Gochujang Korean Pulled Pork
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Win over the whole family with this flavor-packed Korean pulled pork. The meat slowly cooks away for hours, soaking up ALL the flavor from a delicious marinade of Korean gochujang, soy sauce, honey, and chicken stock. The best part: it's super easy thanks to the slow cooker. This succulent, melt-in-your-mouth masterpiece practically cooks itself!
For more Korean-inspired dinners, try these Korean chicken thighs or gochujang pork chops.
This Korean pulled pork has all the qualities you adore in tender, fall-apart pulled pork but elevates it with a twist of Korean flavors ā slightly sweet, smoky, and a little spicy. The magic happens by letting your gochujang pork simmer away in the slow cooker, mingling all the flavors. It's a super easy dinner recipe that shines as a main dish, on pizza, noodles, tacos, and more.
Is this an authentic Korean pulled pork recipe?
This recipe features tender, pulled pork wrapped up in our favorite Korean flavor ā gochujang. It is quite different than bossam, traditional Korean boiled pork. Bossam is made by boiling a braising cut of pork in a flavorful broth and then thinly slicing it to serve. My Korean Kitchen has a great bossam recipe you should check out.
While our recipe for Korean pulled pork is not authentic, it is a fan favorite made with the flavors you associate with Korean food ā sweet, salty, spicy, delicious!
What is gochujang
Gochujang is a staple of Korean cooking! The name comes from the Korean words: gochu, which means chili or hot pepper, and jang, which means paste or sauce. It's a fermented chili paste that has a distinct and complex flavor profile: it's spicy, a little sweet, and totally umami flavor ā kind of like miso, but spicy.
Made from red chili peppers, it brings moderate heat. It has some sweetness, usually from a rice syrup. The deep umami flavor comes from the fermentation process, giving a rich savory taste.
Ingredients needed
This succulent Korean pulled pork uses only a few simple ingredients ā this is what you need:
- Gochujang: The star of the show, this Korean chili paste gives a bold, umami, and spicy kick.
- Soy sauce: Adds saltiness and a dark savory note. Opt for low sodium, or gluten-free if needed.
- Honey: Contributes natural sweetness, balancing out the other flavors.
- Chicken stock:Ā A savory and rich addition to keep the pork moist.
- Pork shoulder or butt: Our protein source!
How to make Korean pulled pork
We don't know what's best about this Korean pulled pork recipe: the mouthwatering flavor or the sheer simplicity ā It takes around five minutes of prep time before you let the slow cooker work its magic. These are the instructions:
- Throw it in the crockpot: Whisk the sauce ingredients together in a bowl. Put the pork in your slow cooker, pour the sauce over the top, then walk away and let the magic happen!
- Shred the pork: When ready, remove the pork, put it into a baking dish, and shred it with forks.
- Reduce the sauce: Pour all the juice left from the slow cooker into a small pot and bring it to a boil until it thickens and becomes saucy. We like to scoop out the fat that rises to the top as there's usually quite a bit.
- Mix and enjoy: Pour the thickened sauce over the pulled pork and toss it all to make sure it's coated ā enjoy!
What cut of meat to use for pulled pork
When it comes to selecting the meat for your pulled pork, look for pork shoulder ā also known as pork butt or boston butt. (Despite the name, it's from the upper part of the pig's front shoulder rather than from the rear!) The reason why we opt for this is it has a beautiful marbling of fat, meaning a juicy and flavorful end result. You can find bone-in or boneless. While the bone-in variety is favored by some as it adds extra flavor, boneless is more convenient to shred the meat after cooking and fits easier in a slow cooker.
Some people tend to lean towards using pork loin, as it's leaner, however, it is a bit too lean for this recipe as the lower fat content will mean it's less juicy and will dry out easily.
How to serve Korean pulled pork
Gochujang pork shines as a standalone main, served alongside basmati rice and Asian vegetables, such as these garlic sugar snap peas or sauteed bok choy. Sprinkle with red pepper flakes, sesame seeds, or green onion slices before serving. This asian coleslaw works as a side dish or make delicious gochujng pork sliders by adding the pork and slaw to a bun.
This Korean pulled pork is also delicious on this Korean pizza. Top off some soy ginger noodles with gochujang pork or replace the pork in these pulled pork tacos to make a Korean version.
Recipe FAQs
Where to buy gochujang
Find gochujang paste in Asian supermarkets, in the international food section of your local supermarket, or find gochujang online.
What else can I make with gochujang?
Rub some on your potatoes before they go in the oven, whisk some into your scrambled eggs, make a stir-fry sauce, coat your veggies, spread it on pizza, or mix some with your mayo for a spicy sandwich. Or try these gochujang Korean BBQ chicken thighs. They're delicious!
Is gochujang gluten-free?
It is usually gluten-free as it's made from fermented soybeans and rice ā however, always check product labels as some brands may include additives that contain gluten.
Can I store leftovers?
Yes, you can store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to three days or freeze them in a freezer-proof container for up to three months. Thaw in the fridge a day before you intend to use it.
Can I make this in an Instant Pot?
While the flavors would work, the cooking time would vary. We recommend trying it for an hour in the Instant Pot and keeping an eye on it to adjust as needed.
More pulled pork recipes
Gochujang Korean Pulled Pork Recipe
Ingredients
- Ā½ cup chicken stock
- ā cup gochujang (gluten-free gochujang or homemade gochujang if needed)
- Ā¼ cup low-sodium soy sauce (gluten-free if needed)
- Ā¼ cup honey
- 5 lb pork shoulder or butt
Instructions
- In a medium-sized bowl, whisk the chicken stock, gochujang, soy sauce, and honey.Ā½ cup chicken stock, ā cup gochujang, Ā¼ cup low-sodium soy sauce, Ā¼ cup honey
- Put the pork into your slow cooker and then pour the sauce over the top.5 lb pork shoulder or butt
- Cook the pork for 4-6 hours on high heat or 8-10 hours on low heat.
- Remove the pork from the slow cooker and place it into a baking dish. Pour the juice that is in the slow cooker into a small pot and bring it to a boil. Let it boil hard until it thickens and becomes saucy. Pour or scoop the fat off of the sauce.
- While the sauce is reducing, shred the pork using 2 forks. Pull it across the grain to make long strands rather than short chunks. When the sauce is finished, pour it over the pulled pork and gently toss so everything is well coated.
Nutrition
We have thoroughly tested this recipe for accuracy. However, individual results may vary. See our full recipe disclosure here.
For more inspiration, check out all of our pork recipes and our dinner ideas!
Great recipe! I used 1.75 lb of pork butt and didn’t have honey so I used sugar instead. About 2 tablespoons? I eyeballed it. I also added chopped garlic and white onions and course red pepper. 3 hours on high heat. I made it into sandwiches with bollilo rolls from the market and dressed with cilantro and chopped white onions. Could be made into tacos. The flavor was awesome! My family loved it!
I bet those were the best sandwiches ever!
Cannot wait to make this. Looks amazingly delicious. Will make this in the next day or so. Thank you.
I made this tonight, and the only adjustment I made was a wee bit more honey to make it a tiny bit sweet. I served it over a deep fried corn tortilla for crunch with an Asian slaw and Gochujang mayo, cilantro and fresh lime squeezed over top. It was bloody amazing. We couldnāt get enough. š¤¤ I can easily see this becoming a family favorite.
Would it be possible to make this the day before and reheat it the next day for a party? If so, how would you recommend reheating it?
Absolutely you can! You can warm it up over low heat on the stove. Even a microwave should work, too.
Hi, this recipe is amazing! The pork turned out very tender, smokey and delicious. I have some leftovers and want to serve it in steamed buns. Which vegetables would you recommend to pair it with? Thanks for a great recipe! š
I like this with Asian-style vegetables like our garlic snap peas.
This recipe sounds lovely. However, Iām European. Any chance the meisurement in cups can be given in grams too? Donāt want to mess things up š Thanks!
Sorry but we don’t have weights at this time.
So easy. So delicious. Have done it just before Christmas for the family. Minimal effort and so versatile.Ā
Absolutely perfect meal !!!! This is now my husbands favorite. I had to use an 8 pound shoulder so I doubled everything and it was fabulousā¦ thank you so much for sharing this treasure of a recipe
I used an 8lb bone in pork butt (Iām not actually sure as one label said butt and the other said shoulder, but I think the bone was a shoulder blade). I read the comments and wanted to instant pot it to save on time and electricity, so based on other instant pot recipes I read, I instant potted it for 1 hour 55 minutes. Ā My instant pot got to pressure and then warned me it was burningā I opened it and there was enough liquid and realized the large piece of meat didnāt have any of the liquid underneath it so I lifted it and let the liquid flow under. Solved the problem. Ā I love the sauce but it was a bit too spicy for me so good thing the meat takes in a lot of the flavor but not the spicyness. Ā I jarred the sauce as an option on the side. Ā Overall, it was super delicious and easy to make. Iāll add less gochuragang next time.Ā
I mustāve done something wrong bc there was barely any liquid in the pot after cooking. The recipe says to cook the sauce down to two cups. I donāt even HAVE two cups to cook down.Ā
I always find that the pork releases a lot of liquid as it cooks. Sounds like you get to skip the step of reducing the sauce!
I just someoneās post regarding cooking it on high; I did and it is perfect in five hours.
I made this for my husband today and he loves it. Today he is having over rice, tomorrow is pork sliders with kimchi or Korean slaw, and Tuesday will be tacos with pineapple salsa.Ā
This looks awesome. I’m making this in a couple of days for 12 people and we’re going to do them as sliders. I was planning on doing it in two croc pots. Any recommendation for how to increase the recipe, i.e.: how much pork shoulder should I buy? Also, would you recommend making extra sauce or do you think the reduced “juices” will be sufficient.Ā
If you’re planning on using 2 slow cookers, I would recommend simply doubling the recipe. And if you don’t end up with leftovers, it freezes very well. š