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Bossam (Korean Pork Belly Wraps)

Bossam (보쌈, 褓) is a Korean dish generally made with pork belly boiled in spices and thinly sliced, then wrapped in salted napa cabbage leaves with a radish salad and salted shrimp.

Prep Time
45 mins
Cook Time
1 hr
Rest Time
4 hrs
Total Time
1 hr 45 mins
Servings: 6 people
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Asian , Korean

Ingredients

For napa cabbage wraps
  • 1 napa cabbage or Chinese cabbage tender inner parts
  • 4 tablespoons coarse salt (diluted in 1 quart / 1 l of water)
For the meat
  • 2 large pieces of pork belly (about 3 lb / 1.2 kg each) cut in pieces
  • 1 small onion
  • 3 scallions (only the white part)
  • 8 cloves garlic
  • 1 inch fresh ginger thinly sliced
  • 1 teaspoon whole black peppercorns
  • 1½ teaspoon fermented soybean paste (doenjang)
  • ½ teaspoon Gochugaru (Korean pepper flakes), optional
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 2½ quarts water
Possible side dishes
  • Radish salad musaengchae
  • Fermented soy paste doenjang
  • green chili
  • Salted shrimp saewujeot
  • fried garlic

Instructions

    Cup of Yum
  1. Soak the napa cabbage leaves in the water and coarse salt mixture for 4 hours.
  2. Rinse and drain well.
  3. Save the brine water.
Meat
    Cup of Yum
  1. Bring water and all other ingredients except the pork to a boil over medium-high heat and continue to boil for 5 minutes.
  2. Add the pork belly and leave to boil for 20 minutes, uncovered.
  3. Reduce heat to medium-low and cook, covered, until the meat is very tender, for about 50 minutes. Turn off the heat and allow the meat to cool in the cooking liquid. This will keep the meat moist.
  4. Thinly slice the meat.
  5. To serve, each person must dip a piece of pork in the saewoojeot, then place it on a sheet of napa cabbage.
  6. Add garlic, a dab of fermented soybean paste (doenjang) and a few pieces of musaengchae.
  7. Add a slice of green pepper. Wrap the cabbage around all these ingredients and enjoy.

Notes

  • Store the leftover meat in the cooking liquid. Boil the meat in the liquid to reheat. This prevents the meat from drying out.