Bossam (Boiled Pork Wraps)
This is a fun dish to make for a group of people. It requires some time to prep, but is worth it in the end. Pork belly is rubbed down with the marinade and slow cooked for 4 hours, then glazed and put into a wrap. There are many other things that can go into these wraps such as oysters, salted shrimp, kimchi, just to name a few. So lets talk about what goes into these wraps.The wrap is usually made out of cabbage leaves that have been soaking in salt water for an extended period of time. Since cabbage has a lot of water in in already, the salt helps draw out moisture, allowing the leaves to be more flexible for wrapping. You can substitute red or green leaf lettuce for cabbage if you'd like.Perilla leaves are hard to find. They don't carry them at the asian market I go to. Luckily I live a block form a Korean grocery store that does carry them fresh. They taste like a cross between basil and mint.The Korean radish salad is pretty much kimchi daikon. It contains all of the same ingredients as kimchi. The radish salad I used was purchased from the deli section of my Korean grocery store already prepared.Pachae refers to green onion cut in 4" pieces, then sliced vertically very thin. The green onions are then soaked in cold water for 10 minutes. This will rid them of the pungency that comes with green onion, giving them a fresh taste.
Servings: 4
Ingredients
- 1 1/4 lb skin on pork belly
- 1 medium onion sliced
Pork Belly Marinade
- 4 garlic cloves minced
- 1 tbsp minced ginger
- 2 tsp salt
- 1 tbsp Korean fermented soybean paste
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
Pork Belly Glaze
- 2 tbsp dark soy sauce
- 2 tbsp rice wine
- 4 tbsp pork belly marinade
- 1 tbsp sugar
Pork Belly Wraps
- salted cabbage leaves
- perilla leaves
- glazed pork belly
- korean radish salad
- pachae (green onion)
Instructions
- Mix all of the marinade ingredients together. Set aside.
- Layer the bottom of a slow cooker with sliced onions.
- Rub the marinade over the pork belly and lay across the bed of onions. Cook on low for 4 hours.
- While the pork belly is slow cooking, peel off the leaves of a Napa cabbage and let them soak in salt water for at least 2 hours. Wash and drain and set aside.
- To make the pachae, cut green onions in 4" pieces.
- Slice the green onions the long way, as thin as possible. Soak in cold water for 10 minutes to get rid of the pungency. Drain and set aside.
- When finished slow cooking, remove form slow cooker and set aside.
- Mix all of the glaze ingredients together. Heat in a large sauce pan over medium heat.
- Add the pork belly to the glaze. Braise in the pan for 4-5 minutes a side.
- Each side of the pork should be darker in color for the glaze.
- Set aside the pork belly.
Bossam Assembly
- Place a perilla leaf in the center of a cabbage leaf.
- Put a chunk of pork belly on the perilla leaf.
- Place a tablespoon of the Korean radish salad onto of the pork belly. Top it off with the pachae.
- Wrap it up and eat the hell out it.
- This is even good just eating the pork belly on a perilla leaf with some of the pachae.
