hand: there's a lot of fat. A lot. I cooked the recipe both ways and a few others too, getting it ready for your use. My conclusion: skin-on, fat-on, in the slow cooker, leads to a too-greasy result. (I'd never say that about oven-cooking a pork shoulder. See, for example, our bo ssam: http://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/12197-momofukus-bo-ssam

I made this in an electric pressure cooker to see if it could be made fast instead of slow! It worked perfectly. Made 1/2 the recipe with 2 lbs. trimmed pork butt cut into 4 pieces (no bone). I added a touch more water (a couple of tablespoons). Cooked at high pressure for 35 minutes and let the pressure release naturally. I de-fatted the liquid and reduced it by about 25% before recombining with the shredded meat.

I love this dish. Made it with boneless pork shoulder. Couldn't have been more tender. I'm a big fan of the sweet and fishy, so this fills the bill. Used broccoli slaw mix with equal parts rice vinegar and sweet Asian chili sauce. Put the cilantro sprigs, finely chopped peanuts and sliced green onions out for condiments. In a word, yum!

My 7 year old son said ,"this is a million times better than I was expecting!" I'm pretty sure it was a compliment. The recipe is a winner.

Brilliant. I decided to make it a day ahead and cook it much as I would smoke a pork shoulder, not trimming away all of the fat and placing the meat in the slow cooker fat side up so the flavor sank into the meat while cooking. I refrigerated the cooking liquid separately, making it easy to skim off the fat before reheating. Might try adding some finely chopped peanuts over the slaw next time.

My interpretation was to leave the onion/garlic/ginger from step 1 in the pan, and then step 2 is adding the hoisin/fish sauce/sriracha/water to the pan, making the sauce with everything together. But I see how it might be confusing since step 1 says "set aside" - making you think you should remove onion/garlic/ginger from pan?

This is a fantastic recipe. The pulled pork and the slaw can also be used to fashion a pretty mean bahn mi if there's a decent baguette within reach.

Thank you, Sam, for the slow cooker recipes. More, more, please

Made in a 325 degree oven, it took about 4 hours. Really good recipe, but I agree with Joyce's comment below that it needs a touch of acidity. I might serve it with lime wedges next time, or use a more acidic vinegar in the slaw. Still, incredibly delicious recipe, will make again.

I cooked in the oven at 300 and it pulled beautifully after 3 hours. We like it but thought the seasoning would be bolder. Don't be afraid of the fish sauce or hoisin.

The pork was so tender! And the slaw was a new taste treat with the addition of sriracha sauce and Asian pear. Only negative is the pork sauce was salty with all that fish sauce; will use half as much next time. This recipe is a keeper!