Asian Pulled Pork Tacos with Caramel Sauce and Pineapple Salsa

This Asian "caramel" Sauce is amazing! The pineapple salsa with the crunchy snow peas is addicting! Give this a try. It's seems like a lot of ingredients but it's delicious and worth it.  This will make enough for about 15-18 tacos. 

Ingredients for pork: 

4-5 pound pork shoulder/butt roast (boneless), cut in half

1 TBSP olive oil

Flour tortillas or lettuce cups to make lettuce wraps

For wet rub: 

2 TBSP sesame oil

2 TBSP ginger powder

1 TBSP garlic powder

1 tsp onion powder

1 TBSP salt

1 TBSP pepper

1 tsp six chili powder

Slow cooker Sauce: 

1/2 cup coconut milk

1/2 cup reduced sodium soy sauce

1/3 cup rice wine vinegar

2 TBSP sugar

14 cup Asian sweet chili sauce

2 TBSP fish sauce

1 TBSP siracha

1 TBSP cornstarch

1 TBSP hot chili paste

2 chiles de arbol (the dried spicy chiles often found in asian takeout dishes)

Caramel Sauce: 

1 1/4 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup water

Pineapple Salsa: 

2 cups fresh pineapple, chopped

6 oz. snow peas, ends trimmed and julienned

1 red pepper, chopped

1/2 red onion, chopped

2 jalepenos, chopped

1/2 cup cilantro, chopped

1 TBSP lime juice

a few dashes of Tabasco

Salt and Pepper to taste

Directions: 

1. Cut your pork in half. Combine the ingredients for the wet rub and rub all over the pork. Anything that falls on the plate, use the pork to press on the rub to make sure you use all of it and there is no spice rub left on the plate. 

2. Add olive oil to a large dutch oven. Sear the pork on all sides to get a nice crust on the outside. Make sure to put the fan on and open the window here! 

3. Spray a 6 qt slow cooker with cooking spray. While the pork is searing, combine your sauce ingredients and whisk together. 

4. When pork is seared, add to slow cooker and pour sauce over the top.  Cook on high for 7 hours. 

5. Carefully remove the pork from the slow cooker and place in a large bowl to cool.  Measure out 2 1/2 cups of slow cooker sauce. You'll use that to add to the caramel sauce. If there's not 2 1/2 cups left, just add water to make up to 2 1/2 cups.  If there's excess in the slow cooker, remove it and reserve. 

6. Chop all of your ingredients for the salsa and reserve. 

7. Add the brown sugar and water to a large dutch oven. Melt over medium heat, whisking constantly. 

8. When the sugar starts to bubble, cook for 1 minute. Then add the 2 1/2 cups of slow cooker sauce slowly, whisking constantly. Whisk and simmer on medium for about 8-10 minutes or until reduced and the sauce sticks the spoon a bit and becomes a velvety texture. Taste for seasoning. 

9. Turn off the heat on sauce. Put slow cooker on "warm".  Shred the pork with 2 forks and add back to slow cooker. Pour most of the sauce over the pork and mix. 

10. For your tortillas, warm them over open flame and just kiss them with a little char. 

11. To plate, add the pork, then the salsa. 

Optional to make a crema for the top but honestly, it doesn't need it and we didn't use it.  For a quick crema, you can combine sour cream, siracha, lime juice.