Bossam
Boiled pork belly wrapped in cabbage with seasonings.
About Bossam
Pork belly is boiled with aromatics until tender, sliced, and wrapped in cabbage leaves with spicy radish salad, salted shrimp and garlic. It is a favourite Korean dish to share over drinks.
🏛️ History & Culture
Bossam, meaning "wrapped" in Korean, is a beloved dish of boiled pork belly that is sliced and typically served with an array of accompaniments like spicy radish salad (ssammu), salted shrimp (saeujeot), and raw garlic, all meant to be wrapped in leafy vegetables. Its origins are debated, but it is widely associated with the Korean tradition of "ssam" (wrapping) and is believed to have gained popularity in the 20th century, particularly as a shared meal for gatherings and drinking occasions.
Regional variations exist, most notably in the southwestern city of Gwangju, where a style called "sul-sul-bossam" is served with a thinner, more delicate cut of pork and a lighter broth. Culturally, bossam is a cornerstone of Korean social dining, often ordered with soju or makgeolli, and its communal nature reflects the broader Korean value of sharing food to strengthen bonds among friends and family.
🍳 How to make Bossam
AI-assisted, not kitchen-testedBossam (보쌈) — Boiled Pork Belly Wraps with Radish Salad
A classic Korean sharing dish: whole pork belly simmered until tender, sliced, and wrapped in salted napa cabbage leaves along with a spicy radish salad, salted shrimp, raw garlic and ssamjang. Traditionally eaten with soju or makgeolli around the table.
- Prep
- 35 min
- Cook
- 90 min
- Total
- 125 min
- Serves
- 6
- Difficulty
- Medium
Recipe ingredients
- 1.2 kg (2 lb 12 oz) pork belly, skin on, single slab with rind, ideally 3–4 cm / ~1.5 in thick
- 1 whole large napa cabbage, for wraps and for making bossam kimchi style salted leaves
- 300 g (10½ oz) Korean radish (mu), daikon works
- 2 tbsp gochugaru (Korean red pepper flakes)
- 1 tbsp salted shrimp (saeu-jeot), Korean fermented tiny shrimp; chop roughly
- 6 cloves garlic, plus 1 whole head, separated, for serving raw
- 1 piece fresh ginger, ~40 g, smashed
- 2 stalks leek, white and green parts, smashed
- 2 tbsp soy sauce, for boiling broth
- 1 tbsp rice wine (cheongju or mirin)
- 1 tsp whole black peppercorns
- 1 sheet dried kelp (dashima), ~10 cm, wiped, not washed
- 2 tbsp rice vinegar, for the radish
- 1 tsp sugar
- 120 g (water or doenjang-broth base) salt, for brining the cabbage leaves
- 200 g (7 oz) ssamjang, for serving; mix 4 tbsp doenjang + 1 tbsp gochujang + 1 tbsp sesame oil + 1 tsp sugar if unavailable
- 2 tbsp toasted sesame oil, for brushing sliced pork
- 1 tsp toasted sesame seeds
Steps
- 1 Salt the cabbage: separate 18–20 large outer leaves from the napa cabbage, keeping them whole. Dissolve 60 g (about 3 tbsp coarse) salt in 1 L (4 cups) water and soak the leaves for 30 minutes, weighted so they stay submerged. Drain and pat dry; they should taste subtly salted and be pliable.
- 2 Prepare the radish salad: peel the radish and cut into 4 cm × 0.5 cm matchsticks (about 300 g). Toss with 1 tsp salt, rest 10 minutes, then squeeze out liquid. Combine with 2 tbsp gochugaru, 1 tbsp salted shrimp (reserve the rest for serving), 1 tbsp rice vinegar, 1 tsp sugar, 1 finely grated garlic clove and 1 tsp toasted sesame seeds. Set aside.
- 3 Rinse the pork belly, then place in a heavy pot and cover with cold water. Bring to a boil, blanch 5 minutes, then discard the water and rinse the pork and the pot to remove scum.
- 4 Return pork to the pot with 2 L (8 cups) fresh water, the smashed ginger, smashed leek, peppercorns, kelp, 2 tbsp soy sauce and 1 tbsp rice wine. Bring to a gentle simmer — do not boil hard or the meat will be dry.
- 5 Simmer uncovered for 60–75 minutes, turning the pork once or twice, until a chop goes in easily and the internal temperature reads at least 85 °C (185 °F) on an instant-read thermometer in the thickest part. The rind should be tender when pressed.
- 6 Transfer pork to a tray, cover loosely with foil, and rest 15 minutes. While resting, brush or rub the surface with 1 tbsp toasted sesame oil; this keeps the skin supple and glossy when sliced.
- 7 Slice the pork across the grain into roughly 1 cm (½ in) thick pieces — through the layers of fat and meat, with the rind attached to each slice.
- 8 Assemble: on each salted cabbage leaf, lay a slice of pork, a small spoonful of radish salad, a dab of ssamjang, a sliver of raw garlic and a tiny bit of the reserved salted shrimp. Fold the leaf into a parcel and eat by hand.
- 9 Safety note: pork belly must reach 85 °C / 185 °F internal for medium-well tenderness and safe consumption; whole cuts are safe once the juices run clear and the texture is fork-tender. If using store-bought salted shrimp straight from the tub, it is fully fermented and ready to eat; do not feed raw garlic in large quantities to children under 5.
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