Easy Asian Pulled Pork Sandwiches
If you love pulled pork, you’re going to love my Asian pulled pork sandwiches! Made with tender, melt-in-your mouth, slow-roasted pork, seasoned with a homemade teriyaki sauce! The pulled pork is served on toasted brioche buns with a refreshing and crunchy red cabbage slaw! This sandwich recipe is perfect for dinner and bound to become a family favorite! You can prepare this recipe in the oven or using a slow cooker.
How to Make Pulled Pork
This incredible sandwich is made with slow-roasted pork shoulder, cooked in a homemade teriyaki broth. This recipe will work well in a slow-cooker or in the oven. I recommend portioning the pork shoulder or roast into smaller chunks for more even cooking. Into a large oven-safe pot or Dutch oven, add the broth ingredients: soy sauce, water, sugar, ginger, garlic, sesame seed oil and vinegar. Bring this mixture to a simmer, then add the pork shoulder. Roast the pork at 350F/177C for 3 1/2 to 4 hours, until the meat is really tender and falling apart. If using a slow cooker, simply place all the ingredients into the cooker and cook on high heat for 6 hours, until the meat is tender.
The Teriyaki Sauce
My Asian pulled pork sandwiches are seasoned with the best sauce! For this sauce, I use the broth that the pork is cooked in, which gives it even more amazing flavor! Once the pork is done cooking, remove it and set it aside. Strain the remaining broth into a small saucepan and bring to a simmer. Cook the sauce for a few minutes, until nicely thickened. If you want the sauce to be even thicker, add a cornstarch slurry: 1 tablespoon of cornstarch mixed with 2 to 3 tablespoons water. Pull the pork into bite sized pieces, then pour this sauce over the meat and toss to coat.
Red Cabbage Slaw
The richness of these pulled pork sandwiches is perfectly balanced with my crunchy red cabbage slaw! It’s a refreshing additional to the recipe. It’s super easy to make, too! Just combine shredded cabbage with grated carrots, a bit of freshly chopped cilantro, sour cream, lime juice and salt to taste. If you love spicy foods, try adding some sriracha sauce into the slaw, too!
More Recipes!
Looking for more delicious recipes? Check out some of my other dinner ideas! Want to receive new recipe emails in your inbox? Make sure to subscribe to my website and my YouTube channel and turn on notifications!
- Caramelized Onion Bacon Cheeseburger – the ultimate cheeseburger recipes with homemade patties, burger sauce and brioche buns!
- Hawaiian Pork Kabobs – tender pork marinated with teriyaki sauce and pineapple!
- Teriyaki Chicken Stir-Fry – my favorite stir-fry recipe!
- Korean Beef Tacos – Korean barbecue beef with spicy cabbage slaw!
- Crispy Fried Fish Sandwich – The most delicious fish sandwich with crispy fried mahi mahi, cabbage slaw, garlic aioli spread and avocado!
Share it on Pinterest!
Asian Pulled Pork Sandwiches
Ingredients
- 3 to 4 pound pork shoulder or roast
- 4 to 5 garlic cloves, crushed
- 2- inch piece of fresh ginger, roughly chopped
- ½ cup soy sauce
- ½ cup loosely packed brown sugar
- ¼ cup sesame seed oil
- ¼ cup mirin, sweet rice wine
- 1 cup water
For Coleslaw:
- 1 small red cabbage
- 3 large carrots, or 1 cup shredded carrots
- Small bunch fresh cilantro
- ¼ cup cream
- juice from 1 lime
- salt, to taste
- 10 sandwich buns
- 1/3 cup Sriracha mayonnaise spread, optional
Instructions
- Prepare the pork shoulder for roasting. Preheat your oven to 350F/177C. Measure out all of the ingredients for the broth: water, soy sauce, brown sugar, sesame seed oil and mirin. Combine everything in a medium-sized Dutch-oven or oven-safe pan. Add the chopped ginger and crushed garlic. Bring the mixture to a simmer over medium heat. Remove the pork shoulder from packaging and place directly into prepared broth. The meat should be covered only half way.
- Bring the mixture back up to a simmer. Cover the Dutch-oven with a lid. If using an oven-safe pan, make sure the lid fits tightly. Place into preheated oven and roast for 3 ½ to 4 hours, turning the meat half way through. If too much liquid evaporates, add a small amount of water to replenish. Alternatively, the pork shoulder can be prepared in a slow-cooker. Follow all instructions as above and cook the pork shoulder for 6 hours on ‘high’ setting.
- After 3 ½ to 4 hours, pork shoulder will be very tender and fall apart. Remove the meat from the oven and cooking pan and set into a large bowl. Use two large forks or tongs, pull the meat into small pieces.
- Strain the cooking broth through a fine-mesh strainer. Skim off any impurities and fat from the top. Discard pieces of ginger, garlic and impurities. Pour the broth into a sauce pan and bring to a simmer of medium heat. Simmer for a few minutes to thicken the sauce. Reserve ¼ cup of the sauce for later. Pour prepared sauce over the pulled pork and toss to coat all of the meat.
- For the red cabbage slaw, thinly slice the cabbage into shreds and place into a large bowl, along with grated carrots, sour cream and lime juice. Season to taste with salt and toss the ingredients together until well coated in the sour cream.
- To assemble the sandwiches, first spread mayonnaise and pepper sauce onto the bread. Toast the bread in a pan, on a griddle or under the oven broiler until golden. Add a generous amount of pork meat onto each sandwich and top with the cabbage slaw. Add additional sauce on the top, if desired. Enjoy warm.
