Cooked low and slow, this flavour-packed pork falls apart on your fork! Pile it atop the crunchy slaw for fabulously filling Far Eastern feast – or stuff into soft bao buns for the perfect slightly sweet and lightly spiced bite.
Slimming World bao in a bowl
serves 6
8 Syns per serving
ready in 3½ hours
Tip: This dish is Free without the bao buns. Slimming World members can use the barcode scanner on the app or the Food Search tool on the website to look up bao bun Syns.
What you need:
6 onions, halved or quartered
1 bulb of garlic, cloves separated and peeled
5cm piece fresh root ginger, peeled and sliced
2 star anise
1 cinnamon stick
2 tsp Chinese five-spice powder*
1.5kg lean pork shoulder, visible fat removed
4 tbsp light soy sauce
12 shop-bought bao buns, to serve (optional – see tip)
sliced spring onions, to serve
For the slaw:
1 large carrot, shredded
1 cucumber, finely shredded
1 red onion, thinly sliced
½ small green cabbage, cored and finely shredded
juice of 2 lemons
For the sauce:
400g passata
4 tbsp oyster sauce
1-2 tsp Chinese five-spice powder*
*Watch out for spice/seasoning blends that have added ingredients (like sugar, oil or starch). To protect your weight loss, count ½ Syn per level tsp/1½ Syns per level tbsp.
What you do:
1. Preheat your oven to 160°C/fan 140°C/gas 3.
2. Arrange the onions, garlic, ginger, star anise and cinnamon stick in a single layer in a non-stick roasting tin. Rub the five-spice all over the pork, season lightly and put the pork on top of the onions.
3. Pour the soy sauce around the pork and cover the tin with baking paper and then foil. Roast for 2½ hours, then remove the foil and paper and roast for a further 45 minutes.
4. While that’s in the oven, make the slaw. Toss all the ingredients together in a bowl, season lightly and chill until ready to serve.
5. For the sauce, put all the ingredients in a small non-stick saucepan and bring to the boil. Reduce to a gentle simmer and cook for 10-15 minutes, stirring often, until thickened and glossy. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool.
6. Discard the onions, garlic and spices and shred the pork using 2 forks. Pile the meat onto a platter.
7. Serve with the bao buns, if you’re having them, spring onions, sauce and slaw and let everyone assemble their own fakeaway feast!
Fancy a Chinese?
Slimming World members can unlock a full menu of Chinese-inspired recipes on the exclusive members-only app and website. Whether you’re craving a chicken curry and egg-fried rice, or a vegetable chow mein and sesame prawn toasts, our collection of Slimming World Chinese recipes has your fakeaway favourites covered.
