BOSSAM (KOREAN BRAISED PORK BELLY)
SOURCE: HOONI KIM AND AKI KAMOZAWA. MY KOREA: TRADITIONAL FLAVORS, MODERN RECIPES.
For more than six documented centuries, aristocratic yangban of the Joseon Dynasty would deliver a porcine feast to compensate and reward their gimjang workers for the intensive labor and devotion poured in preempting and fermenting massive quantities of kimchi for the winter. Boiling the tender parts of the slaughtered pig, such as the shoulder and belly, yields what would become the meaty centerpiece of Bossam. Danji’s modern take on Bossam is a more flavorful upgrade of a recipe by Yoon-ok Kim when the erstwhile first lady hosted a luncheon for Hallyu ambassadors during a 2011 state visit in the United States. Its two key elements? One, a prior searing gives the pork a richer, more robust, and more complex taste that improves over time, the longer it rests in its braising liquid. Two, the blanched cabbage ssam takes neutrality to let the pork belly splendor the palate with the decadence of its juices.
Ingredients
3 pounds/1.4 kg skinless pork belly, cut into 4 rectangular pieces
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
3 cups/340 grams sliced onions
1 cup/130 grams sliced carrots
5 tablespoons/75 mL canola oil
2 cups/480 mL sake
2 cups/480 mL matsool OR mirin
2 cups/480 mL soy sauce, preferably Korean
2 cups/480 mL water
1/4 cup/35 grams finely chopped garlic
1/4 cup/28 grams finely chopped ginger
3/4 cup/150 grams sugar
5 dried shiitake mushrooms
10 to 12-inch/25 to 30-cm square of dashima or konbu
Boiled Cabbage
1/2 cup/100 grams sugar
1/3 cup/90 grams salt
1 large head Napa cabbage, quartered lengthwise
Thinly sliced scallions OR chopped chives
Mu Mallengi Muchim (Spicy Dehydrated Korean Radishes)
Specific Equipment
Dutch oven
Large plate
Wooden spoon
Large stockpot
Colander
Paper towels
Sharp knife
Large skillet or sauté pan
Serves 4
Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 325°F/160°C.
2. Season each piece of pork belly generously on all sides with salt and pepper. Heat 3 tablespoons/45 mL canola oil in a Dutch oven over high heat until the oil is barely smoking. Sear in each piece of pork belly around 3 to 5 minutes on each side and turning once until all sides of the meat have turned golden brown. Sear the pieces of pork belly in two batches, if necessary, so as not to crowd the Dutch oven. Transfer the pork belly to a large plate and set aside.
3. Reduce to medium heat and sauté in the onions and carrots for 8 to 10 minutes, constantly stirring, or until they have turned golden brown. Stir in the sake and matsool or mirin to deglaze the Dutch oven, scraping off the browned bits at bottom of the pot with a wooden spoon. Raise the heat to boil off the sake and mirin for 10 minutes or until the volume has reduced to about 1/2 cup/120 mL.
4. Stir in the soy sauce, water, garlic, ginger, sugar, shiitake mushrooms, and dashima or konbu until well-blended. Return the pork belly into the Dutch oven, completely submerging all pieces of meat into the liquid. Cover the Dutch oven with its lid and bring to a boil.
5. Transfer the Dutch oven into the oven and braise for 1 1/2 hours or until the pork belly is tender. Remove the Dutch oven from the oven and let the pork belly rest in its liquid for at least 2 hours.
6. Bring 1 gallon/3.8 L of water in a large stockpot to a boil over high heat. Stir in the sugar and salt to dissolve. Drop in the quarter pieces of cabbage and blanch for 10 minutes or until the thick center ribs of the leaves easily bend. Remove the cabbage from the pot and drain thoroughly on a colander. Pat the cabbage gently with paper towels to dry. Set the cabbage aside to cool slightly.
7. Cut off the core from each cabbage quarter with a sharp knife and separate the leaves by hand. Cut the leaves into 2-inch/5-cm × 4-inch/10-cm rectangles, if desired. Divide the cabbage leaves equally on individual dining plates and set aside.
8. When ready to serve, bring the meat and its liquid in the Dutch oven to a simmer and reheat for 15 minutes or until the meat is thorougly hot. Drain the pork over a colander and pat dry with paper towels.
9. Heat 2 tablespoons/30 mL canola oil in a large skillet or sauté pan until the oil is barely smoking. Sear each piece of pork belly for about 15 seconds on each side to briefly caramelize soy sauce and sugar from the surface of the pork and concentrate the flavor in meat.
10. Slice each pork belly according to preferred size, preferably bite-sized pieces, and divide the meat equally among individual dining plates containing the boiled cabbage leaves on the side. Sprinkle the pork with thinly sliced scallions or chopped chives and spoon the Scallion Dressing over the pork. Serve the Bossam and boiled cabbage with a spoonful serving of Mu Mallengi Muchim.
