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Easy Bossam

Easy Bossam, pork belly slices with kimchi, lettuce leaves, rice and ssamjang
Even after spending 4 months in Korea, eating everything I humanly could, there was still some dishes I missed and discovered once back in France. Bossam is one of those. I love how Koreans wrap their meats, both because of the textures and tastes combination aaand, mostly, because it's so comfy. I don't know why. If everything was eaten wrapped in lovely small bites, with one large platter everyone shares, I bet people would be happy all the time. Well, I'd be. The most traditional Bossam version is quite time-consuming and involves making pickled cabbage leaves as well as a specific kimchi kind. I simplified it here ; if you've already made some Kimchi, or if you've bought some along with Ssamjang, you just have to boil your pork in a simple broth and make some rice. Easy peasy ! Contrary to what one might think looking at the broth's color, its flavours are quite delicate : one must be into pork belly's texture and taste to enjoy this Bossam -if not, you can opt for pork shoulder. The acidic kimchi counteracts the fattiness of the pork, and the salad leaves offer some pleasant texture and freshness.

Easy Bossam - Recipe

Ingredients - Advice & key points

  • Fair warning about pork belly :
    • This dish is usually eaten skin-on, but I know some people would be uncomfortable with it. If in doubt, kindly ask your butcher to remove the pork belly's skin.
    • If you're not sure you'd like large pork belly bits in terms of taste and texture, choose pork shoulder instead ;
  • To check whether you meat is tender enough after one hour, simply poke a chopstick through it. If it goes through easily, it means it's cooked.
  • You should easily be able to find Doenjang and Ssamjang at your usual Asian grocery store if it's large enough ; you will definitely find some in any Korean store, as those pastes are national staples.
  • If you have Bossam leftovers, you can make a great many deal of new meals out of it, using the delicious cooking liquid, too ! I made a pork belly, kimchi and scallions fried rice ; and quick stir-fried noodles with pork belly using rice noodles, that soaked all the beautiful broth.

How to eat your Easy Bossam

  • The traditional way would be to wrap your pork in lettuce leaves, with some rice, Ssamjang and a bit of kimchi !
  • Simply want a quick lunch and not a nice sharing meal ? Make Bossam bowls, using all the aforementioned ingredients !
Let's dig into it !
Cooking Method ,
Cuisine ,
Courses , ,
Difficulty Beginner
Time
Prep Time: 15 min Cook Time: 65 min Total Time: 1 hr 20 mins
Servings 6
Best Season Suitable throughout the year
Ingredients
  • 1 lettuce head
  • rice (use two-thirds of the amount if big)
  • kimchi (homemade or store-bought)
  • ssamjang (homemade or store-bought)
    • For the meat
  • 1,250 kilogram pork belly (or pork shoulder)
  • 2 tablespoons doenjang
  • 1 tablespoon brown sugar
  • 1 medium onion
  • 5 scallions (white parts only)
  • 10 garlic cloves (peeled)
  • 1 2-cm piece of ginger (sliced)
  • 330 milliliters amber beer
  • 2 liters water
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon black peppers (whole)
Instructions
  1. Prepare your veggies !

    Peel & halve your onion. 

    Peel your garlic cloves.

    Peel & slice your ginger.

    Separate the white part of the scallions from the green one.  

  2. Start your broth

    Place all your meat ingredients, except the meat, in a medium/large pot.

    Bring it to a boil. 

    Meanwhile, slice your pork belly lengthwise in quite wide slices (6-7cm ; see video). 

    When the broth boils, add your pork belly slices.

    Let it boil around 1h.

  3. Let it cool

    Check whether your pork is cooked by poking a chopstick through it ; if it goes through easily, turn off the heat. 

    Let the pork cool in the broth at least 30 minutes to 1h. 

    Leaving the pork in the broth prevents it from drying.
  4. Slice and serve !

    When the pork is cool enough to handle, take it out of the broth. Pat dry with a paper towel. 

    Slice it in quite thin bits (1cm thick). 

    Assemble in a platter. Serve with white rice, kimchi, ssamjang, and salad leaves (and/or perilla leaves). 

    Et voilà !! You're done ! 

     

Keywords: home made, pork, Bossam
Read it online: https://multicarbs.com/recipe/easy-bossam/

Thank you for trying out this recipe ! Do not hesitate to leave some feedback. I hope it brightened your day.