Pho The Love of Poik

I made what is possibly the easiest dinner ever last week.  I'm not kidding you, I was sure I was missing something because it was so easy.  So easy, I added an extra step because I had all this time to spare.  Not only was it a snap to make, it was really, really good.  Ask my sister, she was slurping it down like she'd been on Survivor for the past two months.  Slow-Cooker Pork with Noodles is a delicious weeknight dinner that is perfect for when you have 50 things going on and you needed dinner done 15 minutes ago.  I found this on the Food Network website while having a hankering for some poik (that's how Phoebe used to say pork when she was little and it still cracks me up).  I also don't have a bunch of step by step pictures, because the steps were so minimal there wasn't much to photograph.  I made a couple of small adjustments but I'll note them in the recipe.  If you like Asian food, you're going to love this!

Slow-Cooker Pork with Noodles (adapted from foodnetwork.com)

3 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup dry sherry (or rice wine)
2 Tbs packed light brown sugar (calls for 3)
4 cloves of garlic smashed
1 2-inch piece fresh ginger peeled and sliced
1/2 piece of star anise (calls for 2 pieces but seemed like too much)
kosher salt
3 lbs pork shoulder
1 head bok choy, roughly chopped
3 1/2 oz dried rice vermicelli noodles
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro

Combine the chicken broth, soy sauce, sherry, brown sugar, garlic, ginger and star anise and 1/2 tsp salt in a 5-6 qt slow cooker.  Add the pork, cover and cook on low for 8 hours.

Remove the pork from the crock pot to a plate or cutting board and add the bok choy to the pot, cover and cook for 20 more min.  Then add the noodles making sure they are fully submerged, cook for 10 more min.  Add most of the cilantro in as well.

Meanwhile shred the pork with two forks and add back to the pot when the noodles are done.  Serve in bowls with a little of the broth sprinkle with remaining cilantro and if you like a little spice add a dash of Siracha or hot sauce of choice.

See what I mean? Easy.  Slicing ginger is the hardest part of this whole recipe.  I had a few pieces of broccolini (left from the risotto) and carrot in the fridge so I chopped them up and gave them a quick stir fry and added them into the crock pot along with the bok choy.  You could probably skip the stir fry and just toss them in a little earlier so they aren't too crunchy when you're ready to eat.  I will be making this again (and having my sister over too since she only had a sample).  Enjoy!