Five Spice Pork Belly Slow Cooker

Claudia has been writing recipes online for many years. She enjoys coming up with unique and tasty dishes, especially sweet treats.

This delicious Chinese Five Spice Pork recipe is easy to make in a slow cooker or crock pot.

Glimmer Twin Fan

As a mom who is busy working and running errands, I'm always grateful for an easy, delicious dinner that my whole family will love.

Because I'm so busy, I try to use my slow cooker at least two times a week. The beauty of a slow cooker with a family of 3 is that I can make a large home cooked meal that will feed us for a couple of days. An added bonus is that it saves us quite a bit of money because we aren't eating out of takeout containers filled with over salted processed food.

Since I do use the slow cooker so much, I'm always looking for different recipes. This one is a twist on a traditional pork barbecue and it is a nice change to the standard slow cooker meals I usually make. It's got a little Asian flair and makes the house smell delicious when it's cooking. Even better, it only takes about 15 minutes to put together and then about six hours to cook while I'm at work. I just serve it over rice, add some steamed vegetables, and we have a terrific meal.

If you prefer to serve this dish with something other than rice, check out the serving suggestions at the end of the article. Enjoy!

How would you rate this recipe?

Ingredients

2-3 pounds pork shoulder or butt
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup hoisin sauce
3 tbs ketchup
1/2 cup honey
2 tsp minced garlic
2 tsp grated fresh ginger
1 tsp sesame oil
1/2 tsp Chinese five spice powder
1/2 cup chicken stock

Cook time


Prep time	Cook time	Ready in	Yields
15 min	6 hours	6 hours 15 min	Six 1 cup servings

Instructions

Place the pork in the slow cooker.
In a small bowl, whisk together all of the remaining ingredients until smooth.
Pour sauce over pork. Cook on low for 6 to 8 hours. I usually check the pork after about 6 hours. If I can shred it easily, then it's done.
Pull the pork out and place on a large cutting board or plate. Use two forks to shred the meat. Place the shredded meat back in the slow cooker and mix with the sauce.
Serve warm.

Step-By-Step Recipe Photos

slow-cooker-chinese-five-spice-pork-recipe — Glimmer Twin Fan

Step 1 - Place the pork into your slow cooker. I don't like it too fatty, so I trim some of the fat off. If you use a pork loin, it will be much leaner but may get a little dry.

Whisk all of the ingredients together until smooth.

Glimmer Twin Fan

Step 2 - Whisk all the remaining ingredients together until smooth.

Pour the sauce over the pork.

Glimmer Twin Fan

Step 3 - Pour sauce over the pork, cover and cook on the low setting for 6-8 hours. Once done, shred meat and mix together with sauce. Serve as desired.

What Is Chinese Five Spice Powder?

Chinese five spice powder is a blend of 5 spices used in many types of Asian cooking. It can be purchased already mixed, but, depending on where you live, can be hard to find. If you need to make your own, grind together the following ingredients until you have a fine powder.

1 1/2 tbsp cinnamon
3 star anise
3/4 tsp fennel seeds
1 1/2 tsp peppercorns
1/2 tsp cloves

Use this spice sparingly. It's strong and a little goes a long way.

If you are a visual person and want to see how the spice is made, check out the easy-to-follow video below.

How to Make Chinese Five Spice Powder

For a hearty slow cooker (crock pot) meal with an Asian flair, try this Chinese Five Spice Pork recipe. It's sure to please the whole family.

Glimmer Twin Fan

This recipe really is unique. It's got an almost smoky flavor which is offset by the sweet honey. I like it best served with rice and some steamed vegetables, but I bet it's good on rolls. It would be like an Asian barbecue sandwich. Just pair it with some fresh coleslaw for a twist on traditional barbecue.

However you want to serve it, I hope you give this recipe a try. Your friends and family will thank you.

Here are just a few other serving suggestions for this dish.


Serving suggestions
Serve with rice
Serve as a barbecue sandwich
Substitute chicken for the pork
Serve with large lettuce leaves and shredded carrots for a light wrap
Sprinkle with some sliced green onions or fresh bean sprouts

Claudia Mitchell (author) on July 23, 2020:

Glad you will be giving it a try. Thanks for reading it!

Alex on July 22, 2020:

Accidentally hit 2 stars when scrolling through the recipie!! Haven't made it yet but excited to try!

Claudia Mitchell (author) on May 15, 2016:

Thanks FlourishAnyway. We just had this for dinner the other day and the best part was that we had lots of leftovers!

FlourishAnyway from USA on May 03, 2016:

Looks delicious and I'm always looking for good crockpot recipes. I haven't heard of the 5 spice so it was a great addition.

Claudia Mitchell (author) on March 23, 2016:

Hi Jack - I like the idea of adding fish sauce. I'll have to give that a try next time I make this. I don't use fish sauce very often. I also agree that it's hard to go wrong with 5 spice powder. Thanks for reading and commenting.

Claudia Mitchell (author) on March 23, 2016:

Thanks Bill, I appreciate it. Got any big trips planned?

Claudia Mitchell (author) on March 23, 2016:

Thank you Kristen. I wonder if you could make this in a dutch oven or something like that? I just like the slow cooker for convenience. I appreciate your kind comments.

Jack Burton from The Midwest on March 21, 2016:

It's hard to go wrong with five spice powder. It works with chicken, pork, soups and stir fries. Because chicken is so mild I often mix the chicken pieces with the five spice and let it sit for a couple of hours before stir frying with it.

The only minor change I would do for the recipe is to drop a tablespoon of good quality Asian fish sauce into the liquid ingredients. It will give the pork a meatier flavor.

Bill De Giulio from Massachusetts on March 21, 2016:

Hi Glimmer. Congratulations on the HOTD. Well deserved.

Kristen Howe from Northeast Ohio on March 21, 2016:

Glimmer, congrats on HOTD on Delishably! Though I don't have a slow cooker, this meal looks delicious to have for dinner. Great step-by-step directions with matching photos to make it look so easy and delectable to eat.

Claudia Mitchell (author) on March 21, 2016:

Thanks Peggy W. I appreciate all of the support. Hope you get a chance to make the pork.

Peggy Woods from Houston, Texas on March 11, 2016:

Oh my! This looks and sounds delicious! Thanks for sharing your recipe with us. Pinning!

Claudia Mitchell (author) on February 23, 2016:

Hi Kailua-KonaGirl - Glad you liked the recipe and thanks for the pins. I'm really liking 5 Spice powder right now and am trying to incorporate it more and more. Thanks for stopping by.

KonaGirl from New York on February 21, 2016:

Lovely! Haven't made this is years. Thanks for the reminder. I especially like the recipe to make your own 5-spice. I have pinned this to a couple of different boards.

Claudia Mitchell (author) on February 21, 2016:

Thanks so much Islpio90 - I hope you give the recipe a try.

Claudia Mitchell (author) on February 21, 2016:

Thanks Bill - My favorite thing about the crock pot is how easy it is to make a good meal. I also appreciate the kind comments about the photos. Enjoy your weekend. Hope you are planning a fun trip that I can read about soon!

lzlpio90 on February 20, 2016:

Oh my! This looks super delicious! would love to try this at home :)

Followed this wonderful hubber :)

Bill De Giulio from Massachusetts on February 19, 2016:

Hi Glimmer. Sure looks good. Great recipe and easy even for me. And the perfect photos to compliment the hub. Well done.

Claudia Mitchell (author) on February 19, 2016:

Hi Sallybea - I love pork so I'm always trying to make new recipes with it. I think you'll enjoy this one. It really is different because of the 5 spice flavor. Thanks for reading and commenting.

Claudia Mitchell (author) on February 18, 2016:

Thanks Rose! I'm glad you enjoyed it. I think food articles are my favorite ones to write because I get to eat the results! Have a great day!

Claudia Mitchell (author) on February 18, 2016:

I agree with you Sgt Prepper - I don't always seem to add enough sweetener either and crock pots are the best. I'm pretty busy so I use it often during the week for meals. Hope you give this recipe a try and enjoy it. Thanks for reading.

Claudia Mitchell (author) on February 18, 2016:

Hi Rebecca - I really like the flavor of the 5 spice so this is now one of my favorites. That spice just takes it to a different level. If you like Chinese 5 spice then you'll love this pork. Thanks for reading and commenting.

Sally Gulbrandsen from Norfolk on February 18, 2016:

This looks good, I think those spices will definitely add some interest to a piece of pork. I have one piece in the freezer which has been begging to be cooked for too long. I think I might try this. Glad this recipe made the 'spotlight'. Love the images too.

Rose Clearfield from Milwaukee, Wisconsin on February 17, 2016:

My mouth is watering! Thanks for sharing!

Gunny Cracker from Elkhorn, WI on February 17, 2016:

Funny I should happen upon this delightful hub when I have a large crockpot full of pork that has been on over six hours. I never seem to add eough honey and other sweeteners. Crock pots rock for ham too. And chili turns out great. Thanks for the ideas. I never cooked Chinese in it before. Great article.

Rebecca Mealey from Northeastern Georgia, USA on February 17, 2016:

I LOVE barbeque, and I'll bet this would be like a really, super tasty one. Thanks, looks divine

Claudia Mitchell (author) on February 09, 2016:

I do hope you give it a try Deb. I really enjoyed this as did most of my family. I'm trying to think of other dishes to make with 5 spice powder as I'm really liking it. Thanks for reading!

Claudia Mitchell (author) on February 09, 2016:

I appreciate it peachpurple. I hope you give the recipe a try and enjoy it. Have a great day.

Claudia Mitchell (author) on February 09, 2016:

Thank you so much for linking to your hub. I've been trying more and more recipes with 5 spice powder and am really enjoying them. Thanks for reading and commenting.

Deb Hirt from Stillwater, OK on February 07, 2016:

This sounds really good. Every once in a while, I get an urge for pork, so this is definitely something to try.

peachy from Home Sweet Home on February 05, 2016:

oh you sure are good at whipping up delicious recipe, I had tried 5 spice but not as good as yours

Rajan Singh Jolly from From Mumbai, presently in Jalandhar, INDIA. on February 05, 2016:

The dish looks very inviting and I believe you were talking about the 5 spice in this dish. Wonderful and easy recipe and I'm going to link this recipe to my hub on five spice powder. Thanks for sharing this recipe Glimmer.