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    Home > Blog > Pork > Bo Ssam

    Bo Ssam

    by Jenny Park · Published: Dec 7, 2011 · Modified: Aug 5, 2020

    Jump to Recipe

    Ingredients in bowls and on plates for bo ssam. A recipe for a Korean dish called Bo Ssam Hi all! We decided to make a Korean style dish called Bo Ssam where the pork is usually steamed, thinly sliced and served alongside a number of sides and condiments. We thought it would be fun to add more flavor to the pork itself by brining and roasting the pork shoulder and glazing it with the sweet and deeply flavorful syrup.

    Not only is this a fairly easy dish to make, despite the seemingly intimidating number of ingredients and components, it’s a great dish to serve for a get together with a naturally beautiful presentation. We took our photos and excitedly started eating our finished product. Bo Ssam is something that’s actually surprisingly light and refreshing despite the use of roasted pork. There are so many different layers of flavor in this dish from the sweet and salty pork, to the umami-ness of the perilla leaves.

    The syrup really added a great touch of sweetness, against the salty brine, as well a a nice caramelized crust to the pork. We were pretty much eating that pork for days, with everything, and it was awesome. This dish is also super fun because of all the other added elements you can choose to pair with your pork. Most dishes that come to mind when we think of pork are rather heavy. This is actually lighter, and more refreshing. So go get all your cute small dishes out and make this!

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    Ingredients in bowls and on plates and an assembled bo ssam bite.

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    Ingredients in bowls and on plates for bo ssam.

    Bo Ssam

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    RECIPE BY Teri & Jenny
    Prep Time: 30 mins
    Cook Time: 2 hrs 45 mins
    Resting/Chill Time: 9 hrs
    Servings: 10

      INGREDIENTS  

    pork brine

    • ½ cup kosher salt
    • ⅓ cup granulated sugar
    • ⅓ cup light brown sugar
    • 2 tablespoons crystallized ginger, chopped
    • 6 cups water
    • 3 pounds Becker Lane Organic Farm Pork Shoulder
    • ⅔ cup BLiS Bourbon Barrel Matured Maple Syrup

    seasoned spinach

    • 1 pound spinach
    • 2 garlic cloves, minced
    • 1 green onion, thinly sliced
    • 1 tablespoon sesame oil
    • 1 tablespoon soy sauce
    • ½ teaspoon toasted sesame seeds

    spicy shredded daikon

    • 1 tablespoon distilled vinegar
    • 2 teaspoons gochugaru (Korean chili powder)
    • 2 teaspoons granulated sugar
    • 1 garlic clove, minced
    • 1 green onion, thinly sliced
    • ½ teaspoon salt
    • ¼ daikon radish (about 10 ounces), coarsely shredded
    • 1 ½ cups steamed rice
    • 1 cup store bought kimchi, coarsely chopped
    • ½ cup Ssamjang
    • 1 tablespoons tiny salted and fermented shrimp (saeujeot)
    • 40 perilla leaves

      INSTRUCTIONS  

    • Place brine ingredients into a large container, except pork, and stir until the sugar dissolves.
    • Place pork into the brine, cover and refrigerate for 6 hours.
    • Remove the pork from the brine and rinse over cold water. Pat dry and place onto a roasting pan.
    • Preheat oven to 425°F.
    • Place pork into oven and roast for 15 minutes. Reduce heat to 325°F and cover roast with foil. Continue to cook for 1 ½ hours.
    • Remove foil and baste with ½ the syrup. Place roast back into the oven and continue to bake for 30 minutes.
    • Baste with remaining syrup. Raise heat back to 425°F and cook for 15 minutes.
    • Remove from heat and allow roast to rest for 10 minutes.
    • Bring a large pot of water up to a boil. Drop the spinach into the boiling water for 30 seconds.
    • Drain spinach from water and squeeze out any excess water.
    • Place remaining seasoned spinach ingredients into a mixing bowl and whisk together.
    • Toss spinach into the seasoning mixture, cover and refrigerate for at least an hour.
    • Place all ingredients for spicy seasoned daikon, except for daikon, into a mixing bowl.
    • Pour mixture over daikon and mix together until completely combined.
    • Cover and refrigerate for 2 hours, to allow the daikon to marinate.
    • To serve: Thinly slice the pork and serve on a platter with kimchi. Place remaining sides/condiments into individual dishes and serve.
    • This dish is meant to be eaten “taco style”, by wrapping a small amount of each component (pork, spinach, rice, kimchi, etc) into a perilla leaf before consuming it.
    Calories: 328kcal Carbohydrates: 45g Protein: 20g Fat: 8g Saturated Fat: 2g Cholesterol: 56mg Sodium: 6303mg Potassium: 633mg Fiber: 2g Sugar: 32g Vitamin A: 4396IU Vitamin C: 16mg Calcium: 101mg Iron: 3mg

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    December 7, 2011 / 18 Comments

    About Jenny Park

    Jenny Park is half of Spoon Fork Bacon. She is also a food stylist and recipe developer. One of her favorite foods is donuts. #sfbJENNY

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    Reader Interactions

    December 7, 2011 / 18 Comments

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    1. annie

      September 25, 2013 at 12:24 pm

      How are the saeujeot and ssamjang utilized? Making this for a dinner party of 10 and can’t wait! Thanks.

      Reply
      • Jenny Park

        September 25, 2013 at 6:22 pm

        They’red used sort of as “condiments”…like pickles and ketchup (but obviously a 100 times better!)..just go easy on the amounts as they are very spicy and salty/briny! Good luck! Bo ssam is one of my favorite meals!

        Reply
    2. gina

      December 12, 2011 at 5:54 pm

      How much water did you use for your brine?

      Reply
      • Jenny Park

        December 12, 2011 at 6:34 pm

        Hi Gina! I added about 6 cups. Thanks for catching that; I forgot to add it to the ingredient list. It’s all fixed now. Good luck!

        Reply
    3. Debs @ The Spanish Wok

      December 09, 2011 at 2:39 am

      This sounds delicious, loving the photos too.

      Reply
    4. Nicole Franzen

      December 08, 2011 at 7:18 am

      damn this looks divine.

      Reply
    5. Katrina @ Warm Vanilla Sugar

      December 07, 2011 at 6:13 pm

      You guys rock my world.

      Reply
    6. sarah

      December 07, 2011 at 11:40 am

      This looks amazing. The colors and combination of flavors is making me happy! I really want to try this.

      Reply
    7. Lizzy (Good Things)

      December 07, 2011 at 11:03 am

      Love it, everything looks so fresh and very tasty!

      Reply
    8. nicole {sweet peony}

      December 07, 2011 at 10:47 am

      my korean half just did a major fist pump! i loooove this dinner (although we’ve only made it with thinly sliced beef)! the sesame leaves are an absolute must, as is the ssamjang! sometimes we make a little dipping sauce for the beef with sesame oil, salt & pepper. sooooo super good and if you have all the side dishes ready, it’s really fast! :)

      Reply
    9. Adrianna from A Cozy Kitchen

      December 07, 2011 at 10:09 am

      I never would’ve thought to put crystallized ginger in a brine until I made Alton’s (we’re on a first name basis), but I have to say it was so subtle and delicious. I’m totally into this brine. Also, steamed anything < roasting. Duh. And I'm even more psyched about how beautiful those perilla leaves are.

      P.S. I'm sort of obsessed with this dish. CANYOUTELL?!

      Reply
    10. Aaron from The Amused Bouche Blog

      December 07, 2011 at 9:50 am

      I’m diggin’ using crystallized ginger in your brining solution. Genius! Awesome recipe all around; these look awesome!

      Reply
    11. Mel.

      December 07, 2011 at 9:40 am

      I! Want! It! Now!

      But I never heard before of perilla leafes … can I use something else in exchange?

      Mel.

      Reply
      • ZuVuYah

        December 08, 2011 at 3:15 am

        Not sure what the substitute would be….It is pretty distinctive, imo…Perilla is also known as Shiso leaf. It is served with sushi which is how I learned about it. Hope you are able to find it! Good Luck!

        Reply
        • Korean

          October 24, 2014 at 1:01 pm

          Perilla leaf(sesame leaf) has totally different tast from shiso leaf although they look similar.

          Reply
      • Jenny Park

        December 08, 2011 at 8:49 am

        Hi Mel! The flavors of perilla leaves are rather distinct, but if I’m out and don’t want to make a trip to the Korean market I’ll usually substitute red leaf lettuce and mint leaves. Hope this was helpful!

        Reply
    12. Lindsay

      December 07, 2011 at 8:27 am

      This looks SO GOOD!!!

      Reply
    13. Bev Weidner

      December 07, 2011 at 8:21 am

      Anything “build your own taco” RULES MY LIFE.

      Reply

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