Food Wisdo

Chinese pulled pork in The pressure cooker! This is a sweet and spicy variant of pulled pork, perfect for stacking buns, adding tacos or making traditional steamed Chinese buns.

Five fragrant spices and a honey Hoisin Sauce add a lot of flavor to this pulled pork with every bite. And oh hey, it also takes a little more than an hour in The pressure cooker!

The pronounced taste of this dish comes from the Chinese five-spice powder, a classic mixture that usually contains star anise, Sichuan peppercorns, fennel seeds, cloves and cassia (a culinary relative of cinnamon).The exact mix and spice ratio can vary from mix to mix — the one I like is From Oaktown Spice Shop.

This recipe converts Elise’s fantastic slow cooker pulled pork recipe into a pressure cooker. I just had to make a few changes to make sure it comes out with the same flavor in my instant pot, but in much less time.

New to Instant Pot? Check out our article How to use an Instant Pot: a guide for beginners.
First, sauté the ginger and garlic to bring their flavors to the finished dish. Cooking also helps to soften these hot spices.

I also added a little more water to all the cooking liquid needed to allow the pot to accumulate enough steam to be under pressure. Do not worry that the Sauce is too thin — we will simmer the Sauce after cooking the pork to thicken it.

This Chinese pulled pork serves a crowd and is ideal as an appetizer for a festive buffet table. It is also a versatile staple for all types of weekday meals. Stack it on hamburger rolls (mini rolls for sliders or full-sized buns for sandwiches), pour it over rice or vegetables, fill it with Tacos and Burritos or even use it to make traditional Chinese pork steamed buns.

For pressure cookers on the stove: heat the oil over medium heat and fry The garlic and ginger. Pressure cooker for 50 minutes at high pressure. When it’s time to reduce the cooking liquid, simmer the cooking liquid over medium heat.
For larger pressure cookers: this recipe is made for a 6-liter pressure cooker. If you are using a larger 8-liter pressure cooker, increase the amount of water from 1/3 cup to 1 cup. When the pork is ready to cook, you need to reduce the Sauce for another 10 minutes.

Ingredient

• 2 1/2 teaspoons Chinese five-spice powder
• 3 to 3 1/2 pound pork shoulder, cut into large pieces (3 to 4 inch pieces)
• 1/3 cup Water
• 1/4 cup Hoisin Sauce
• 3 tablespoons soy sauce
• 3 tablespoons honey
• 2 tablespoons dry Sherry
• 1 tablespoon Cooking Oil (I like avocado oil)
• 5 garlic cloves, chopped
• 2 inches (1 ounce) piece ginger, chopped

Serve:

• 2 green onions, thinly sliced
• Hamburgers or slider Buns