Korean Main

Bossam

Bossam is tender slices of simmered pork belly wrapped in napa cabbage with pungent ssamjang and fresh accompaniments. This version uses measured ingredients, clear visual cues and the traditional flavour balance that makes the dish distinctive.

Jump to recipe More Korean food
25 minsPrep time
1 hr 10 minsCook time
Serves 4Servings
MediumDifficulty
Bossam
About this dish

Bossam: the story on the plate

Bossam is a Korean main with a clear sense of place. Bossam means wrapped and commonly refers to tender boiled or simmered pork served with cabbage and condiments. It is strongly associated with kimjang season, when families traditionally prepare large quantities of kimchi and eat pork alongside freshly seasoned cabbage. The recipe below keeps the defining ingredients and technique intact while giving practical metric quantities and enough detail for a home cook to judge texture, seasoning and doneness rather than simply follow a timer.

Historical background

Bossam means wrapped and commonly refers to tender boiled or simmered pork served with cabbage and condiments. It is strongly associated with kimjang season, when families traditionally prepare large quantities of kimchi and eat pork alongside freshly seasoned cabbage.

Why it is famous

Bossam turns preservation work into a feast: rich pork, fresh or salted cabbage and pungent fermented condiments are eaten communally as wraps.

Cultural significance

Bossam turns preservation work into a feast: rich pork, fresh or salted cabbage and pungent fermented condiments are eaten communally as wraps.

Nutrition

Estimated nutrition per serving

These figures are estimates per serving. Actual nutrition can vary with the brands and exact amounts you use, how much oil, dressing or sauce is absorbed, any substitutions or added extras, and the portion size served.

A practical guide for comparing recipes and planning meals.

670Calories
34gProtein
15gCarbs
52gFat
Ingredients

What you need

  • 900 pork belly, skin on or off
  • 1800 water
  • 45 doenjang
  • 180 onion, halved
  • 30 Garlic, crushed
  • 20 ginger, sliced
  • 80 Spring onions
  • 1 black peppercorns
  • 16 napa cabbage leaves, salted or briefly blanched
  • 100 ssamjang
  • 4 raw garlic, thinly sliced
  • 2 green chilli, sliced
Method

Step-by-step method

Follow the recipe in order, tasting and adjusting seasoning where needed.

  1. Put the pork belly in a pot just large enough to hold it. Add water, doenjang, onion, garlic, ginger, spring onions and peppercorns and bring slowly to a boil, skimming any grey foam.
  2. Lower to a gentle simmer, partially cover and cook for 55–65 minutes. Keep the liquid below a hard boil so the fat softens without the meat becoming ragged.
  3. Check the pork by inserting a thin skewer into the thickest part; it should slide in easily but the slab should still hold together for slicing. Lift out and rest for 10 minutes.
  4. While the pork rests, rinse salted cabbage leaves if necessary and squeeze them dry. Arrange cabbage, ssamjang, sliced garlic and chilli on the table.
  5. Slice the pork across the grain into pieces about 6–8 mm thick. If the fat has become very soft, use a sharp knife and wipe it between cuts for clean slices.
  6. Serve warm. To eat, place a slice of pork in cabbage, add a small dab of ssamjang, garlic or chilli, fold and eat in one or two bites.
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Tips, storage and serving advice

Shopping tips

Buy Korean gochujang, gochugaru and doenjang from a Korean grocer where possible. Use short-grain rice rather than long-grain rice, and choose well-fermented kimchi for cooked dishes. Check labels on compound ingredients such as sauces, spice blends, stocks, kimchi, fermented pastes and prepared breads when cooking for allergies.

Ingredient quality

For Bossam, prioritise fresh or properly stored versions of pork belly, water, doenjang, onion; speciality seasonings should smell vivid rather than stale.

Common mistakes

Boiling aggressively dries the meat and shreds the exterior; slicing immediately makes the slab fall apart; oversalting cabbage can dominate every wrap.

Chef’s tips

Rest the pork before slicing and keep the poaching liquid gently moving rather than violently boiling.

How to know it is cooked

A skewer enters easily, the lean is tender and moist, and the fat is translucent and soft without dissolving away.

Plating advice

Fan pork slices on a platter surrounded by cabbage leaves and small condiment bowls.

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