Soba—and the substitute, ramen—as well as soy sauce, sesame, and ginger are all common in Japanese cooking, but this slow cooker dish pulls inspiration from a wide range of cuisines. Star anise and cinnamon are used in Vietnamese, Taiwanese and Chinese cooking, while sherry is from Spain and red pepper flakes are most closely associated with Italian and Italian-American food—you’ve no doubt seen a jar at your local slice shop.
| Level: | Easy |
| Total: | 6 hr 35 min |
| Prep: | 20 min |
| Inactive: | 15 min |
| Cook: | 6 hr |
| Yield: | 6 to 8 servings |
Ingredients
- 3 pounds boneless pork shoulder
- Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
- 1 cup soy sauce
- 1/2 cup dry sherry
- 1/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons toasted sesame oil
- 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 2 star anise pods
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 5 cloves garlic, smashed
- 1 2-inch piece ginger, peeled and sliced
- 6 to 8 whole dried shiitake mushrooms
- 1 pound soba or ramen
- 1/4 cup water chestnuts, sliced
- 2 Fresno chile peppers, seeded and thinly sliced
- 2 scallions, sliced
- 1/4 cup fresh cilantro
Instructions
- Season the pork with salt and pepper. Heat a skillet over medium-high heat with the vegetable oil. Add the pork and brown on all sides, 6 to 8 minutes. Transfer to a plate.
- Combine the broth, soy sauce, sherry, sugar, sesame oil, red pepper flakes, star anise and cinnamon stick in a 5-quart slow cooker. Stir to dissolve the sugar, then add the garlic, ginger and mushrooms. Add the pork, cover and program to cook 4 hours on high, then 2 hours on low, or 6 hours total on low.
- Transfer the pork to a platter, cover and let rest 15 minutes. Remove the mushrooms from the broth and halve them, then return to the broth.
- Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook the soba or ramen as the label directs. Drain and rinse under cold water until cool. Slice the pork. Divide the noodles among bowls and top with some of the broth and mushrooms and a few slices of pork. Garnish with the water chestnuts, chiles, scallions and cilantro.
Nutrition Facts
| Serving Size | 1 of 8 servings |
| Calories | 758 |
| Total Fat | 39 g |
| Saturated Fat | 12 g |
| Carbohydrates | 61 g |
| Dietary Fiber | 2 g |
| Sugar | 8 g |
| Protein | 44 g |
| Cholesterol | 121 mg |
| Sodium | 2353 mg |
Reviews
My husband and I are fans of most Asian cuisine. We live in the desert and it’s currently too hot to use our stove and oven as often as I do in cooler weather, so I often look for new slow cooker ideas and this recipe is fabulous; Reminds us both of Pho. I can’t always find soba noodles so I buy ramen when necessary. This is a new “go to” slow cooker meal in our home. It’s delicious.
I really really wanted to like this… but i just did not. Weird flavors. Uneven spices. Just not for me.
The dish is excellent as so many have stated, if you follow it up to adding the cup of soy sauce. This is was way too much for me and I don’t mind a salty Asian dish. Next time I will add only a 1/4 cup of soy sauce to start, adding additional sauce if needed. I was able to improve mine by adding about 6 cups of low sodium chicken broth and water. I give it a 4 star because I believe it was a bad call on adding so much soy.
Ah-maz-ing! So full of flavor. Next time we will dial back a tad on the soy sauce. This was so easy that the non-chef of the family tackled it with ease. Will feed 6 easily. Yum-o. Even the finicky kid liked it.
So delicious! Can’t wait to make it again!
This is a great recipe for a large group of people, or if you’re a lover of week-long leftovers. It’s so easy to just throw the pork and ingredients into the slow cooker and come home to the aroma. We even tried it with pork butt, pork leg, even ribs! Really, it’s the combination of soy sauce, sesame oil, cinnamon, and chicken stock that does the trick. Highly recommended,
The pork turned out amazing–tender and flavorful. The rest needed help. The cinnamon took over the broth which was already too concentrated and needed to be watered down before serving. Also, I would want to refrigerate the broth before serving so I could skim off the excess fat. Overall, just okay. I’ll keep looking for a better asian soup recipe.
Would definitely use low-sodium soy sauce, and even then I would reduce the amount if I were ever to make this again. Even with the low-sodium soy sauce and low-sodium broth, this dish was simply too salty for 3 out of the 4 members of our family. The 4th person, however loved it.
I invited Japanese friends and they could not believe that this was not a recipe from a cookbook from some asian country. The pork was so tender and flavored perfectly but the soup was a bit salty. Regardless, I mujst give a 5 star for this because it was that good. I can’t wait for the day my parents come to visit from Japan to have this dish. I know they will be super impressed!
I made this for the first time and followed the directions exactlly. It turned out great. I mixed all the ingredients except the pork together the night before to cut down on prep time in the morning before work. The trip to the speciallty market for th soba noodles was worth it. They added a lot of flavor and texture that regular pasta doesn’t have.