Slow Cooker "Pata Tim" Style Pork Roast



I love the taste of the Chinese/Filipino dish called Pata Tim and eating the pork feet/knuckles that are cooked in the delectable thick, sweet, aromatic and salty sauce is a  heavenly experience.  I have to be realistic though that my husband who is a picky eater and not a Filipino will not like the sight of pork knuckles or me gnawing on the bones. 

I cannot have it all but I can adapt to the situation.  So here was my compromise.  I used the sauce to cook the pork roast I had and just forgot about using the pig knuckles for now.  Life is a give and take even when it comes to food.  I can always have the real thing when I go visit my sisters in Los Angeles in March or when I go visit my brother in the Philippines in February next year.  Meantime I am happy with this. 

Star Anise is the "star" spice for this dish but I did not have any.  I used fennel seeds which impart a close aroma and flavor to the dish.  Do use star anise if you have it.  If you have the time also use the original recipe from this site done the traditional way but I love the convenience of the slow cooker.  Also if you want to use pork knuckles, do substitute them for the pork roast in the following recipe.  They will cook perfectly in the slow cooker.



I love slurping the sauce when my sister cooks this which she did on many occasions when I visited relatives in California. This was the leftover I carefully packed from California when I last visited my sister-in-law early this year and summer last year. It was that good that I was willing to let this leftover fill space in my "maleta" or luggage. Find out how good it is and try the recipe. Have plenty of rice. You can serve this with bokchoy or napa cabbage. 

Slow Cooker "Pata Tim" Style Pork Roast

(Adapted from this site)

• 1 tsp fennel seeds (you can use 1 star anise which is the usual spice used )
• 1/4 cup soy sauce (I used Tamari)
• 1 tbsp Hoisin sauce 
• 2-3 cups water or enough to cover the meat (start with 2 then add 1 more cup if you need to cover the meat with more liquid)
• 1/2  cup brown sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon peppercorn
• 1/2 teaspoon sesame oil
• 1 tbsp cornstarch stirred in 2 tbsp water
• 2 1/2 lb pork Boston butt roast (I used whole piece as is)

Place all the ingredients except the pork in the crock pot and blend them.  Add the pork roast on top of the sauce. Cook in the crock pot for 8 hours on low or 4 hours on high.  I cooked mine for 2 hours at slow cooker setting using the Aroma Brand rice cooker/slow cooker.  You can then serve the sauce over it or on the side for people to drizzle over the pork as well as rice or even mashed potatoes.