This Korean pulled pork with gochujang and pear is fall-apart tender, a little sweet, a little spicy, full of umami, and seriously versatile for tacos, bowls, sliders, and meal prep.
Jump to: ℹ️ Overview | 🛒 Ingredients | 📷 How To Make | 📹 Watch The Video | 👩🍳 Recipe Tips | 🥗 Serving Suggestions | 📝 Full Recipe Card | 🍽 More Pork Recipes
This Korean pulled pork is inspired by bulgogi flavors but made fuss-free with pork shoulder that turns melt-in-your-mouth tender after slow cooking. The magic is in the sauce: gochujang brings savory heat, pear and honey add natural sweetness, soy sauce and tomato paste layer in umami, and ginger keeps it fresh.
The result? Pork that’s juicy, a little smoky-sweet, and mildly spicy without being overwhelming. I’ve made this a few times and it’s one of my go-to meal prep recipes because it freezes beautifully and can be used in many ways: tacos, rice bowls, quesadillas, salads, sliders and burgers, pork and rice casseroles, mac and cheese, and more.
Each serving comes in around 240 calories with 36 grams protein and plenty of flavor payoff.
👩🍳 You might also like these: beef bulgogi bowls, my spectacular gochujang chicken, this paleo-friendly Korean spicy chicken, these honey sriracha chicken bites, this kimchi fried rice, slow cooker BBQ pulled pork, or these other fall crockpot meals.
What You’ll Need
Here is what you’ll need for this Korean pulled pork recipe. Find the full measurements in the recipe card below.
- Boneless pork shoulder (pork butt) – marbled and perfect for shredding. You can use pre-cut pork steaks as well. Salt for seasoning before cooking.
- Onion, garlic, ginger – your classic trio for depth and warmth.
- Ripe pear – balances the heat with natural sweetness. Most ripe pears will work beautifully, but apple or Asian pear also does the trick.
- Gochujang (Korean chili paste) – the star for smoky, savory heat. Swap with a mix of miso paste + sriracha or tomato paste if you can’t find it.
- Soy sauce – umami backbone.
- Tomato paste – rich and slightly tangy.
- Rice vinegar (or apple cider vinegar) – cuts through the richness.
- Honey – balances heat and acidity.
- Sesame oil – adds nutty fragrance.
- Chicken stock (or water) – keeps it saucy.
- Finishing touches: Green onions, cilantro, or sesame seeds – optional but freshens it up.
How To Make Korean Pulled Pork
Find the full recipe and nutritional information below. Here are some handy step-by-step photos for Korean pulled pork.
Prep steps
- Pat pork dry, cut into chunks, season with salt.
- Peel and cut pear into cubes. Slice onions and finely dice or mince ginger and garlic.
- Whisk gochujang paste, soy sauce, tomato paste, vinegar, honey and sesame oil in a bowl and set aside.
Stovetop & Oven Method (favorite way)
- Sear pork on all sides until golden. Set aside.
- Sauté onion, then add garlic + ginger. Deglaze with stock.
- Add pork, pear, and sauce mixture. Stir to coat.
- Cover and simmer 45–50 minutes. Transfer to oven at 356°F (180°C) for 1 hour (lid on). Remove lid and cook 20 more minutes.
- Shred pork, stir through sauce, garnish.
Fully Stovetop Method
- Keep heat low, cover, and cook gently for 3–3.5 hours. Check occasionally and add stock if needed.
Instant Pot (Pressure Cooker)
- Sear pork using Sauté mode.
- Add onions, garlic, ginger, stock, pear, and sauce.
- Cook on High Pressure for 50 minutes, natural release. Then cook on Sauté mode, uncovered, for 10 minutes to reduce and thicken the liquid.
- Shred pork, mix with sauce, serve.
Slow Cooker
- Sear pork in a pan first (optional but recommended).
- Add all ingredients to the slow cooker.
- Cook on LOW for 8 hours or HIGH for 5 hours.
- Shred pork, stir with sauce.
Make A Slaw (Optional)
Prepare a simple slaw salad or other sides like rice or burger buns while the pork is cooking. I love this one: shred cabbage and carrots, slice onions and chop cilantro; add a good pinch of salt, sugar, a tablespoon of rice wine vinegar and a couple of tablespoons of mayonnaise; combine and set aside.
Watch The Video
Recipe Tips
- Make-ahead: This tastes even better the next day as the flavors deepen.
- Freezer-friendly: Portion into freezer bags with sauce, keeps up to 3 months.
- Not too spicy: Use less gochujang or swap half with miso paste for umami without the heat.
- Extra flavor: Add a splash of fish sauce for an extra umami kick.
- Storage: Keeps in the fridge 4–5 days. Reheat gently with a splash of stock or water.
Serving Suggestions
This pork is ridiculously versatile. Load it into tacos with crunchy slaw, pile onto soft buns for sliders (also with coleslaw), or spoon over rice with pickled veggies (try my Korean carrot recipe, so good!) It also makes killer Korean-inspired nachos or can be stirred into fried rice for a quick dinner. For a low-carb version, serve it with my Asian sautéed cabbage or coconut cauliflower rice.
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Video
Ingredients
- 4–5 lbs boneless pork shoulder skin and excess fat removed, 2 kilograms
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 large ripe pear peeled & diced
- 1 large onion sliced
- 4 garlic cloves diced
- 1 tablespoon fresh ginger grated (thumb-size piece)
- ¼ cup gochujang 4 tablespoons, see notes for swaps
- 3 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1.5 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1.5 tablespoons rice vinegar or apple cider vinegar
- 1.5 tablespoons honey
- 1 cup chicken stock (or water) 240 ml
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil
- Garnish: cilantro, green onions, toasted sesame seeds
Instructions
Prep steps
- Pat pork dry, cut into chunks, season with salt.
- Peel and cut pear into cubes. Slice onions and finely dice or mince ginger and garlic.
- Whisk gochujang paste, soy sauce, tomato paste, vinegar, honey and sesame oil in a bowl and set aside.
Stovetop & Oven Method (favorite way)
- Sear pork on all sides until golden. Set aside.
- Sauté onion, then add garlic + ginger. Deglaze with stock.
- Add pork back in, pear, and sauce mixture. Stir to coat.
- Cover and simmer 45–50 minutes. Transfer to oven at 356°F (180°C) for 1 hour (lid on). Remove lid and cook 20 more minutes.
- Shred pork, stir through sauce, garnish.
Fully Stovetop Method
- Keep heat low, cover, and cook gently for 3–3.5 hours. Check occasionally and add stock if needed.
Instant Pot (Pressure Cooker)
- Sear pork using Sauté mode.
- Add onions, garlic, ginger, stock, pear, and sauce.
- Cook on High Pressure for 50 minutes, natural release. Then cook on Sauté mode, uncovered, for 10 minutes to reduce and thicken the liquid.
- Shred pork, mix with sauce, serve.
Slow Cooker
- Sear pork in a pan first (optional but recommended).
- Add all ingredients to the slow cooker.
- Cook on LOW for 8 hours or HIGH for 5 hours.
- Shred pork, stir with sauce.
Notes
- Make a slaw: Prepare a simple slaw salad or other sides like rice or burger buns while the pork is cooking. I love this one: shred cabbage and carrots, slice onions and chop cilantro; add a good pinch of salt, sugar, a tablespoon of rice wine vinegar and a couple of tablespoons of mayonnaise; combine and set aside.
- Make-ahead: This tastes even better the next day as the flavors deepen.
- Freezer-friendly: Portion into freezer bags with sauce, keeps up to 3 months.
- Extra flavor: Add a splash of fish sauce for an extra umami kick.
- Storage: Keeps in the fridge 4–5 days. Reheat gently with a splash of stock or water.
- Can I use a different cut of pork? Yes – pork shoulder (butt) is best, but pork loin works too. It won’t be quite as juicy.
- What if I don’t have gochujang? Use miso paste mixed with sriracha, or even sambal oelek + a little honey.
- Is this recipe spicy? It’s mild-medium. Reduce gochujang for less heat, or add chili flakes if you like it hotter.
Nutrition
I made this using the Instant Pot method and it was amazing, especially the next day – the flavours were delicious. I served it with buns and slaw but I’ll swap the buns for brioche next time.
Thank you!Yeah, I use my IP sometimes too when I need it quicker
Super tasty and great for batch cooking. This recipe makes a lot so you can freeze and reuse in lots of ways. We had tacos one night, then I made wraps for lunch and rice bowls with the frozen leftovers a week later.
Glad to hear you enjoyed it, Olena.
Easy to make and absolutely delicious. Interesting spicey but not too much. Made stove top and then oven method. One dish! Served on toasted focaccia rolls for my husband to take for work with coleslaw and the toasted sesame topping. Best part is I will be freezing portions for use later. Will be making again. Thanks!
Thanks, Wendy. Glad you enjoyed it. I love that it makes enough for freezing and it is indeed really good when defrosted, too.