Using an electric pressure cooker helps bring the cook time for the pork shoulder down to 45 minutes — a far cry from the usual 3-4 hour cooking time of your average pulled pork recipe.
This simple pressure cooker recipe is a great starter recipe for first-time Instant Pot users, as it requires minimal prep and leaves you plenty of room to make the recipe your own: choose a gluten-free sauce (check that it contains tamari instead of soy sauce), swap out the chives for green onions, serve mixed with Chinese vegetables sauteed in sesame oil for a low-carb meal, stir pork chunks into soup, or spoon over brown rice for a hearty rice bowl … use your imagination to customize it to your own tastes and dietary needs.
**Cooking Tip:** After the pork is done cooking, place any extra cooking liquid left in the pot in the refrigerator overnight. Remove and discard the fat that solidifies atop the cooking liquid and use the remaining liquid as a broth for serving udon noodles or to season a stove top stir-fry. (It’s particularly good for adding a punch of umami to vegetable and tofu stir-fries.) The liquid can be placed in a zip-top bag and frozen for up to three months.
Satisfy your sweet tooth with this easy-to-make recipe for Instant Pot Asian-Inspired Pork Shoulder.
1. Info for Instant Pot Asian-Inspired Pork Shoulder
- Cook Time: 1 hr 20 min
- Total Time: 1 hr 20 min
- Servings: 6
- Calories: 300.16 kcal
2. Ingredients for Instant Pot Asian-Inspired Pork Shoulder
- 1 pound white onions (or yellow onions), roughly chopped (about 4 cups)
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 2 tablespoons water
- 2 pounds pork shoulder, cut into roughly 2-inch cubes
- 1/4 cup stir-fry sauce, store-bought, of your choice (teriyaki, soy-ginger, sesame, etc.)
- Rice
- Sesame seeds
- Chopped chives
3. Directions:
- Place the onions in the inner pot, sprinkle the salt and pepper over them, and add the water.
- Place the pork on top of the onions and drizzle it with the sauce.
- Close and lock the lid. Set the valve to Sealing. Press Cancel, then press Manual or Pressure Cook and use the Pressure or Pressure Level button to select High Pressure. Set the time to 45 minutes.
- When the cooking cycle ends, press Cancel. Allow the appliance to cool and pressure release naturally, about 20 minutes. (The pressure is released when the small metal float valve next to the pressure-release valve sinks back into the lid and the lid is no longer locked.)
- Remove the lid. Use tongs to remove the pork from the inner pot and serve it with the sauce drizzled over it, accompanied by rice and garnished with sesame seeds and chopped chives.