Bo Ssam Recipes

Steps:

• Place the pork in a large, shallow bowl. Mix the white sugar and 1 cup of the salt together in another bowl, then rub the mixture all over the meat. Cover it with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator for at least 6 hours, or overnight.
• When you're ready to cook, heat oven to 300. Remove pork from refrigerator, brush any excess sugar mixture off the fat cap and discard any juices. Place the pork in a roasting pan and set in the oven and cook for approximately 6 hours, or until it collapses, yielding easily to the tines of a fork. (After the first hour, baste hourly with pan juices.) At this point, you may remove the meat from the oven and allow it to rest for up to an hour.
• Meanwhile, make the ginger-scallion sauce. In a large bowl, combine the scallions with the rest of the ingredients. Mix well and taste, adding salt if needed.
• Make the ssam sauce. In a medium bowl, combine the chili pastes with the vinegar and oil, and mix well.
• Prepare rice, wash lettuce and, if using, shuck the oysters. Put kimchi and sauces into serving bowls.
• When your accompaniments are prepared and you are ready to serve the food, turn oven to 500. In a small bowl, stir together the remaining tablespoon of salt with the brown sugar. Rub this mixture all over the cooked pork. Place in oven for approximately 10 to 15 minutes, or until a dark caramel crust has developed on the meat. Serve hot, with the accompaniments.

Steps:

• 1. Put the pork in a roasting pan, ideally one that holds it snugly. Mix together the granulated sugar and 1 cup of the salt in a bowl, then rub the mixture into the meat; discard any excess salt-and-sugar mixture. Cover the pan with plastic wrap and put it into the fridge for at least 6 hours, or overnight.
• 2. Heat the oven to 300°F. Remove the pork from the refrigerator and discard any juices that have accumulated. Put the pork in the oven and cook for 6 hours, basting with the rendered fat and pan juices every hour. The pork should be tender and yielding at this point-it should offer almost no resistance to the blade of a knife and you should be able to easily pull meat off the shoulder with a fork. Depending on your schedule, you can serve the pork right away or let it rest and mellow out at room temperature for up to an hour.
• 3. When ready to serve-sauces are made, oysters are ready to be shucked, lettuce is washed, etc.-turn the oven to 500°F.
• 4. Stir together the remaining 1 tablespoon salt and the brown sugar and rub the mixture all over the pork. Put it in the oven for 10 to 15 minutes, until the sugar has melted into a crisp, sweet crust.
• 5. Serve bo ssäm whole and hot, surrounded by the accompaniments.

Steps:

• Make the bo ssam: In a 6- to 8-quart electric pressure cooker, combine 4 cups of water and doenjang, and whisk until well blended. Add the garlic, ginger, scallions and peppercorns. Season pork belly with salt and add to cooker in an even layer, pressing to submerge in the liquid. Lock pressure cooker lid in place, and set steam vent to sealing position. Select high pressure, and cook for 30 minutes. Let pressure release naturally for 15 minutes, then manually release.
• While pork belly cooks, in a medium bowl, dissolve 1/4 cup of salt in 4 cups water. Add cabbage leaves and toss to evenly coat. Let stand, turning occasionally, until softened and lightly salted, about 30 minutes. Drain and squeeze out excess water.
• Make the spicy radish salad: In a small bowl, combine all of the ingredients and mix well.
• Make the ssamjang: In a small bowl, combine all of the ingredients and mix well.
• When ready to eat, slice the pork belly crosswise into 1/4-inch-thick pieces, and arrange on a serving platter alongside the cabbage. (The braising liquid can be degreased and used as a delicious soup base, or discarded.) Serve with the spicy radish salad, ssamjang and preferred toppings like thinly sliced long green chile peppers, thinly sliced garlic and kimchi.
• To eat, place a piece of pork belly on a cabbage leaf and place a dab of ssamjang on top. Add a little radish salad and any other toppings. Wrap the cabbage around the filling and enjoy.

Steps:

• Place pork in a large bowl or roasting pan. In a medium bowl, mix together granulated sugar and 1 cup coarse salt. Rub sugar mixture all over pork and cover bowl with plastic wrap; transfer to refrigerator for at least 6 hours and up to overnight.
• Preheat oven to 300 degrees.
• Transfer pork to a large roasting pan, discarding any accumulated juices (or drain accumulated juices from roasting pan that pork is in). Transfer roasting pan to oven and cook, basting every hour with rendered fat in roasting pan, until meat is tender and easily shredded with a fork, about 6 hours.
• Meanwhile, in a small bowl, mix together remaining tablespoon coarse salt and brown sugar; rub mixture all over pork.
• Increase oven temperature to 500 degrees. Return pork to oven until sugar has melted into a crisp crust, 10 to 15 minutes. Serve hot with oysters, kimchis, ginger-scallion sauce, ssam sauce, rice, lettuce, and sea salt.