I love Chinese food. One of a favorite/comfort memories from my childhood was going to visit Uncle Norbert and Omi (my paternal grandmother), and then going to the Blossom Inn for supper. We’d order a wide array of dishes for everyone to share, but there’d always be the Blossom Inn Special Shrimp, a special little dumpling of spiced ground pork on a small chunk of green pepper, topped with a slice of spicy Chinese sausage (I can never remember what that dish is called), and my brother and I would get Shirley Temples. Oh, and we mustn’t forget the almond cookies. I liked those better than the fortune cookies.
I haven’t been to the Blossom Inn in over 20 years, but I remember those dishes so well that I can almost taste them, and it makes my mouth water. Donovan has my love of Chinese food, and we’re working on converting Ari. I get really excited when I find recipes that interest me, and I always try to find ways to sneak Chinese (or Chinese inspired) food onto the menu.
Finding the Slow Cooker Char Siu Pork Roast recipe was one of them. I adore the dim sum steamed bbq pork buns, and while I know a store nearby that sells them, I always go “eek!” when I see the price. No, it’s not really that expensive, but I always think I can make them cheaper. The recipe you’ll find below the break is actually double the original, as I wanted to make sure I had extra to make the buns.
I served the roast with home made vegetable fried rice. The roast was a hit (even with Matt, which is truly gratifying, as he’s an “I’ll eat Chinese, but only when I’m in the mood” (which is almost never)), and I will make the fried rice again, but adjusting the seasoning. My memory of the pork was that it was sweeter, but then in finding the recipe for the buns, I see there’s a sweet sauce you mix the pork with, so it could be that. Regardless, this recipe is being moved from the “to be tried” binder to our “family favorites”.
Slow Cooker Char Siu Pork Roast
Makes approx. 16 – 3 oz servings
1/2 cup low-sodium soy sauce
1/2 cup hoisin sauce
6 tablespoons ketchup
6 tablespoons honey
4 teaspoons minced garlic
4 teaspoons fresh minced or grated ginger
2 teaspoons dark sesame oil
1 teaspoon five-spice powder
4 pounds pork shoulder roast*
1 cup fat-free, low sodium chicken broth
The day before you want to make this, put the roast in a gallon-sized freezer bag. Combine the first 8 ingredients in a large bowl and whisk together until well blended. Pour over the roast, smoosh it around a bit, then put the sealed bag in a large bowl to make sure if the bag leaks, it won’t get all over your fridge. Let the roast marinate overnight.
In the morning, spray the liner of your slow cooker with non-stick cooking spray. Put the roast, marinade and all, into your slow cooker and cook on LOW for 8 hours. After 8 hours, flip the roast over, turn the slow cooker onto HIGH and cook for another 2 hours.
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Per Serving (excluding unknown items): 261 Calories; 16g Fat (55.7% calories from fat); 16g Protein; 13g Carbohydrate**; trace Dietary Fiber; 61mg Cholesterol; 583mg Sodium.
Exchanges: 2 Lean Meat; 0 Vegetable; 2 Fat; 1 Other Carbohydrates.
* I bought an almost 7 lb roast, removed the skin and as much of the external fat as I could, and deboned it. I was left with a roast that was an ounce or two over 4 lbs.
*Note: The carb count is really only if you eat a full portion of sauce with the pork.
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