In this series, we take recipes from professional chefs and simplify them to capture their essence while prioritizing eating dinner at the right time. This time, we look at bossam, a dish popularized by David Chang of Momofuku Ssäm Bar.
Savoring the namesake bo sam at Momofuku Ssam Bar was the kind of dining bucket-list event that hit the shelves soon after the restaurant opened in New York City in 2006. But getting a bite of David Chang’s iconic pork shoulder, wrapped in lettuce leaves and served with a variety of accompaniments, was no easy feat. First, you had to secure a notoriously difficult reservation, and then you had to find four to six pork-loving friends who happened to be free at 9:30 on a rainy Tuesday night. Sadly, fate never aligned for me, and it never will, as Ssam Bar’s New York location (its second) is closing in fall 2023.
Then, at Momofuku’s restaurant in Las Vegas, I crossed bossam off my list. The dish was perfect for the trip because it’s sharable, sensual, and fun to eat with your hands. I’m not sure if the pork fat on my fingers helped me out at the craps table later that night. Anyway, the night was so memorable that as soon as I got back to Portland, Oregon, I cracked open the Momofuku cookbook and tried to make bossam at home.
Like getting a reservation at the original Ssäm Bar, this was a pretty daunting task: The recipe calls for 8-10 pounds of bone-in pork butt, 6-8 hours of dry brining, four subs, and roasting in a low oven for 6 hours (in reality, it took more than 8 hours for the meat to become fork-tender, and the house smelled like greasy pork for two days.) It also involved visiting two different Korean markets to find the ingredients needed for the ssam sauce recipe.
By the time I sat down to enjoy the meal with friends, I was too tired to eat – again, like my experience at Momofuku, it felt like a once in a lifetime event, and something I would never add to my regular cooking – but since I wanted to experience this dish more than once in my lifetime, and have the energy to actually enjoy it, I decided to revamp the recipe to make it something that would achieve all the charm of the original in less time (and with fewer side recipes).
First, we tackled dry brining. The purpose of dry brining is to tenderize the meat and infuse it with moisture and flavor. First, the brine (salt and sugar in this case) draws the moisture out of the muscle fibers and liquefies the salt and sugar. Then it’s all absorbed into the meat, flavoring it and plumping it up at the same time. Dry brining also gives the meat a browner, crispier exterior (think golden Thanksgiving turkey).
Frankly, I don’t have time for that. Pork shoulder is naturally flavorful, and the method I chose doesn’t dry out the meat, so juiciness isn’t an issue. So instead, I rubbed it with a tablespoon each of sugar and kosher salt. Applying it just before cooking was enough to season the meat.
Instead of roasting the pork in a low-heat oven for six or more hours, I used my trusty Instant Pot. After writing three cookbooks on Instant Pot cooking, I’ve found the appliance to be ideal for cooking tough, fatty meats. The moist heat and high pressure break down meat fibers in about two-thirds the time it takes to braise on the stovetop. To further reduce cooking time, I cut the roast into four small pieces, since smaller pieces cook less time. The meat falls apart anyway, so there’s no need to plate the roast in a big way unless you’re cooking Fred Flintstone.
You need to add liquid to the Instant Pot to create steam and pressure. Water will do, but I find that adding kimchi juice (the liquid that comes in a jar of kimchi) infuses the meat with the tangy chili flavor Korean cuisine is famous for, creating an instant marinade-like effect. After just 35 minutes, and 10 minutes for the pressure to release naturally, the pork was super tender, but not pretty and not crispy.
Here I reverted to the original recipe, smearing the cooked meat with a mixture of brown sugar, salt, and just enough cooking liquid to form a paste that would stick to the meat. The recipe worked: A quick roast in a 500-degree oven for 10 to 15 minutes gave the pork the deep, dark shellac-meat-candy look that’s the alluring signature of Chang’s bossam.
While the meat was cooking, I prepared the garnish, albeit a simplified version. I didn’t make my own napa cabbage kimchi as Chang suggested; it’s a good project for the weekend cook, but there are great local brands that I like to support (kudos to Choi’s Kimchi in Portland, Oregon). I also didn’t puree the kimchi as ordered, because I didn’t want to miss out on the crunch of the cabbage.
I omitted the raw oysters from the recipe; I’m no Rockefeller, and it was a Tuesday night, so I ruled out the pricey bivalve shellfish. Plus, I like to eat oysters straight from the shell. I also omitted the homemade ssam sauce, which I found oily when I made it previously. Instead, I slathered the wraps with Mama O’s Amazing Kimchi Paste and O’Food Gochujang Spicy Miso Sauce. Both gave the wraps the same spicy flavor, without having to break out the measuring spoon.
I made the original ginger scallion sauce sub recipe from scratch. It’s really more of a garnish and can be made quickly with a mini food processor. Next time, I’ll serve it in a bowl with chopped scallions and pickled ginger. The original bossam recipe calls for steamed rice, but honestly next time I might leave it out because it’s still delicious without it. The recipe calls for using Bibb lettuce to roll it up, and I prefer big, fluffy leaves, but I’ve found that any leafy lettuce works fine.
So, those magical chunks of sweet-salty, crunchy pulled pork are wrapped in lettuce leaves and served with tangy kimchi, your choice of umami-packed gochujang sauce, and a gingery scallion relish, and ready in about an hour and a half. No reservations necessary.
Easy Bosom Recipe
source: Momofuku: Cookbook
Serves 4-6
material:
For meat:
¼ cup kimchi juice from a jar of kimchi
3-3.5 pound pork shoulder
1 tablespoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt (or about 1/2 tablespoon Morton’s kosher salt), separated
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
¼ cup tightly packed brown sugar
Ginger-scallion sauce and garnish:
1 (3-inch) piece of peeled and thinly sliced ginger (about ¼ cup)
2 tablespoons flavorless oil
1 teaspoon soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon sherry or red wine vinegar
1 cup sliced green onions (about 1 bunch)
salt
3 cups cooked short grain rice (warm) (optional)
1 head Bibb lettuce or green leaf lettuce (washed and leaves separated)
1 cup Chinese cabbage kimchi
1/2 cup ssamjang sauce, gochujang miso sauce, or kimchi paste (see note above)
Instructions:
step 1: Place a small rack in an electric pressure cooker. Pour the kimchi juice and ¼ cup water into pot and set aside. Place roast, fat side up, on a cutting board. Cut roast crosswise into 2-inch slices. Mix 1 tablespoon salt and granulated sugar and rub meat all over. Place meat, fat side up, on rack. Lock pressure cooker lid, adjust steam vent to “sealing,” and set timer for 35 minutes. When cooking is done, allow steam to release naturally for 10 minutes. Release remaining pressure (do not release pressure suddenly at the end of cooking as the meat will tear easily). Reserve cooking liquid.
Step 2: While the meat is cooking, make the scallion relish. Place the ginger slices, oil, soy sauce, and vinegar in a mini food processor and process until finely chopped, scraping down the sides once halfway through. Add the scallions and process again until the mixture is finely chopped. Season with salt. Scrape into a small serving bowl and set aside.
Step 3: Prepare meat seasoning by combining brown sugar, remaining 1 teaspoon salt, and 1 1/2 teaspoons cooking liquid in a small bowl. Set aside.
Step 4: Preheat oven to 500°. Line a heavy-bottom baking pan or broiler pan with foil. Carefully transfer the cooked meat, fat side up, to the baking sheet. Spread the brown sugar mix over the meat. Be careful not to let it fall onto the foil or it will burn and smoke. Brush with one or two coats of pan juices and bake, watching closely to prevent burning, for 8 to 10 minutes until the meat is golden brown and crisp in places. Using tongs or 2 forks, pull apart the meat and transfer to a serving platter. Serve with garnishes. Wrap the pork chunks in lettuce leaves and top with the sauce, scallion relish and kimchi.
Ivy Manning She is an award-winning food writer based in Portland, Oregon, and the author of ten cookbooks. Tacos A to Z: A delicious guide to non-traditional tacosShe works regularly as a recipe tester and editor for Eater, as well as for restaurants and appliance brands.
Dina Avila Photographer based in Portland, Oregon.
