Following the omens: Slow Cooker Sweet and Spicy Asian Pork Shoulder

There are times in your life when it seems like the universe is telling you something; times when all signs point to the same thing and it appears that the great hand of fate is gently nudging you towards a destiny. Well, I had one of those experiences this weekend. I was planning my meals for the week, dreading a recycled week of chicken breasts, pastas and other good old standbys. Needing some inspiration, I opened a few magazines, and flipped through picture after picture of mildly inspired meals. And then I saw it: Slow Cooker Sweet and Spicy Asian Pork Shoulder in Real Simple. The picture alone could have sold me, but the truth of the matter isI have been dying to try out my slow cooker since someone graciously gifted it to Husband and me for our wedding. What more could I need? Well how about the following: a coupon for $1 off the needed Chili-Garlic Sauce AND a sale on pork shoulder at my local grocery store. What can I tell you? There are sometimes you need to follow the omens…

I couldn’t find a pork shoulder that was less than 4 ½ pounds, so I chose a relatively lean looking 5 pounder with the idea of doubling the recipe. Cutting the uncooked pork was definitely more time consuming than I had hoped and I learned yet another valuable kitchen lesson: bring big hunks of meat to room temperature before slicing and dicing. I left the pork shoulder in the fridge until minutes before cutting it into beautiful 2 inch pieces. What happened? Frost bitten fingers. Ok, maybe it wasn’t so bad, but damn! It was cold!

In addition to the temperature issue, I would suggest giving yourself more than the 15 minutes to prep the recipe. Cutting up the pork alone took me 20 minutes, but I had to stop a few times to warm up my hands and I was anal about removing the fat.

Here are some other things to consider:

• Play with the amount of salt. I eye-balled about half the salt recommended and still found the dish a little salty. However, Husband, who I sometimes think would be happy if just given a salt lick for dinner, disagreed.

• The Chili-Garlic Sauce is SPICY! I love spice, but if your taste buds are a little more sensitive, you might consider halfing the amount suggested. I went with the full 2 Tablespoons (which was actually 4 since I doubled the recipe).

• Double the vegetables. Not that I'm a green Nazi, but I do think this could have benefited from some extra heads of bok choi rather than just one (or two in my case).

I cooked the dish on low for 7 1/2 hours.

The result: pure genius! This dish was easy, took little attention and might very well be one of the best things I’ve ever made. I would put this head to head with my local Chinese take out any day! And the best part? It only costs about $2.50 a serving. It seems that listening to the universe can in fact yield beautiful rewards. Now if only it could guide me to monetary riches, I would be totally satisfied…

Summary:
Difficulty Level: Low
Effort Level: Low-moderate
Cost: VERY LOW!
Results: When the stars align, listen to the signs!

Note: If you do not have a slow cooker, this recipe can easily be adjusted to cook in a Dutch oven. Brown the meat, then toss it in the sauce and cook covered in a Dutch oven for 4-5 hours at 300-325.