Deliciously-fall-apart-tender, this Instant Pot Asian Pulled Pork is an easy, versatile dish that can be enjoyed in your sandwich, rice bowl, or tacos! It’s a perfect recipe to make ahead of time to savor on a busy weeknight.
Instant Pot has been my favorite cooking tool for years now, and I have shared several Instant Post recipes on my blog. Today I want to share this easy, versatile, and delicious Instant Pot Asian Pulled Pork recipe. I usually make a bigger portion and stretch it for 2 meals. It’s a perfect weeknight meal for the entire family, or for saving it for another day in the freezer!
Watch How to Make Instant Pot Asian Pulled Pork
Watch “Instant Pot Asian Pulled Pork” Video on YouTube
Why Instant Pot Asian Pulled Pork?
If you follow my Instagram, you are probably aware how much my family adores Korean food and how much we pig out whenever we visit Los Angeles. There are some good Korean restaurants in the Bay Area, but we just love the variety and authenticity of Korean foods in LA.
Our recent homemade Korean food is my friend Seonkyoung Longest‘s Korean Pulled Pork, which my kids raved for weeks (thanks, Seonkyoung!).
To save time, I use my Instant Pot to cook the pulled pork instead of using her stovetop method. I like that I don’t have to be physically in the kitchen while the pork is being cooked, and yet the result is as amazing as slow cooking on the stove.
Since my children were begging me for another pulled pork for dinner, I created this Instant Pot Asian Pulled Pork with common ingredients in the Asian pantry. With the simple seasonings of soy sauce, sake, brown sugar, garlic, and ginger, this pulled pork is another instant win! No pun intended.
The pork is fall-apart tender, succulent, and it’s so yummy that you want to go for seconds. As we cook the meat in the delicious liquid, the pork stays moist all the time. You’ll have enough juice to drizzle for extra flavor too!
Easy Recipes Using Instant Pot Asian Pulled Pork
Once the pulled pork is cooked, the rest is easy peasy. You can use the shredded meat to make pulled pork sandwich, pulled pork tacos, pulled pork rice bowl, pulled pork fried rice, steamed pork buns and many other different meals. Each one is just as exciting and delicious. Who doesn’t like the idea of one single batch of meat to be used in countless creative ways? To be more efficient in the kitchen, you’re more than welcome to use the same toppings for each dish in a row too.
All you need is some shredded veggies like purple cabbage, iceberg lettuce, and carrot. For the taco, you can top with fresh cilantro and squeeze in some lime juice. For the rice bowl, you can top it off with a fried egg and finish off with some green onions.
If you like things spicy, you can douse it with a drizzle of Spicy Mayo, which is super easy to make. For the best taste, I highly recommend using Japanese mayo.
Here are just some magical meals you can dish up with the pulled pork:
- Asian Pulled Pork Taco
- Asian Pulled Pork Rice Bowl
- Asian Pulled Pork Sandwich
- Spicy Mayo for a kick
In my recipe, I’ve also shown you how to get the extra char for the pulled pork by putting it under high broil in the oven. It is an extra step, but the pulled pork is guaranteed to benefit from this.
Alternative Cooking Method
Stovetop Method:
You can cook covered on a low simmer for 2-3 hours, or until the pork can be easily shredded with a fork.
Slow Cooker Method:
In your slow cooker, cook on high for 5-6 hours or low for 8-10 hours.
I hope you enjoy making this Asian Pulled Pulled with your instant pot. It is a great tool for juicy, tender, fall-apart delicious pulled pork that you and your family are happy to come home for.
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- 1 onion
- 1 knob ginger
- 6 cloves garlic
- 2 ¾ lb pork shoulder (pork butt) (You can use this recipe for 2.5 to 3 lbs pork (1.25 kg))
- 2 tsp salt (kosher or sea salt; use half if using table salt)
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 1 Tbsp oil
- 1 ½ cup chicken stock/broth (350 ml)
- 5 Tbsp soy sauce (75 ml)
- 2 Tbsp sake (or dry sherry/Chinese rice wine) (30 ml)
- 4 Tbsp brown sugar (¼ cup packed, or 50 g)
- Gather all the ingredients first.
Cut 1 onion into big chunks.
Slice 1 knob of ginger and smash 6 garlic cloves.
Cut the butcher’s twine and season the pork shoulder (or pork butt) with 2 tsp kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper on all sides.
Press the “Sauté” button on your Instant Pot and heat 1 Tbsp oil. When the pot is hot, add the pork shoulder.
- Sear all sides of pork shoulder, about 2 minutes per side, then transfer the pork to a clean plate and set aside.
Add the ginger slices and mashed garlic cloves in the pot, and sauté for 2-3 minutes. Once fragrant, add the chopped onion and coat with oil.
Add 1 ½ cup chicken stock, 5 Tbsp soy sauce, and 2 Tbsp sake.
And 4 Tbsp brown sugar and mix well, scraping the juicy brown bits stuck to the bottom of the pot. Add the pork shoulder back into the pot.
- Cover and lock the lid. Make sure the steam release handle points at “sealing” and not “venting”. Press the “Keep Warm/Cancel” button on the Instant Pot to stop cooking. Press the “manual” button to switch to the pressure cooking mode. Press “+ (plus)” button to change the cooking time to 60 minutes on high pressure.
- If you’re using a stove-top pressure cooker, you won’t have the buttons to press. Just cook on high heat until high pressure is reached. Then reduce the heat to low but maintain high pressure for about 60 minutes.
- When it is finished cooking, the Instant Pot will switch automatically to the “Keep Warm” mode. Slide the steam release handle to the "Venting" position to let out steam until the float valve drops down, OR let the pressure release naturally (takes about 15-20 mins). Unlock the lid and transfer to a rimmed baking sheet pan.
- Shred the pork with two forks.
[Optional] Using a ladle, take out oil/fat (top layer of the liquid). Oil stays near the surface of the liquid, so if you gently submerge the ladle, only oil goes into the ladle, leaving the flavorful liquid behind. Here I discarded 3/4 cup of oil.
- Put the pork back into the pot, and give everything a good toss so that it can soak up the flavors from the sauce.
- Press the “Saute” button again to heat up and serve immediately. Or if you want to give some nice char, transfer to an oven safe skillet.
- Put the skillet under high broil for 3-5 minutes until the shredded pork has nice char. You can make Pull Pork Sandwich, Pulled Pork Bowl, Pulled Pork Tacos, and more!
To save for later, you can keep the pulled pork in an airtight container for 3-4 days in the refrigerator and up to 2-3 months in the freezer.
Cook Time: includes time for pressurizing (15 minutes) and depressurize (15 minutes).
Alternative Cooking Method:
Stovetop Method: You can cook on a low simmer for 2-3 hours on the stove.
Slow Cooker Method: In your slow cooker, cook on high for 5-6 hours or low for 8-10 hours.
Equipment you will need: Pressure Cooker (I use 6 QT Instant Pot)
Recipe by Namiko Chen of Just One Cookbook. All images and content on this site are copyright protected. Please do not use my images without my permission. If you’d like to share this recipe on your site, please re-write the recipe and link to this post as the original source. Thank you.
Love watching your video, but this is the first time I’m not able to hear what you’re saying , though the background music audible throughout the video .
Hi Grace! Thanks so much for letting us know. It’s really strange – as we can hear my voice just fine in our original clip (before upload) or on youtube (after upload). 🙁
Wow, this looks easy and delicious. Can’t wait to try. BTW, I was able to hear you clearly. GREAT VIDEO, as always. I follow Seonkyoung Longest’s blog as well. Her enthusiasm is great. However, a little too spicy for my husband’s taste. Your recipes are always spicy friendly. Thanks
Hi Lyn! I hope you and your husband enjoy this recipe!
Thanks for letting me know that audio was fine. We hear just fine too…. not sure how it can be “no voice” situation….
This was delicious…Having bowl tonight and tacos for my husband. You may want to fix written directions; The amount of oil was missing and you didn’t mention when to add the onions. I figured it out by watching the video. Thanks
Hi Lyn! Thanks so much for letting me know – I’ve fixed it. I was a bit in hurry moving information from my notes and failed to spend more time proof reading. Thanks for taking your time to inform me. I’m happy to hear you enjoy this recipe. Thank you for your kind feedback!
Long time reader, don’t usually comment – thanks for this! Always looking for crock/insta pot recipes – I’ll try this out next week!
Hi Emurii! Thank you for reading my blog for a long time! I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as my family does! 🙂
Hello Nami! I love your recipes. I live in Kyoto and enjoy learning to cook great Japanese food thanks to your website. What is the name of this cut of pork in Japanese? I can never figure what the shoulder, loin, butt, roast, etc are called in Japanese. I hope I can try his delicious looking recipe soon. Thank you!
Hi Megan! I’m jealous you live in Kyoto! I’m happy to hear you’re cooking Japanese food at home! 🙂 This cut should be 豚もも肉(かたまり)or 豚肩ロース. もも肉 = thigh. かたまり = big chunk. 肩 = shoulder. ロース = loin. I hope this helps! Find a big chunk, and make sure it has enough fat. Don’t buy 豚バラ肉 chunk – that’s pork belly and it has too much fat for this recipe. Hope this helps!
Megan, I am also in Kansai! I made this today, but I could only find cuts of about 450g of 豚肩ロース. I bought 3 pieces that totalled about 1200g and cooked on high pressure in my Instant Pot for 25 minutes. Came out perfectly! Thanks for another great recipe, Nami!
Hi Carrie! Awesome! I’m so happy to hear you tried this recipe IN JAPAN! Thank you for your kind feedback! xo
This looked so delicious I had to make it tonight! Yumm.
Hi Aimee! Hope you enjoy this recipe! 🙂
Hi, how about sous vide cooking method?.
Hi Mei! I’ve seen sous vide pulled pork recipe before, so I know you can use it, but I had never tried that yet. It’ll take much longer time than pressure cooking, so I never thought of using sous vide… maybe one day I’ll give it a try!
I’ve cooked pork shoulder for pulled pork using the sous vide method, and I must say it is one of my favorite ways to prepare it to ensure great flavor and tenderness if you’re cooking for a crowd and don’t have a couple of IPs. But if you want to produce similar results, the IP is the way to go because it’s done in less than 2 hours, tastes great, and perfect for a family. I definitely plan to make this Asian pulled pork in my IP.
Hi Carrie! I love using sous vide and I’d love to try that method one day! Hope you enjoy this recipe as much as we do. xoxo
I couldn’t hear your voice either. A beautiful video, wish I could have heard what you were saying.
Hi Mel! I re-uploaded the newer version of this video. We fixed temporary for mobile audio. It works for now but we’re still waiting to hear support’s response to see what’s going on with YouTube. Thank you for letting me know!
Hi
You just forgot adding the onion along the garlic and the ginger (step # 7 ) to the written recipe !
Hi Francisco! And 1 Tbsp oil in Step 5. I’m a big mess today (I didn’t spend enough time proof reading my recipe this time)…. thanks for letting me know!
Can the pork be frozen? In Hawaii, pork butt is commonly sold frozen.
Hi Lyn! Please defrost first before you start searing. You can leave in the fridge for 2 days and it should be defrosted – overnight will not be enough. 🙂
Hi Nami, can I use the neck part of pork? thanks
Hi Inge! I had never used the neck (collar?) part before, but if it’s fatty and tender part enough I think you can. 🙂
Thank you, Nami! The pulled pork was easy to make and delicious!
Wonderful! Thanks for letting me know!
Nami I finished making a low carb version and it tastes fantastic! The brown sugar substitute worked like a charm. We doubled the meat and made it a 12 serving dish, too. 😀
Hi Alyssa! Awesome! So happy to hear that you enjoyed this recipe! Thanks so much for trying this recipe and sharing your tip with us! 🙂
Thanks for sharing this recipe! We made it last night for sandwiches and everyone loved it!
Hi Cory! Wonderful! Thanks so much for trying this recipe for your kind feedback! 🙂
I don’t often comment, even though I visit your website and use your recipes so much… but I just had to say that this recipe was sooooo delicious!
It was my first time making pulled pork and thanks to your clear directions it was so easy and the results were amazing. I made it in the slow cooker, starting in the morning when some friends arrived for my boyfriend’s birthday. They were all smelling the growing aroma in the kitchen!
We had wraps for dinner using the pulled pork, and the spicy mayo was a great match. It was also nice with hoisin sauce 🙂
The recipe is VERY generous for 6 portions! I think it’s enough for 8-10 people. We froze the leftovers and today had some as part of a rice bowl. It was just the perfect meal with the bitterly cold weather we’ve been having
I will definitely be making this again in the future. Thank you for introducing such an easy and delicious pulled pork recipe. Keep up the wonderful work on the website!!
Hi Sarah! I don’t often respond to comments this late (12 days later!), and I’m sorry.
Thanks so much for using my recipes! I’m really happy to hear you enjoyed this recipe, too. Thank you for your kind feedback and encouraging words. I’m glad you could use the leftover for other dishes too. 🙂 Happy belated birthday to your BF! 🙂
Hi Nami, as usual this is another great recipe. Thanks! I was wondering how would you adapt this recipe to make it a miso-flavored pulled-pork? Should I lessen soy sauce if I add miso?
Hi Ray! I’m glad to hear you enjoyed this recipe! Yeah, definitely reduce the soy, and use soy sauce as just a secret ingredient (maybe try with 1 Tbsp?). The part I’m not too sure is that miso burns FAST, which worries me in a pressure cooker when you can’t open. As long as it hits the bottom, I think it will get burn. And miso ideally should not be boiled otherwise the taste will change and all the good nutrients of miso as well as fragrance will be lost. So considering all these reasons, I may add miso later after the pork is completely cooked… 🙂
Hello from Alaska!
Ive been trying out a lot of recipes and love everyone I have tried. I’m making this tonight and am excited about this recipe!
I bought my Instapot just so I could make your recipe for anko paste which I love so much more than store bought!
Hi Nicole! Thank you so much for trying my recipes and I hope you enjoyed this one. Hahaha you bought IP for anko! 🙂 I just bought azuki beans at Japanese grocery stores so I can make more anko too…. Thank you so much for your kind feedback, Nicole!
can i cook in pressure cooker ??
Hi Amanda! This is a pressure cooker recipe (it’s called Instant Pot), so you can follow same cooking time etc. 🙂
Thank you so much for posting this recipe…. We absolutely love the pulled pork from the instant pot. So much favor – yum! Served the pork with the Asian coleslaw & that made it a great combination..
Thank you.
Hi JP! Thank you so much for your kind feedback. I’m so happy to hear you enjoyed it. Thanks for your kind feedback. 🙂