Bossam: Boiled Pork with Ssam
Bossam — pork belly or shoulder boiled in an aromatic liquid until completely tender, then sliced and eaten wrapped in salted napa cabbage or fresh perilla leaves with raw oysters, kimchi, and ssamjang — achieves extraordinary tenderness through long, low simmering. The aromatic liquid (doenjang, soy sauce, ginger, garlic, dried chilli, onion) penetrates the pork throughout the long cook, producing a subtly complex flavour beneath the wrapped toppings.
- **The aromatic liquid:** Water + doenjang + soy sauce + ginger + garlic + dried chilli + rice wine (or cooking sake) + onion. The doenjang's amino acids flavour the pork during the prolonged cook. - **The cook time:** 1.5–2 hours at a gentle simmer until the pork is completely tender — a skewer inserted should meet no resistance. - **Sliced cold:** The pork is cooled before slicing — room temperature pork slices cleanly; hot pork tears. - **The salted cabbage:** Napa cabbage leaves soaked in salt brine for 1–2 hours (different from kimchi fermentation — just briefly salted for texture and flavour). The slight saltiness complements the rich pork. - **The oysters:** Raw oysters wrapped with the pork in Bossam Gurm — a seasonal pairing specific to the oyster season.
Maangchi