Momofuku’s Bo Ssäm
This salty, sweet, and smoky modern interpretation of a Korean classic packs a serious flavor punch. This dish pairs smoky pork, cured overnight in a shower of salt and sugar, with fresh oysters, tart kimchi, and spicy ginger scallion sauce all served within a crisp handful of bibb lettuce.
This is THE recipe to pull out when you are looking to impress your friends at a summer get-together. This is a remarkably straight-forward, easy-to-execute recipe that packs a serious flavor punch, and has the potential to make anyone look like a kitchen rock star.
A Quick History Lesson
The word “ssäm” literally means “wrapped” in Korean, and refers to a tradition in Korean cuisine where small amounts of ingredients are wrapped in a larger ingredient to create a delicious morsel. The dish is historically linked with the process of gimjang, during which large quantities of kimchi are prepared for winters. To ensure the commitment of the workers during this labor-intensive process, members of the ruling class would deliver a pig for a feast. The workers would enjoy boiled pork with some of their newly-made kimchi.
The Classic Version of Bo Ssäm
The traditional Korean bo ssäm is a thinly sliced boiled pork belly dish accompanied by an assortment of dipping sauces, kimchi, oysters, and fresh lettuce for serving. In many recipes, the boiling pork belly is steeped in a mixture of red apples, green onions, ginger, and soy sauce during the boiling process. For a traditional bo ssäm recipe, I highly recommend checking out Sue from My Korean Kitchen’s recipe, here.
Momofuku’s Re-Imagining of the Bo Ssäm
Craving some sweetness, and admittedly out-of-practice in the meat boiling department, I instead dove headfirst into Chef David Chang’s modern spin on a classic bo ssäm. Chef Chang serves the dish at his Momofuku restaurant in the East Village and elsewhere. In his cookbook, Momofuku, Chang fondly recounts how he created his take on the traditional Korean bo ssäm that would be a staple at his restaurant. Chang explains that one of his chefs needed some work on his oyster shucking skills, so Chang made him shuck a few dozen perfectly. After realizing he had an abundance of shucked oysters, Chang proceeded to eat them ssäm-style: wrapped up in lettuce with rice, kimchi, and some shredded pork shoulder that had been destined for some ramen. The after-hours kitchen session was monumental for Chang, and he quickly adapted the traditional bo ssäm recipe for the modern era.
Cooking the pork for this recipe is insanely easy. Buy a pork shoulder - it is generally labeled “Boston butt” in the supermarket meat racks. Rinse and dry it with paper towels. Then, simply cure the pork overnight beneath a shower of salt and some sugar. The next day, roast the pork in an oven at 300° for 3-5 hours (depending on the size of your pork shoulder) until it collapses. Let the pork rest for one hour. Next, slather on some brown sugar and one more 1/2 tablespoon of salt, and then roast the skin a while longer until it takes on the quality of glistening bark, and tastes like the sweetest pork candy.
The joy of bo ssäm is that the chef has the creative control to determine the accompanying ingredients. Plus, while the pork is simmering in the oven, you have plenty of time to whip together a cup of ssäm sauce or a ginger scallion concoction, and shuck your oysters.
Think of assembling your bo ssäm like a lettuce wrap - start by layering your cup of bibb lettuce with some sushi rice, then top that with some of your shredded pork. Next, tuck in a raw oyster or two, and then layer your creation with an assortment of flavors and textures - from kimchi , to ssäm sauce, shredded cucumbers, etc etc. Fold and bite, fold and bite. Try it with a shard of the candied pigskin. Or with an oyster. Or both. Repeat.
I was a little skeptical when I saw the candied pork and raw oyster pairing, but any hesitation quickly vanished after I had my first bite of bo ssäm. The oysters add a wave of brine to the sweet and smoky pork, and the spicy ssäm sauce and kimchi. The textural and flavor components of this dish may seem dizzying, but the final product is a symbiotic taste and texture masterpiece.
I told myself I was going to limit myself to three heavenly hand pies to ensure my guests could eat their fill. Seven servings later, I realized there was no way I could be saved. The recipe had won.
Momofuku's Bo Ssäm
Ingredients
Instructions
- Prep the Pork. Put the pork shoulder in a roasting pain. Mix together the granulated sugar and 1/2 cup of the salt in a bowl. Then, thoroughly rub the mixture onto both sides of the pork until it is liberally seasoned. Discard any excess salt-and-sugar mixture. Cover the pan with plastic wrap, and place it into the fridge for at least 6 hours, but preferably overnight.
- The Roast. Heat the oven to 300 °F. Remove the pork from the refrigerator, and carefully pour out any juices that have accumulated. Place the pork in the oven and cook for 3 hours, basting with the rendered fat and pan juices every hour. The pork should be tender at this point -- it should show almost no resistance to the blade of the knife, and you should be able to easily pull meat off the shoulder with the fork. Depending on your schedule, you can serve the pork right away, or let it sit at room temperature for up to an hour.
- When ready to serve, turn the oven up to 500 °F
- The Glaze. Stir together the remaining 1/2 tablespoon of sauce and the brown sugar, and then rub the mixture all over the pork. Place the pork in the oven for 10-15 minutes, until the sugar has melted into a caramelized crust, and the pork fat begins to bubble.
- Serve the Bo Ssäm with your accompaniments and enjoy!
- Mix together the scallions, ginger, oil, soy, vinegar, and salt in a bowl.
- Taste and check for salt, adding more if needed.
- Let rest for 10-15 minutes for the flavors to combine.
- Serve with your roasted pork, and enjoy!
- Serve the Bo Ssäm with your accompaniments and enjoy!
- Combine all ingredients and stir until evenly mixed.
- Ssam sauce will keep in the fridge for weeks.