If you’ve ever had the classic Vietnamese Banh Mi sandwich, you probably know the bread can easily overpower the pork, pickled carrots and all the wonderful flavors, so I scrapped the bread and put all the goodies in a bowl over brown rice (it’s great over any grain) in my slim remake which is easy to make any night of the week!
And since so many are asking, although I have and love my Instant Pot, I still love my slow cooker! I have the 6 Quart Hamilton Beach Set ‘n Forget Programmable Slow Cooker (affil link). I love it because you can adjust the time you want it to cook, and it automatically turns to warm when it’s done. It also has a probe for meat that automatically shuts off when done. I hated my old crock pot, it burnt everything and my food had a weird taste. This slow cooker is so great, I actually own several!
This recipe is a preview of what you’ll find in my second cookbook, Skinnytaste Fast and Slow: Knockout Quick-Fix and Slow Cooker Recipes which is now available for pre-order! This book has a total of 140 nutritious, flavor-packed, figure-friendly recipes—60 for the slow cooker and 80 that cook in 30-minutes or less!—so you can get a great homemade meal on the table any night of the week.
Each recipe includes nutritional information—from registered dietitian Heather K Jones—that will help you take steps toward your weight and health goals. Many dishes are vegetarian, gluten-free, and freezer-friendly, and these are called out with helpful icons. Also, this book has even more photos than the first, with 120 color beautiful photographs taken by Helene DuJardin.
Available to order from these online sellers:
Target | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Indiebound
Slow-Cooker Banh Mi Rice Bowls
Ingredients
For the pork:
- 1 pound pork tenderloin
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/8 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
- 3 cloves crushed garlic
- 1 jalapeno, sliced
- 1/4 cup reduced sodium soy sauce*
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
For the pickled carrot:
- 6 tablespoons distilled white vinegar
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 cup shredded carrots
- 2 radishes, cut into matchsticks
For the bowls:
- 3 cups cooked brown rice
- 1 cup shredded red cabbage
- 1 cup thinly sliced English cucumbers, about ½ small
- 1 small jalapeno, thinly sliced
- 1/4 cup cilantro leaves
Instructions
- Season the pork with salt and pepper and place into the slow cooker. Combine the garlic, jalapeno, soy sauce and brown sugar and stir to dissolve, pour over the pork.(NOTE: If your slow cooker runs hot, add 1/4 cup water). Cover and cook on low for 6 hours until the pork is very tender, turning once half way through if desired. When the pork is ready, shred the meat. Reserve the sauce.
- Meanwhile, while the pork is cooking, make the pickled carrots and radish: In a medium glass bowl, combine the vinegar, sugar and salt and stir until dissolved. Add the carrots and radish and let it sit for about 30 minutes. Drain well and refrigerate until ready to use.
- To assemble the bowls, place 3/4 cup rice in each bowl, top each with about 2 1/2 oz pork, drizzle with 2 tablespoons of the reserved sauce then top with the 1/4 cup shredded cabbage, 1/4 cup pickled carrots, 1/4 cup cucumber, sliced jalapenos and cilantro.
I’ve served this a few times and loved it. I had twice the pork so I doubled the entire recipe, but I wouldn’t double the sugar next time. It was too sweet for me doubled. Have also made it into sandwiches rather than bowls. Very tasty either way.
Delicious. Easy. Fresh
This is the tastiest and most colorful meal! Packed full of flavor! My 9yo daughter always asks for it! It’s a fun summer meal because it has all the fresh cool toppings.
Hands down my favourite and most often made slow cooker meal. I don’t change a thing, its perfection! Leftovers, if any, are great for lunch the next day on a bun (like a traditional Banh Mi sandwich).
This recipe is delicious and always turns out really well. I sometimes have to back off the jalapeños due to spice level, but that’s personal preference. It’s like having a restaurant quality meal at home. There’s a little bit of prep work for a crockpot meal, but not bad for something you know will turn out great every time. Well worth it.
Loved so much! Will be a new staple! Thank you!
Thanks Katy!
Great taste.
Can you cook this on high in a crockpot? If so, how many hours?
I am planning to make this for my lunches next week! I have diabetes. Is there anyway I can use monkfruit sweetener instead of regular sugar?
I always make it with Swerve and it’s fine
Can you omit the brown sugar? My husband is allergic to sucrose so any sugar and maple syrup. Could honey work?
I saw you make this yesterday and on a whim made it for dinner tonight. The flavor was so good! I substituted cauliflower rice and used green cabbage (what I had on hand). It was delicious and will definitely be on my meal rotations this year. My husband said it’s a keeper and that says a lot!
It was so good and loved every bite
I have two of your cookbooks, from which I cook just about everything my family eats, and I love your recipes! This one takes the cake! The combination of flap is is just perfect, and the pork came out so juicy. The whole family loved it! Thank you!
So glad you enjoyed it!
Made this tonight and will be adding it to my regular rotation! So delicious and a fun spin on a classic banh mi.
Absolutely amazing! I can’t wait to make it again. I also added a sriracha mayo
SO SO good – I made a ton of modifications that worked out perfectly. I used boneless skinless chicken breasts instead of pork, and shredded after cooking on low for 7 hours (note that I had ~2 pounds of breast in the package so I doubled the sauce and used 1/4 cup of water). I skipped the jalapeno and added just a dash of sriracha.
For the pickled topping, I used shredded carrot, shredded purple cabbage, and cucumber and did half water / half vinegar (like I usually do for refrigerator pickles) because they had all day to sit in the fridge. Lastly, I topped with a homemade “sriracha aioli” made with ~1 cup of nonfat Greek Yogurt, 1-2T of white vinegar, salt/pepper, ~1T of honey, and ~1T of sriracha. I will 100% be making these again!
Delicious! Myself, husband and 16 year old son enjoyed this dish very much. Will be putting this into my regular menu rotation.
This was amazing! It was super easy to make and was great as leftovers the next night. Easy and tasted like something from a restaurant.
do you think this would make a good meal to freeze with sauce for a future day? Freezing the raw pork tenderloin with the sauce
Oh my goodness – these bowls are incredibly delicious and easy to make! Another winner from Gina! I have 3 skinny tase cookbooks and have yet to make anything my husband and I haven’t loved – this one is in our Top 5 fav’s though!
My crock pot isn’t working, so I marinated the pork in the sauce. Does anyone know how I can cook it with a crock pot? Would the oven or stove top be better?
You could make this in the instapot 25 minutes as well or put it in your oven at 250 degrees for 6 hours.
Hope this helps.
Sorry, you should also make sure you have at least a cup of liquid. Maybe water or chicken broth.
If you have a wok you can stir fry the pork instead. If you don’t have a wok you can stir fry in a skillet.
Is 10 points💙 correct? It says 8 points 💚. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a recipe where blue was more points than green. Just puzzling to me….
Yum! This was so good I just ordered the cookbook!
Could we use chicken if we don’t do pork? How would that change the recipe?
We made this in the instant pot and it was delicious! Seared the meat on both sides, doubled the sauce and added a cup of broth. Cooked on high pressure for 35 minutes with manual release and it was easy to shred and moist! We thickened the sauce before serving too.
Oh wow! This recipe is so tasty! I’m definitely going to make this one again! I really like the pickled carrots. Make sure you add the toppings!
This was absolutely amazing. My kids are such picky eaters but I have recently found out they love bowls. This bowl was perfect
I’m not a big pork person. How is this with chicken or beef?
Can I make this in the Instapot?
I used my instapot on the Crockpot setting
I have two pounds of pork. How many cup of soy sauce and water I need to adjust to?
My pork was nearly two pounds. I doubled the brown sugar and soy sauce but not the jalapeño or water. It turned out great. There was still a nice kick even with just one jalapeño. I did add 1 tablespoon corn starch mixed with 1 tablespoon water to the final sauce to thicken it slightly.
I tripled this recipe and tripled everything. Tripling the jalapeño definitely added a kick! We actually loved it with the extra spice, but it was definitely a big difference from just doing 1lb with 1 jalapeno
My favorite thing is when I crave something, google “(whatever I’m craving) skinnytaste” AND THERES A RECIPE FOR IT. Can’t wait to try this
I so so so love your recipes and I love what you are doing with making and testing things so we can all eat delicious things while trying to be healthy and lose weight! Being Asian, I especially love being able to see new versions of tastes I love.
There has been a real uptick in anti-Asian violence though and its heart-breaking for so many of your fans. And while it is so not the cause, a piece of the problem is not fully acknowledging culture and where things come from.
So that is why I’m writing and asking if you would please change the cuisine of this dish to Vietnamese or Vietnamese-inspired. (Its not Chinese or Japanese — though both of those cultures have many other delicious things to inspire us.)
Thank you for considering and for helping keeping weight loss delicious!
Fixed. Thanks for bringing it to my attention.
I made this for my family but knew that my boys wouldn’t go for it as written, so I made some ramen noodles for them, added the pork and the delicious sauce to the ramen broth, and gave them the option to add in the veggies they chose. Also made soft boiled eggs so whoever wanted to could add one to their bowl, which was a nice layer. It was a hit!
This is crazy good! Like tender and flavorful and hot all the right notes. This is a keeper for sure.
This was delightful, so many flavors!
This was a great meal for a busy day. I prepped the veggies the night before, slow cooked the pork while I was working, had my hubby make the rice when I was leaving work, and assembled the bowls right when I got home. I love a meal that’s easy to prep ahead so we can do something other than leftovers when I am working all day!
I made the recipe exactly as written, also adding the 1/4 cup of water to the sauce as suggested of your slow cooker runs hot (just in case, since I wasn’t going to be there to watch it).
When eating our delicious dinner, my hubby said “add this to the favorites list!”. We then realized that our Skinnytaste favorites list has gotten quite long! Yet another winner. I’m so thankful for the meal plan you provide. If it wasn’t on there, I’m not sure if this is one that I would have found.
Thank you!
I used a pork roast as that was what I had. The seasoning was delicious and the entire bowl a hit! Made enough for a few meals so will be enjoying this for a couple more days. I bet it’ll only taste better with each day!
Loved this recipe. Used artificial sweetener on pickled carrots to cut out points. Cannot wait to have the leftovers for lunch tomorrow. Will definitely double the sauce on pork next time. I have used a ton of Gina’s recipes – they never disappoint!
Very flavorful! Like other commenters, I doubled the sauce and pickled a mix of cucumber and carrots and it was great!
This is a great recipe! I followed some other reviews and doubled the sauce and added a 1/4 cup extra water. I think next time I may not quite double the soy sauce, as it can get a little salty. I also put a little extra brown sugar. Mine only took 4 hours to cook, so cook time must depend on your slow cooker. I also took advice and pickled the cabbage and cucumbers with the other vegetables. I reduced the white sugar a bit, as some said they found it too sweet – and it turned out great. I put mine in a ziploc bag and kept turning throughout the afternoon – they tasted fantastic! Thanks for the great recipe.
How many points if you served this without the rice?
3
So SO good!!! My husband LOVED it too! I spent $16 on 1.2lbs of Pork Tenderloin meat so I was determined to not let it dry out (as many other reviewers had mentioned!). I cooked it on LOW for about 2-2.5h in my Slow Cooker (which definitely runs hot) and checked it quite a few times. It was my first time cooking Pork!! (so easy! like chicken!) I doubled the sauce (which is a MUST!) as others had recommended and added 1/3c water to my slow cooker. Super easy recipe if you can buy the shredded carrots and Uncle Ben’s Boil in a Bag Brown Rice!! Will try it with Cauliflower Rice next time for less carbs! Thank you Gina for yet another great recipe! I cannot wait to try your Banh Mi Meatballs recipe which I have heard RAVE reviews about!
This was very good! My husband asked what it was called, and I told him it was a take on bahn mi, and he said “OH YEAH!” Great flavors, I will make this many more times. The jalapenos give it an awesome kick.
I accidentally thawed pork chops instead of pork tenderloin, doh. But it worked out fine. I did four hours on Low, flipping halfway through. They didn’t shred so much as pull apart in chunks, but I was worried about them drying out if I let them sit longer.
I did make some tweaks based on other comments: (1) pickled carrots, cabbage, cucumber, and radishes together and cut the sugar by half; (2) doubled the sauce ingredients, except for the soy sauce, where I just added the equivalent amount of water instead (1/4 cup soy sauce + 1/4 cup water total) – this is a good solution for those wanting more sauce but not more saltiness.
11 year old just asked, “Mom, is this healthy? Can we have it every day?” I call that a win!
So tasty!
I normally don’t eat much pork, only make recipes with pork tenderloin. I was getting bored with the usual pulled pork sandwich so I tried this new recipe and what a game changer! Favourite new recipe for our family!
Wow….delicious! Loved the pickled carrots!
Your recipes are making WW fairly painless!
Thanks 🙂
Great recipe and ingredients! Just an fyi though, “banh mi” translates to “bread sandwhich” in vietnamese; therefored this recipe translates to “slow cooker bread sandwhich rice bowl”. This seems more like it was inspired by our “com tam” dish – which means “broken rice”. Although the recipe isn’t with ‘broken’ rice, it is a much closer description! Anyways, glad to see new interpretations of our food!
You say cultural appropriation, I say fusion and culinary creativity. The Vietnamese butcher French crepes by adding seafood. American midwestern housewives butcher Hungarian goulash by creating some ridiculous noodle concoction. (ha–you can guess my opinion on that one) Food would be so boring if we didn’t pull from other cultures.
The best recipe I have had here!
Is there an easy way to convert insta-pot recipes from 6 quart to 8 quart? I have found I don’t use my 8qt pot as much because I follow the recipe and then release the pressure only to find that what I am cooking is not done…like starting over.
Love your recipes Gina…made more new recipes in the last two years than in 40 years of marriage! Thank you!
Banh-mi rice bowls tonight!
Love this recipe! Really great for meal prep too. We make it constantly!
I made this for 2 high school boys, 2 college girls, and my husband. Everyone gave it a 10! I followed the recipe exactly. The only thing I added was pickled red onions. Highly recommended!!
I forgot how yummy this recipe is! I picked the cucumbers with the carrots and made a (not so skinny) sriracha aioli. Drool city! Thanks, Gina!!
We absolutely love this recipe. It’s a regular in our rotation and one we recommend to people all the time. So easy to make and very delicious!
We followed this recipe exactly as written in the book. (The book doesn’t mention adding 1/4 cup of water “if your slow cooker runs hot”). We have never had problems with our Crock Pot slow cooker in the past on any other recipe. But this recipe turned out with completely burnt sauce on the bottom of the slow cooker and very dry overcooked pork. Something isn’t quite right with this recipe!
Tenderloin isn’t ideal for the crockpot. Try pork butt!
Hi,
Do you seed the jalapeño first or just slice and put seeds and all in crock pot?
These bowls were delicious! I followed some tips in the comments to adjust to use my Instant Pot (added 1/2 cup water and put it on manual/high for 40 minutes). Such a fresh, delicious meal!!
I made this in my Instant Pot last night. I had double the amount of meat so I doubled the sauce recipe and then added 3/4 cup of vegetable broth as I had some leftover in the fridge. I cut the pork tenderloin in half and seared, then cooked on high pressure for 40 minutes and natural pressure release – it shredded very easily. I also pickled some coleslaw mix instead of the carrots and radishes, used it as a topping with jalapenos and cucumber. I think I would cut the soy sauce in half next time, as the flavour was a bit overpowering. I also added a tsp of ginger paste and subbed coconut sugar for the brown sugar.
Can I use my instantpot to make the pork rather than slow cooing it?
Love this recipe and will save for use again! Since moving I’ve missed one of my spots to eat at occasionally and they have the best bahn mi I’ve every tried thus far. This one is up there as well! Thank you!
This was delicious! We actually pickled the cucumbers and also added green onions. Next time we might try it with a pork butt since the tenderloin can dry out if left too long in the slow cooker. Bravo!
Absolutely delicious and very filling. I substituted cauliflower rice for the brown rice and saved the 5 points for dessert!!
This looks so good! I can’t wait to make it and to cut the points even lower I will use Riced Cauliflower in exchange for the rice. 👍
Banh mi means bread. Where’s the bread?
Please do your research on the background on your food before picking a name for it. Or for that matter actually look up the definition of the food you’re going to remake. What you made is a type of protein bowl WHICH by the way has an actual Vietnamese name.
1 star for naming convention.
5 stars for cultural appropriation
Welcome to being Greek — where anything with Feta is called “Greek.” If this truly bothers you, strap in and get a helmet, because life is going to be a rough ride. PS; this recipe is delicious.
She said she was scraping the bread for a lighter version.
Tina, your comment is a 5 star waste of space. You get 5 stars for being condescending. You also get 5 stars for being closeminded. Your “woke-ness” is clouding your creativity. This recipe and this blog does not deserve your ineffectual commenting.
I’m confused on the ww points on this, it’s pretty much impossible for something to be higher points on blue than it is on green so something is definitely off.
These are fantastic! The pickled carrots are amazing! Even my kids (who hate asian cuisine, by the way) loved these bowls! Thanks for reminding me: I need to make this again!
To take this into the stratosphere, try adding this dressing to the top of your bowls:
Mix plain Greek yogurt with the juice of several limes and a little honey to taste. Mixture should be pourable. Try it, you will love this!
I would double the sauce. I made the original recipe AND added the extra 1/4 cup water. There was barely any broth left after 6 hours of cooking on low and the pork was pretty dry.. I went ahead and shredded the pork and stirred it into the remaining broth, hoping that it would soak up some moisture.
I am doubling the sauce today. I also pickled the cucumbers and cabbage too overnight. Added fresh grated ginger, cilantro and some other seasonings to the sauce to make it extra flavorful. Excited to see how it turns out!
Really delicious! I swapped out the rice for cauliflower rice to reduce the freestyle points
Hey,
Does the tenderloin have to be thawed first?
Thanks!
When cooking with a slow cooker, you should always use thawed meat.
After all, the slow cooker heats up food slowly and it takes a while till the meat’s center reaches a safe temperature. With frozen meat, it takes even longer. Basically, you are giving germs extra time to multiply and spoil the food.
What other meat works with this recipe? Soother cuts of pork work too? How does cooking change?
I love this recipe! How could it be made KETO? Just omit all sugar?
For a keto-friendly version, I would recommend substituting the sugar for a low sweetener and the brown rice for cauliflower rice.
I am new to instant pot cooking and need help!! There is a slow cook button on my instant pot. Can I just use this and follow the same instructions as a slow cooker? Like not adding the extra water?? Thanks!!!!! I’ll let you know how it turns out!
Also any tips on food always turning out a little liquidy in the instant pot? I press the quick release button thing until it stops steaming.
Hi there! I just made it tonight in the instant pot after work — I added 3/4 cup of chicken broth to the soy sauce and other ingredients… I cooked it on the poultry setting for 1/2 hour, and I did the quick release… it was a good tasty meal after work… lots of flavors… I’d pickle the cucumber perhaps….
Made this tonight and it was AMAZING. Totally hit the spot. I don’t have a slow cooker or instant pot, so I put it in a glass baking dish, covered tightly with foil, and put it in the oven at 275 for 2.5 hours. I did add 1/2 c chicken broth just in case & basted once an hour and it was perfect. Sooo flavorful. Can’t wait for leftovers tomorrow.
After reading the comments I thought I have to make this…and I was a bit disappointed. Followed the recipe to the letter and felt it lacked something. The pickled veggies were good and I would definitely add the red cabbage and cucumber to the pickling juice…more interesting. I thought the meat was just so-so. I used a crock pot, cooked for the right amount of time…it was tender and easy to shred but it definitely was a let down. If I make it again I will definitely tweak the recipe by adding ginger and another spice. The sauce was just not what I expected. Guess I’m in the minority here but I just wasn’t that enthusiastic about this.
I was just reading this recipe, planning my week and thinking that I’d put star anise in as well. Perhaps try that next time? In my mind it’s not Vietnamese without star anise so that might be the thing you’re missing flavour-wise…
I made this yesterday and was a bit underwhelmed by the recipe. I expected a lot more flavor; it definitely seemed to be lacking something. Maybe a hint of ginger. Followed the recipe as printed too so it wasn’t as if I left something out. My significant other had 2 helpings; me, just one and kept wishing it had more oomph to it. If I make it again I will definitely tweak the recipe. A bit disappointed with this one especially after seeing the other reviews.
This is amazing. I’ve done Instant Pot as well as Crock Pot. Crock Pot is a bit juicier, but both are great! This is a staple in my house. I eat it over spinach.
Will the pickled vegetables keep in the fridge for leftovers?
Always a hit! Yummy!!
I just made this tonight but used shrimp instead of pork. I marinated the shrimp in the same sauce for about 15 min then sautéed in a pan. It was sooo good! My boyfriend loved it which is great because it’s hard to get him to eat healthy.
Can the recipe be doubled? Would it be a straight double on the sauce? Cooking time for the pork?
Yes, all ingredients get doubled, cooking time stays the same.
Excellent! I think though next time I will do half the sugar for the pickled veggies. I was making this for meal prep and combined the carrots, cabbage, jalapenos, and radish in the pickling liquid. I think the carrots were already pretty sweet so the pickled veggies were just a little too sweet for my taste.
Has anyone tried this with chicken instead of pork?
I always make it with chicken. It’s absolutely delicious. I throw in 2-3 boneless skinless chicken breast, and do everything else the same.
I’ve made this several times. It is fabulous. Sweet and spicy. Very satisfying. I had to add some water to the crockpot.
Be sure to add water!!!
I made this recipe as written in the cookbook. Unfortunately it doesn’t include the note about adding water and says 6-8 hours on low. The flavors are nice but my pork is so very dry like jerky and there was no sauce because it crusted to the bottom of the slow cooker.
Hi there, this was a big hit with the husband and I’m keto now. How can I modify this for keto? Obviously no rice but what about the pickle veggies. Should I just leave out the sugar?
I see you posted this forever ago.. but I just left the sugar out when pickling, and same for the meat. I use coconut aminos instead of soy sauce and that is a bit sweeter naturally, so I wasn’t lacking any flavor! Then I use cauliflower rice or mixed greens as my base 🙂
Absolutely wonderful. One of the few repeat meals in my house. Love it.
Beautiful to look at, delicious and healthy to eat. Makes it a perfect recipe. I wish I could load the picture I took of my version
Love, love, LOVE this recipe! It’s become a regular on our dinner menu rotation, and great for ANY time of year. And ~ it’s beautiful! Love how pretty it is with all the colors. Super easy too ~ makes for great lunch leftovers! Thanks!!
I did not have any left over sauce in the crockpot. Can I substitute something else as a sauce when serving?
When I input this recipe in MFP the macros are very different. Is it because you dump the carrot/radish marinade so that sugar isn’t counted?
This is one of our absolute favorite recipes. Our toddler LOVES the pork! A family favorite since it was first posted. The best flavors, and I love how pretty and colorful the bowls are. If you love spicy, drizzle a little sriracha over the bowl, in my opinion it puts the recipe over the top!
Great!!
I mix sriracha with avocado oil Mayo and lime juice for a creamy sauce. -*chef’s kiss* heavenly.
This was simply AMAZING!!! I couldn’t bring myself to eat 5 points worth of rice so made cauliflower rice in the skillet with an onion and 2 cloves of garlic. It was deeeeeelicious. And only 5 points! It will definitely be on regular rotation! Yummmmm!
How do I know if my slow cooker runs hot? Should I put the water anyway? Thanks
Hi –
Are the Smart Points the same as the Free Style points? The value is missing.
Thanks!
yes!
Do I need to increase the cook time if I double the recipe?
No, same time should be fine.
Very flavorful and easy. I especially like the pickled veggies that go with it and will use them in other recipes.
Wonderful flavor and delicious!
Any thoughts about using jarred jalepeno rather than fresh with the pork.? I don’t have fresh on hand at the moment but we do like spice so not sure if the jarred would give it the same flavor.
This is such a great recipe! Easy and so tasty! My husband gave it rave reviews as well and said he could eat it everyday. Will definitely make again.
we all love this recipe.
I’ve made this with turkey legs and it works beautifully. Yummy and healthy
My family LOVES this recipe. On several occasions I have made several recipes to freeze and send back with my college-aged son when he heads back to school. The page for this recipein my cookbook is covered with food stains – It is well-loved :). I just purchased an Instant Pot and am wondering how easily this recipe would convert. Has anyone tried making this pork in their pressure cooker?
This is one of my family’s favorites! I accidentally didn’t start the crockpot in time (even though I had already put the pork in the marinade/sauce), so I had to wing it with the instant pot. For almost 3 lbs of tenderloin I tripled the Skinnytaste recipe and seared the pork in the IP first. I added the remaining sauce and 1/2 cup water. Set the IP to pressure cook (high) for 15min and did NR. The pork shredded beautifully and had all the big flavor I expect from this recipe. Thanks for such a great dish!
My whole family LOVES this recipe so much! It is recipes like this that make succeeding at Weight Watchers and weight loss possible for a busy mom of 3! If I can make a quick meal in the crockpot that is filling, healthy and universally liked, it just doesn’t get any better! Thanks for such a great recipe. Your cookbook, Fast and Slow, is my new absolute favorite go-to cookbook for every night!
Excellent recipe, I tripled it for the size of my pork loin and added 1/4 cup of Gochujang for spice (since I only had 1 jalapeno). Super tender, very flavorful, but light. Prepping all the toppings was time consuming, so next time I’ll follow Jennifer’s tip and just toss all the veggies together for the pickle.
mmmmmm gochujang! nice tip!
Making this tonight and a little behind the 8-ball on timing. Anybody try it on high rather than low? Will the pork dry out if I do high for 4 hours?
I am doing this now. Did it come out okay? 4 hours on high
I tried this in the instant pot and thought it rivaled the slow cooker version! Here’s what I did:
1. Make the sauce as listed in the recipe. Add ¾” cup chicken stock or water to make a full cup of liquid
2. Cook for 60 min on manual setting. (You can sear the pork if you’d like on sauté setting, if you like)
3. Natural pressure release for at least 15 minutes. Then quick release.
4. Take pork loin out and shred.
5. Put shredded pork back in Instant Pot and turn to sauté setting. Stir occasionally as liquid boils. Turn Instant Pot off after a few minutes (when you think the meat has been coated and simmered enough in the liquid. 3-5 minutes after simmering starts).
Thank you for this! I made using your instructions tonight and it turned out wayyy more flavorful than when I had done it previously on the pressure setting.
Hello. Sorry i have an instant pot and wanted to try making this in my IP. But could you clarify what you mean by step #2? 60min on manual setting? is that high pressure cooking for 60 minutes?
Joanne, yes! Just high pressure for 60 minutes.
I have made this recipe so many times- love it! I am now an Instant Pot owner. Gina, would this work in the Instant Pot?
I haven’t tried making this in the Instant Pot yet but if you give it a shot, let me know how it goes.
Unfortunately it did not turn out the same. I am not an expert of the Instant Pot but it did not absorb the flavors it does in the crock pot. I will be doing this in the crock pot going forward!
I made this recipe with the instant pot tonight as I totally forgot this was originally a recipe for a slow cooker. So unfortunately, I didn’t have 6 hrs to let it cook. I ended up cooking it for 35 min (I had almost 2lbs of pork so I was doubling the recipe.) I thought the pork was a little tough (not as tender as I would have expected). However, after shredding it, I let it soak in the juices while we got everything else together and it ended up tasting fantastic! I can only imagine how much better it would taste having 6 hrs to slowly cook and absorb the flavors. My husband is Vietnamese and loved this dish!!
Love this recipe!! To shorten things up, I put the cabbage, carrots, radish, jalapeños, and cilantro all in one bowl and toss it with the dressing and let it sit in fridge for an hour. Makes a great slaw also. Then U just layer the bowls with rice, pork and slaw.
I was wondering if this would work it. I have having a bunch of different things to put together.
This recipe is so tasty! We actually had just roasted a turkey and wanted to use that meat instead of pork. What we did was simmer the cooked turkey on the stove for about 30 minutes with all of the ingredients used ‘for the pork.’ We were surprised at how good the recipe still was with turkey. Also love the pickled carrots and radishes!
Should this be served warm or can it be served cold (for lunches etc) ?
Can I make this in the instant pot?
The recipe for the pork is fantastic! I make this regularly for the meat and create a variety of dishes with it. Super good.
Hands down one of my favorite SkinnyTaste recipes ever!! I double it any time I make it! My husband said it was one of he best dinners I’ve ever made.
When you double this, do you just double the sauce and add extra time for the pork?
You double all ingredients and cooking time stays the same.
could you make this in an instant pot? if so, how?
I do. I just use the “normal setting” and close the lid. And away I go..or rather away the pot goes
Sorry..slow cook
I just made this for the first time and it will definitely be on our normal rotation for easy meals! It was delicious! I doubled the sauce because I wanted extra for the rice and I am glad that I did. I also added fresh ginger to the sauce… YUM!!
Side note: This was my first SkinnyTaste recipe… Why have I not found this website before?
Glad you enjoyed it! Welcome to Skinnytaste! 🙂
Love this recipe! I now make a double batch and freeze it in small snapware containers. I portion out the vinegar/sugar/salt as well and put it in a little baggie tucked on top of the pork in the snapware. That way, when I get off work, I just put veggies in vinegar mixture baggie while I make the rice and defrost/heat the pork. Superfast dinner!
I have made this recipe a few times and it is amazing. I noticed here it says it is only 5 smart points but if you look up the SP on your cookbook tab it says that it is 10 points. It appears that the recipe is the same with the same portions. Can you tell me if it is 5 or 10 smart points? Thanks!
great catch, it is 10 SP. Thanks for noticing.
Would it be too over powering to pickle all the vegetables (cabbage, cucumbers) as well?
Made this with beef loin for dinner tonight and I cant stop stealing bites of the meat! It’s really delicious!!
It was great.. i didn’t pickle the vegetable, instead I added them to Spanish rice and put the cooked pork on top. Delicious
Delicious! I don’t have the special pot so I added the additional 1/4 cup water and cooked in oven at 300 for 2 hours. Reduce points and add veggies by swapping any skinnytaste “cauliflower rice” version for the brown rice. Veggies galore and hubby/kids love it too. Every skinnytaste recipe I’ve made has been a hit with the family. Thank you Gina.
Thanks Lynnie!
We’ve had this a few times now – my boyfriend, who grew up with chefs in the house, has pretty high standards for flavour and he loves this dish. He keeps requesting it when we have guests over and they’ve all requested seconds and even third portions!! Thanks for the great recipes…
You’re welcome Julie!
I’m really excited to make this. Do you think it would be good with riced cauliflower (sautéed a few minutes) instead of rice?
I had to double this recipe because my grocery store only sold pork tenderloin in 1.7lbs, but…I’m not mad. I live by myself, so whenever I make recipes I just eat it throughout the week. It has been a tasty week for me! Thank you! This was so easy and delicious.
I made this and it was so good! Very refreshing and I added a ton of the veggies and did a little less of the rice. The only thing I would change is not add the additional salt and dilute it a bit with water because I found the pork to be a little too salty for my taste even with the low sodium soy sauce. Overall a great dish and I can’t wait to eat it throughout the week. Another successful recipe so thank you Gina!
I’m excited to make this! It looks so good! However, I would add that in Vietnamese “Bahn”‘ means bread and therefore confused my Vietnamese friend when he heard we were making slow cooker Bahn Mi. He said “There’s no such thing as gluten free slow cooker Bahn Mi!!” I would suggest you think about culture and language before making your recipe titles.
I love this recipe! It’s now in the regular rotation. Put Chinese 5-spice on the pork before you cook it. It gives it a really great Vietnamese flavor. I also let the carrots pickle longer, and often add fresnos or jalapenos to pickle as well.
This is delicious. Thank you
This was so good!!! My whole family loved it, and I’m adding it to my list of favorites. And actually, everything that I have created from your cookbooks is on the favorites list. Thank you for creating easy, healthy and inspiring recipes that my whole family can enjoy. I can stay on point and feel good about what I am feeding them.
Thank you Jesse!
How do you calculate your nutritional info? When I input your recipe into weight watchers I get 12 SP, but it’s listed here as 8? Not sure which number to trust.
Thanks!!
Take 2 tonight. I decreased to 4 hours, doubled the soy sauce, and added 1 c water. Turns out that was too much soy sauce, and it was too salty…next time I might add a tidge more soy sauce than the recipe calls for. The timing was better, though, and the pork was much jucier. My husband loved the pickled veggies–I will probably make more next time!
This looks delish. Can you give me an idea how to do it on the stove or oven….timewise? Thanks!!!!
I read the other comments first, so I added about 1/2 cup water and only set it for 5 hours. Mine was also super dry, and there was barely any liquid left over after! I love the idea of the recipe, and the pickled veggies and cucumbers went really nicely with the meat and rice (I left out the cabbage, jalapenos, and cilantro). I will try again with a lot more liquid and only 4 hours.
I just made this dish tonight, and it is absolutely delicious!
Would you use more liquid for the instant pot?
Perhaps a little more, you can add a little broth.
I am not a jalapeno fan ( or anything remotely “hot” ! Can I make this without the jalapeno peppers? is there something I should subsitute for it? I love your recipes! Make them all the time!
Just read an earlier post – and that it’s OK to leave out the hot peppers! Thanks!
Made this last night….are you kidding me??? dying!! These flavors are amazing and my tastebuds were doing a happydance! My pork was completely done at 3 1/2 hrs…..so glad I was home to check on it! And I definitely needed to add about 1/3 cup water to the sauce as mine had started to reduce & get too salty. Other than those little tweaks at the end, I followed recipe and this is simply AMAZING, BURSTING with FLAVOR oh so GOOD!
Thanks Carol! Glad you enjoyed it!
I was so excited to make this! What I found, though, was that 6 hours on low left me with bone dry pork. I think 4 hours would be better. Also, the sauce, although delicious, was not enough to moisten the rice bowl. For each quarter of a cup of defatted sauce, I added 3 T of peanut butter and a tiny splash of sesame oil. That made it perfect. I love your recipes!
Made it with skinless chicken thighs in the Instant Pot on the slow cooker function on low for 6.5 hrs. The liquid level was perfect as written.
The only thing I would change would be to up the vinegar ratio in the quick pickle of the veggies as they tasted overly sweet to me, but it was a very minor issue. So fresh and yummy. I feel perfectly full but not weighed down. Thank you so much for this!
This one was amazing and not difficult. I was given a mandolin for Christmas and it made it very easy to slice everything. This will go into our regular rotation.
I made this tonight but using chicken thighs in the instant pot. So good! Would definitely make again but would make more pickles and maybe add daikon. Even my meat-hating 4 year old loved the chicken. Fun recipe. Thanks!
Looking to do the same tonight! Did you use the instant pot on the slow cooker function or did you pressure cook it? If so, how long? (I am an instant pot newbie!)
Made this tonight and it was delicious! I used half of a Costco package of pork tenderloin which was about 2 lbs. I doubled the sauce and cooked for 6.5 hours and it was perfectly cooked! Thank you so much for the recipe – I can’t wait to try the rest of your cookbook I received for Christmas!
Glad you enjoyed it!
Made this last night. The combo of flavors is fantastic, but I too had the issue with the entire marinade disappearing and scorching and the meat was very dry. I cooked it on low, 8 hrs (least amnt of time available on my CrockPot brand slow cooker), had added extra water (1/3 c.) and turned numerous times, but still by ~ 4 hrs looked dry and no liquid left:(, Need to tweak the meat part, but the rest of the recipe was a fantastic combo of flavors.
Have this sitting in the slow cooker on the “warm” function. I was nervous about the reviews of it being too dried out – especially since the tenderloin I had was a little smaller than full 1lb — so I added a little less than 1/4 of water, and used the “probe” function of my Hamilton Beach slow cooker (thanks for the recs on this site) and it automatically turned off when it hit my desired temp. Pork is super tender and has plenty of juice! Thanks, Gina! I also have some of your chocolate zucchini bread cooling on the counter!
great!! I think some people have slow cookers that run hotter, that is my guess anyway!
in the pickled carrot section you state 1/4 cup of sugar – is that right – with 6 tablespoons of vinegar and 1/4 teaspoon of salt? just wanted to check seems like a lot of sugar?
Seems like a lot but it all gets tossed after it marinates.
This is AMAZING. I subbed mock duck for pork. I’m obsessed with this-it’s insanely flavorful!
Thank you, thank you, thank you!
I read the comments ahead of time so I was worried about the marinade cooking down. I added 3/4 cup of water (I thought I was gonna have a long day at wanted to be safe.) There was still at least 3/4 cup of liquid and the meat shredded very easily with a fork. Obviously the flavor is diluted because I added so much water, but I just topped it with some sambal oelek. Now that I know, I will add less water next time or use a beef stock.
OMG – this is phenomenal. We have had this several times now. Our only change is we sub the pork with chicken because I don’t like pork. Seriously – this is one of the best dishes I have ever had – absolutely amazing. My 21 month old daughter loves it too (minus the jalapeno garnish)!!
That’s awesome! 🙂
Just wondering withe pickled carrots if I can use apple cider vinegar or white wine vinegar.