As luck would have it, I have the perfect pork dish to start your New Year.
This might honestly be my best pork dish yet — and I’m a serious pork fan. It’s tender, flavorful, slightly spicy and sweet, and it works in so many ways.
First: are you superstitious at all?
Do you do anything quirky for luck — wear the same socks for game day, eat black-eyed peas on New Year’s Day, or toss salt over your shoulder? If you do throw salt, I admire the faith but dread the cleanup.
I’m not very ritualistic — worrying about being superstitious makes me oddly superstitious, which is its own mess. But my family has always had pulled pork on New Year’s Day. For years I thought it was just because we loved it. Turns out it’s a good-luck tradition in many places. Lucky for us, love and luck collided.
Eddie and I devoured this dish the first time we made it and kept coming back to it — we made it several more times after testing. The pork is slightly spicy and the bright, crisp sesame cucumbers tossed with toasted sesame oil provide a refreshing contrast. Together they create a perfect balance of flavor and texture.
This pork is fantastic in sandwiches, over rice, in tacos, with eggs, or even tossed with pasta. If you like sweet heat, this one’s for you.
Sweet and Spicy Pork Shoulder with Sesame Cucumbers
Yield:
4
to 6
8 hours
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Ingredients
- 1 (3 to 4 pound) pork shoulder
- salt and pepper to season
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1/2 cup low-sodium soy sauce
- 1/3 cup loosely packed brown sugar
- 1/4 cup chili garlic paste
- 2 tablespoons hoisin sauce
- toasted sesame oil, for drizzling
sesame cucumbers
- 1 seedless cucumber, thinly sliced
- 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
- 1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
- 1 teaspoon chili garlic paste
- salt and pepper for sprinkling
- 1 tablespoon sesame seeds
Instructions
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Heat a large skillet over medium-high and add the olive oil. Season the pork shoulder with salt and pepper, then sear on all sides until golden, about 1 to 2 minutes per side. Turn off the heat.
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In the bottom of the slow cooker, whisk together the soy sauce, brown sugar, chili garlic paste and hoisin. Add the pork, cover, and cook on low for 8 to 10 hours, until the pork falls apart with a fork. Shred, discard excess fat or bones, and toss the pork in the cooking sauce.
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Serve over jasmine rice with the sesame cucumbers. Drizzle with toasted sesame oil and offer extra chili garlic paste on the side.
Sesame cucumbers:
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Place the cucumber slices in a bowl. Whisk together rice vinegar, toasted sesame oil and chili garlic paste. Pour over the cucumbers and toss to coat. Season with salt and pepper, then sprinkle with sesame seeds.
Notes
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I appreciate you so much!
Give it a try — it might make you feel like the luckiest person at the table.