Bo Ssam
 
 
Adapted from David Chang, NYT Cooking
Author:
Serves: 6-8
Ingredients
  • Pork Butt: 4-5 pound bone in pork butt (pork shoulder)
  • ⅓ cup kosher salt (I used Diamond Crystal)
  • ⅓ cup white sugar
  • 3 tablespoons light brown sugar
  • Ginger-Scallion Sauce: 1¼ cups thinly sliced scallions, both green and white parts
  • ¼ cup very finely minced fresh ginger
  • 2 tablespoons neutral oil
  • ¾ teaspoon soy sauce
  • 1 scant teaspoon sherry vinegar
  • ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
  • Ssam Sauce: 4 tablespoons ssamjang paste
  • 2 tablespoons gochujang
  • 1 tablespoon honey
  • 1 tablespoon sesame oil
  • 2 teaspoons sherry vinegar
  • 2 scallions, thinly slcied
  • 1 small garlic clove, finely minced
  • 2 teaspoons roasted sesame seeds
  • Accompaniments: steamed short or medium grain white rice
  • butter lettuce, leaves separated, washed and dried
  • steamed bao buns (optional)
  • kimchi
Preparation
  1. Special ingredients: Ssamjang paste, sherry vinegar
  2. Place the pork in a large, shallow glass baking dish. Mix the salt and white sugar together in a small bowl. Rub the mixture all over the pork. Cover with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator for at least 6 hours, or overnight. I put my pork in the refrigerator the evening before I served it, for a total of about 14 hours.
  3. When you are ready to cook the pork, heat oven to 300 degrees. Remove the pork from the refrigerator and brush off any excess sugar and salt mixture with paper towels. Discard juices collected in the pan. Place pork skin side up in a roasting pan (heavy duty foil lined pan makes for easy clean up). Cook for 6 - 6½ hours, basting hourly with pan juices. The cooking time will depend on the size of your pork. The meat should easily pull apart with the tines of a fork when done. At this point, you may remove the meat from the oven and allow to rest for up to an hour.
  4. Meanwhile, make the ginger-scallion and ssam sauces. Combine sliced scallions, minced ginger, oil, soy sauce, sherry vinegar, and salt in a medium bowl. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve. For ssam sauce, whisk together the ssamjang and gochujang paste, honey, sesame oil, and sherry vinegar. Stir in the scallions, garlic and sesame seeds. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.
  5. Just prior to serving, set oven rack to middle position and preheat to 500 degrees. Rub the brown sugar all over the cooked pork. Place in the oven for about 6-8 minutes, or until a dark caramel crust has developed (watch for burning). Transfer to a large platter. To serve, shred some of the pork and place on the side of the platter. Allow everyone to make their own lettuce (and bao buns if using) wraps with pork and sauces. Serve steamed white rice and kimchi on the side.
Recipe by My Lilikoi Kitchen at https://www.mylilikoikitchen.com/2022/06/11/bo-ssam/