Bossam
보쌈
Pork belly simmered until it slices like a cold cut, wrapped in leaves with radish salad and ssamjang.
Recipe by I Want Some Food · Reviewed by the editorial kitchen. Native name preserved: 보쌈.
0 people cooked this in the public kitchen yet. Kitchen-tested by I Want Some Food. Not a purchased rating.
- Prep
- 20 min
- Cook
- 1 hr 20 min
- Rest
- None
- Total
- 1 hr 40 min
- Difficulty
- Medium
- Spice
- No chilli
- Cost
- A bit special$16–28 USD · indicative, not a store price
About
Bossam is boiled — or gently simmered — pork belly you wrap like samgyeopsal, but the meat is tender and clean-tasting, not grilled. The wrap is napa or lettuce, the crunch is salted radish (muchim), and the smear is ssamjang. It is a party plate. Slice it thick enough to feel like meat. Simmer the belly gently with a little doenjang, aromatics, and whatever house trick you like — coffee or a few peppercorns — then rest before slicing or the juices run out. The meat should be jiggly, the skin peelable, not stringy-dry. Slice thick enough to wrap. Salted radish muchim needs to be colder and crunchier than the pork; done is clean-tasting pork that still feels like meat in the lettuce, not shredded boiled fat.
Ingredients
Scaling multiplies the written quantities. Baking still prefers a scale.
Steps
Step 1
Cover pork with water, add onion, garlic, ginger, spring onion, salt and doenjang. Simmer 70–80 minutes until a chopstick slides in.
80 minStep 2
Toss radish with a pinch of salt, squeeze, then mix with gochugaru, vinegar, sugar and a little garlic. Rest 10 minutes.
10 minStep 3
Slice the pork 5 mm thick. Serve with leaves, radish muchim and ssamjang. Wrap and eat.
Adapt this recipe
The canonical recipe stays intact. Personal versions are labelled. Serving changes are maths, not AI.
Adaptations · 0 / 15 used. Resets 10 October.
Substitutions
Belly → Pork shoulder
Leaner slices. Do not dry it out.
Tips
- A brief roast after simmering crisps the fat if you want a hybrid.
- Freshly made kimchi (geotjeori) instead of radish is the kimjang-day plate.
History & culture
A soju table and a family table both claim it. Kimchi-making day often meant a bossam dinner with the fresh kimchi. Kimchi-making days still turn into a bossam dinner with the day's fresh cabbage. Company rooms order it as a soju table. Hwanghae and Seoul houses argue about the brine and the wrap. Ssam is the meal, not a garnish around a meat platter you eat with a fork.
Wrapped boiled pork is an old idea. The modern restaurant plate with saeng-kimchi is what most people order. Boiled pork in leaves is not a new idea. Neat slices with saeng-kimchi and radish muchim on a metal tray are late-twentieth-century shop plating. We do not need a royal banquet to justify simmered belly and greens. Date the photogenic spread as restaurant service on top of a domestic boil.
Traditional
Provenance: Editorial adaptation.
Questions about this recipe
Answers taken from this dish's times, amounts, swaps and tips — not a chatbot.
How long does Bossam take?
1 hr 40 min all in — 20 min prep, 1 hr 20 min cook. Cook and rest follow the method. Leftover storage and optional extra waits are not included.
How many does it serve?
The recipe is written for 4 platters. Scale the ingredient list on the page if you are cooking for a different number.
How hard is it?
Medium.
How spicy is it?
No chilli.
What allergens should I watch?
This recipe is labelled for Soy, Sesame, Wheat. Labels are informational — check the packets in your kitchen. This is not medical advice.
Does it fit a diet?
The published recipe is labelled Dairy-free, Nut-free.
What does it cost to cook?
A bit special — about $16–28 USD, as a grocery budget for this recipe, not a restaurant price.
What equipment do I need?
Stockpot.
How much salt do I put in?
The recipe lists Salt at 1 tbsp.
How much doenjang?
1 tbsp (optional) of Doenjang.
How much gochugaru?
1 tbsp of Gochugaru.
How much vinegar?
1 tbsp of Vinegar.
How much sugar?
1 tsp of Sugar.
What can I use instead?
Belly → Pork shoulder. Leaner slices. Do not dry it out.
Any tips from this recipe?
A brief roast after simmering crisps the fat if you want a hybrid. Freshly made kimchi (geotjeori) instead of radish is the kimjang-day plate.
Can I use an air fryer?
This method is not written for an air fryer. The core technique on the page still applies.
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