Bo Ssam
Dennis, Moon and I cooked Bo Ssam together for our weekly Supper Club. We smoked the pork butt on a Traeger Grill and that made it all the more tastier. This recipe serves 6-10. Don't scrimp on the sauce, don't shy away from the oyster. It's one our favorite Korean family-style dishes.
Ingredients
- 1 whole bone-in, skin-on pork butt or picnic ham, 8 to 10 pounds
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup plus 1 tablespoon kosher salt
- 7 tablespoons brown sugar
- 2 1/2 cups thinly sliced scallions, both green and white parts
- 1/2 cup minced fresh ginger
- 1/4 cup neutral oil, such as canola or grapeseed
- 1 1/2 teaspoons light soy sauce
- 1 scant teaspoon sherry vinegar
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, or to taste
- 2 tablespoons ssamjang fermented bean-and-chile paste (available in many Asian markets and online)
- 1 tablespoon gochujang chile paste (available in many Asian markets and online)
- 1/2 cup sherry vinegar
- 1/2 cup neutral oil, such as canola or grapeseed
- 2 cups plain white rice, cooked
- 3 heads Bibb lettuce, leaves separated, washed and dried
- 1 dozen oysters
- 1 cup Kimchi
Shopping List
- 1 whole bone-in, skin-on pork butt or picnic ham, 8 to 10 pounds
- 1 bunch scallions
- 1 hand ginger
- 1 jar ssamjang
- 1 jar gochujang chile paste
- Bibb lettuce
- 1 dozen oysters
- 1 jar Kimchi
Pantry List
- 1 bag white rice
- 1 box brown sugar
- 1 box granulated sugar
- 1 box kosher salt
- 1 bottle canola
- 1 bottle light soy sauce
- 1 bottle sherry vinegar
Instructions
- Prepare the pork. Place the pork in a large, shallow bowl. Mix the granulated sugar and 1 cup of the salt together in another bowl, then rub the mixture all over the meat. Cover the meat with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator for at least 6 hours or overnight.
- When you’re ready to cook, heat the oven to 300°F. Remove the pork from the refrigerator and discard any juices. Brush off the meat to remove the bulk of the remaining sugar and salt. Place the pork in a roasting pan and cook in the oven for about 6 hours, basting hourly with the pan juices, until it collapses and yields easily to the tines of a fork. Remove the meat from the oven and allow to rest for up to an hour.
- Meanwhile, make the ginger-scallion sauce. In a large bowl, combine the scallions with the ginger, oil, soy sauce, vinegar, and salt. Mix well and taste, adding more 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 and wash lettuce. Put kimchi and sauces into serving bowls.
- When your accompaniments are prepared and you are ready to serve the food, turn oven to 500°F. 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 Bibb Lettuce, rice, oysters and kimchi