Asian Pork Roast with Napa Cabbage Slaw
A pork shoulder roast braised in Asian flavors of shallots, sherry, soy sauce and rice wine vinegar served with a crunchy Napa Cabbage Slaw.
This is a re-post of a recipe that I recreated in 2009 while on a low carb diet. It was a Sunday and I wanted something that I could be cooking down all day while I lounged about the house. I really wanted a beef pot roast, but potatoes and carrots were not on my diet and I had a pork shoulder roast on hand that I needed to use, so I concocted this dish with an Asian flare that includes traditional Chinese ingredients of soy sauce, sherry, sesame oil and shallots. I've made it several times and every time I do, I wonder why I don't make it more often. I have revised the method of preparing this roast by adding back the gravy thickening ingredient as flour, rather than egg yolks, as originally prepared. The dish produces a delicious gravy that pairs perfectly well with white rice.
Napa Cabbage Slaw
As an accompaniment, I came up with this Napa cabbage slaw recipe after seeing an episode of East Meets West with Chef Ming Tsai, yet another true culinary giant that was pushed out of the Food Network before it adopted its now abhorrent game-show format. Chef Tsai had the original recipe for this slaw, although I added radishes to the mix. I actually don't care much for radishes and rarely eat them, but for some reason they really work with this recipe.
Asian Pork Roast with Napa Cabbage Slaw
Ingredients
- 3-5 lb bone-in pork shoulder roast
- 1¼ cup light soy sauce (like, Kikkoman Less Sodium)
- 1 cup dry sherry wine
- 1 cup seasoned rice wine vinegar (like, Marukan Seasoned Gourmet)
- 2 large shallots, finely minced
- 1 tbsp dry ground ginger
- 2 tbsp grated fresh or jarred minced ginger (like, Spice World)
- 3 tbsp garlic, minced
- 1/4 cup honey
- 1/2 cup ketchup (like, Heinz "No Sugar Added")
- 4 tbsp all-purpose flour
- 1 6-oz jar sliced mushrooms, drained (like, Green Giant)
- 4 tbsp peanut oil
- 1 medium head Napa cabbage, rinsed
- 8 radishes, sliced paper thin
- 1 red bell pepper, cored, seeded and finely diced
- 3 green onions, finely chopped
- 1/2 cup seasoned rice wine vinegar (like, Marukan Seasoned Gourmet)
- juice of one fresh lime
- 3 tbsp sesame seed oil
- 2 tbsp honey
- 2 tbsp dark Chinese soy sauce (like, Pearl River Bridge)
- 7-8 grind freshly cracked black pepper
Instructions
- Mix the soy sauce, sherry, white wine vinegar, shallots, the dried and fresh (or preserved) ginger, garlic and honey together in a mixing bowl, then pour over the roast in a large plastic zip-lock bag.
- Close the bag, removing as much air as possible and place it into a small bowl or pan to get as much of the marinade in contact with the roast as possible. Marinade 5 to 24 hours, turning occasionally.
- After marinating the roast, remove it from the liquid and dry it with paper towels. Reserve the marinade.
- Pre-heat the oven to 375°F.
- In a large Dutch oven, heat the peanut oil over medium-high heat until shimmering. Brown the roast on all sides, but make sure the roast is fat side up after browning.
- Add one cup of the marinade to the Dutch oven, cover and place in the oven for 2 hours.
- Meanwhile, pour the remainder of the marinade into a sauce pan and set on very low heat so it warms through but doesn't simmer.
- After the roast has cooked in the Dutch oven for two hours, remove the roast to a roasting pan, and return to the oven for 1 hour.
- Pour all of the liquid from the Dutch oven back into the sauce pan over medium heat and add the mushrooms. Bring the liquid to a gentle simmer uncovered, allowing the sauce to reduce a bit.
- The roast should become crusty and browned during its last hour in the oven. Test with a thermometer to 150°F and remove the roast allowing it to rest under aluminum foil for 20 minutes before serving.
- To finish the gravy, add the ketchup to the simmering marinade.
- Mix the flour with 1/2 cup warm tap water until thoroughly blended. Pour a little of this slurry into the simmering marinade, allowing the sauce to return to a simmer as the sauce thickens. Repeat this until the sauce has thickened enough to coat the back of a spoon.
- After the roast has rested, slice it and top with the Asian gravy. The dish goes well with white, Jasmine or Basmati rice.
- Serve with the Napa Cabbage Slaw on the side.
- About an hour before the roast is ready, wash the Napa cabbage and remove the core and any blemished outer leaves.
- Slice the cabbage perpendicularly in thin horizontal strips and place in large bowl.
- Combine the cabbage with the radishes, red bell pepper and green onions in the mixing bowl and chill well in the refrigerator until time to serve.
- In the mean time, whisk together the vinegar, lime juice, sesame seed oil, honey, soy sauce and black pepper. Chill well.
- When ready to serve, toss the vegetables with the dressing, and serve in small ramekins or side dishes.
Napa Cabbage Slaw
Ingredients
- 1 medium head Napa cabbage, rinsed
- 8 radishes, sliced paper thin
- 1 red bell pepper, cored, seeded and finely diced
- 3 green onions, finely chopped
- 1/2 cup seasoned rice wine vinegar (like, Marukan Seasoned Gourmet)
- juice of one fresh lime
- 3 tbsp sesame seed oil
- 2 tbsp honey
- 2 tbsp dark Chinese soy sauce (like, Pearl River Bridge)
- 7-8 grind freshly cracked black pepper
Instructions
- Wash the Napa cabbage and remove the core and any blemished outer leaves.
- Slice the cabbage perpendicularly in thin horizontal strips and place in large bowl.
- Combine the cabbage with the radishes, red bell pepper and green onions in the mixing bowl and chill well in the refrigerator until time to serve.
- In the mean time, whisk together the vinegar, lime juice, sesame seed oil, honey, soy sauce and black pepper. Chill well.
- When ready to serve, toss the vegetables with the dressing, and serve in small, chilled salad bowls.
Notes
- This recipe goes with many dishes, especially those that have an Asian flare to them, but was specifically made to accompany the Kitchen Tapestry recipe for Asian Pork Roast with Napa Cabbage Slaw.
