A very flavourful roast! The cut and size of meat used was Pork Shoulder(1.03 kg). The required cooking time was 5 1/2 hours. I used 3 cups of store-bought chicken broth, used Tamari sauce(1/4 cup). The Mirin and Szechwan peppercorns were omitted since there were none on hand. I used 2 whole star anise in addition to the 4 star anise seeds since the step for simmering the pork for 20 minutes was omitted. The meat was fork-tender.
Dawn, would you suggest adding any wine(if so, what kind) after the mirepox has softened? Also, the next time that I make this recipe I will use homemade stock. Do you suggest light or dark chicken stock? If using mirin and Szechwan peppercorns, is the flavour much different and do you crush them slightly? Thank you for the pot roast technique. This temperature is comparable to the low setting on a slow cooker.

Glad you liked it...sounds like you did everything right. Now as for whether or not you could use wine, for sure you could deglaze with a bit of wine next time. I would suggest a dry white for the pork. You could even deglaze with a nice Asian beer.

As for whether to use light or dark stock...it really doesn't matter, the dark will just add a bit of a darker color.

Now, about the Szechwan and mirin...I would say that the mirin you could easily substitute, but the Szechwan peppercorns do add a nice unique flavor. They are really fantastic! Sometimes I crush them, but sometimes I don't Here is a link to a Drill-down about them
http://rouxbe.com/drilldowns/108

The great thing about pot roasting is that it gives you room to play and have fun with cooking, this is one of the great things about this type of cooking.

Hope this helps!

Is there a substitution for the Szechwan Peppercorns? I couldn't find them anywhere, finally one person told that at one point they had put a ban on them. And they had to ship them back to the company they order them from. Whatever a "ban" means I don't know. Any thoughts for substitutions would be helpful.

There really is no true substitute for them. In a pinch you can use some black peppercorns. Just know that they are not the same thing. Here is a bit more info on szechuan peppercorns.

Thanks Dawn. I have recently found some online that I will be ordering soon. I think that they have lifted the US ban, but a lot of places still aren't carrying them. Our biggest Asian market here didn't have them, but I didn't call the other markets. I've got the asian pork pot roast in the oven now, I can't wait to see how it came out!!!

You will be glad that you ordered the peppercorns, they really have a fantastic flavor. Once they arrive you should also try making this Miso Dressing (it's honestly one of my favorite dressings).

Good luck with the pork pot roast - Bon Appétit!

My husband is the pickiest eater and rarely tells me how GREAT something is even if it's great. Regardless, he couldn't stop talking about the pot roast; even when we were laying in bed trying to fall asleep he mentioned it, I had to tell him to be quiet. I was secretly very very proud. It was so easy too! I served it with jasmine rice and your recipe for glazed carrots (he gobbled them up too) Thanks so much for helping me jazz up our usual boring dinners.