Name: Bossam
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 60 min
Total time: 80 min
Yield: 2 servings
Cuisine: Korean
Ingredients: 400 g Pork Belly, single thick piece if possible; 2 tbsp Ssamjang, for serving; 8 Lettuce, large leaves for wrapping; 5 clove Garlic, 4 for broth, 4 thinly sliced for serving; 1 inch Ginger, sliced; ⅔ cup Onion, cut into wedges; ⅓ cup Spring Onion Greens, divided between broth and serving; 1½ tbsp Soy Sauce, for simmering broth; ⅔ tbsp Brown Sugar, for the broth; ⅓ tsp Ground Black Pepper, for broth; 1 Green Chili Pepper, thinly sliced for serving; ⅔ tsp Sesame Seeds, for serving; 4 cup Water, or enough to mostly cover pork

1 hr 20 mintotal

35 min hands-on45 min hands-off

Prep 20 min · Cook 1 hr

Serves: 2
Difficulty: Medium
Spice: Mild

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Method

Place the pork belly in a pot with water, onion, garlic, ginger, some spring onion greens, soy sauce, brown sugar, and black pepper.
Bring to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer gently until the pork is fully cooked and tender.
Skim the surface if needed during the first part of cooking to keep the broth clean.
Remove the pork and rest it for a few minutes so the juices settle.
Slice the pork belly into thick bite-size pieces.
Arrange lettuce leaves, ssamjang, sliced garlic, green chili pepper, sesame seeds, and remaining spring onion greens on a serving plate.
Serve the pork warm and let each person wrap a piece with sauce and aromatics.

How to tell it's done

The pork should be tender and sliceable, with a soft fatty layer and clean savory flavor.

Getting it right

Tip

Slice the pork only after resting; cutting too early can make the meat lose moisture.

What to serve it with

Serve as a shared wrap platter with kimchi, cucumber, and warm rice.

Common mistakes

The pork is dry and stringy.: Keep the pot at a bare simmer and let the meat rest in its broth for a few minutes before slicing. Boiled hard, pork belly tightens and squeezes out the fat that keeps it tender.
The slices fall apart or shred.: Rest it before cutting and slice across the grain, thick rather than thin. Bossam is meant to be a substantial slice that holds up inside a lettuce wrap.

Substitutions

Use Pickled Cabbage Leaves along with lettuce for a more classic wrap texture if available.
Use Pork Shoulder if Pork Belly is unavailable, but the result will be leaner.
Ssamjang commonly contains soy and may contain wheat or sesame, so keep allergen checks active.

Storing and reheating

Keeps three days in the fridge. Store the pork whole rather than sliced, in a little of its broth, and steam it briefly to reheat — this is how it stays moist. Sliced and refrigerated, it dries out fast. Ssamjang keeps a month.

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Ingredients