Momofuku Bossam (or Bo ssam) is what you make when you want to impress the pants off your friends! This is David Chang’s famous dish from his Momofuku restaurant in New York. It’s an epic centrepiece consisting of slow cooked pork with an insane caramelised crust served with condiments, used for DIY fully loaded Korean lettuce wraps.

Looks impressive, simple to make, fun to eat and eye rollingly delicious. He charges US$300 for the privilege of eating it. It will cost you a fraction of that!

Momofuku Bossam (or Bo ssam)

Bossam is a traditional Korean pork dish consisting of thinly sliced pork belly simmered in a seasoned broth, then stuffed in lettuce leaves and topped with condiments to make lettuce wraps.

Momofuku Bossum is Chef David Chang’s version of the traditional Korean dish. Made famous at his New York restaurant Momofuku, he makes it using a pork shoulder that’s been dry cured overnight so it’s seasoned all the way through, slow roasted for 5 to 6 hours until fall apart tender then blasted at the end with a brown sugar rub which forms an epic caramelised crust.

It’s a formidable centrepiece made for sharing, an eating experience you’ll remember for years to come. If you have it at Momofuku, it will cost you a whopping US$300 (that’s A$420!!!). But it’s obscenely easy to make. You don’t even need to make a trip to the Asian store! (Yes, really)

The pork is dry cured overnight so it’s seasoned all the way through from end to end, then slow cooked for 5 – 6 hours until fall apart tender.

What is served with Bossam

Here are all the components that make up David Chang’s Momofuku Bossam:

Slow roasted pork – dry cured overnight then slow roasted for 5 to 6 hours, the meat is seasoned all the way through and fall apart tender, and encased with an insane crispy brown sugar crust that everybody fights over;

– dry cured overnight then slow roasted for 5 to 6 hours, the meat is seasoned all the way through and fall apart tender, and encased with an insane crispy brown sugar crust that everybody fights over; Ginger shallot sauce – made with a LOT of ginger, this seals the deal;

– made with a LOT of ginger, this seals the deal; Spicy Ssam sauce – the only part that calls for Asian grocery ingredients, but is not a critical part of the overall Bossam experience and is easily replaceable with any hot sauce or chilli paste;

– the only part that calls for Asian grocery ingredients, but is not a critical part of the overall Bossam experience and is easily replaceable with any hot sauce or chilli paste; Rice and kimchi (spicy Korean pickled cabbage) – for stuffing into the lettuce wraps;

and (spicy Korean pickled cabbage) – for stuffing into the lettuce wraps; Oysters – might sound strange but it works! Taken from the traditional way of serving Bossam in Korea, raw oysters are stuffed into the lettuce wraps. It’s like a little “surprise inside” when you get to it. Fabulous textural and flavour contrast; and

– might sound strange but it works! Taken from the traditional way of serving Bossam in Korea, raw oysters are stuffed into the lettuce wraps. It’s like a little “surprise inside” when you get to it. Fabulous textural and flavour contrast; and Soft lettuce leaves – to stuff everything in, bundle up and devour.

What you need

Here’s what you need to make the slow cooked pork – 4 ingredients!

Boston Butt

Best cut is Pork Butt aka Boston Butt which the upper part of the pork shoulder. Butt is the ideal cut because:

it’s BIG, as in 3.5 – 4kg / 7-8 lb, and it needs to be so it can sustain the long cook time required to achieve the signature thick caramelised crust without the meat inside become less juicy than ideal; and

it’s an even rectangle shape so it cooks through evenly.

🇦🇺Australia – get this cut at butchers or Costco (it’s very good value).

How to make Momofuku Bossam

And here’s how to make it:

Dry cure with just salt and sugar for 24 to 36 hours;

Slow roast for 5 hours at 150°C/300°F or until fork tender;

Cover with brown sugar and blast in hot oven for 10 minutes to create the brown sugar crust;

Shred and serve with sauces and sides to make lettuce wraps – see below for sauces.

Sauces for Bossam

The two sauces served with Momofuku Bossam are:

Ginger Shallot Sauce (aka Ginger Scallion Sauce) – this is actually a traditional sauce served with other dishes across Asia (eg Hainanese Chicken); and Ssam Sauce – a spicy red sauce made with Korean chilli pastes. Easy substitute with any chilli paste or hot sauce.

Ginger Shallot Sauce

Just a handful of ingredients – just mix and leave to soften for just 20 minutes or so.

Spicy Ssam Sauce

This is the spicy red chilli sauce made with Korean chilli pastes (Gochujang and Ssamjang) and will require a trip to a Korean grocery store or large Asian store to get them. Once you have them, it’s a simple mix job.

But do NOT fret if you can’t these chilli pastes. You don’t use a lot of the Spicy Ssam Sauce so it’s absolutely not a big deal at all to just substitute it with a simple hot sauce, chilli paste or even Sriracha!

Do NOT worry if you can’t get Gochujang and Ssamjang. Just use your favourite chilli paste, Sriracha or a hot sauce instead!

How to serve Bossam

Bossam is a DIY affair. Place the magnificent slow cooked pork on a large platter (or tray, as I have done) and surround it with all the sauces and sides that are used to make the lettuce wraps:

Ginger Shallot Sauce (Scallion);

Spicy Ssam Sauce – or Sriracha, hot sauce or chilli paste;

Oysters – for the full Momofuku experience;

Kimchi – just store bought for me, quite widely available nowadays;

Rice (out of frame – oops! 😂); and

Soft lettuce leaves – or crispy if you prefer.

Then let everyone tear into the meat and gear yourself up for a fight over that incredible crust (I’ll take anyone on to get my fair share)…

…and make your own fully loaded Korean Lettuce Wraps. The Momofuku way.

This iconic Bossam recipe is David Chang’s, from his cookbook Momofuku. It’s also been shared in various online publications, including the New York Times.

This recipe follows the published recipe, but with some helpful tips and adjustments we’ve made after making this multiple times over the years. For example, the Ssam sauce as written in NYT has way too much vinegar. There’s way too much salt in the dry rub (you end up throwing half out), and we’ve figured out how to get that brown sugar crust perfect – without setting off your smoke alarm!

That’s enough from me. Now it’s your turn to impress the pants off your family and friends! – Nagi x

Watch how to make it

Momofuku Bossam (Korean Slow Cooked Pork Shoulder) Recipe video above. This is David Chang's famous Momofuku Bossam (or Bo ssam), his take on the traditional Korean pork dish. Slow Cooked Pork: 3.5-4 kg/ 7-8 lb pork butt (, bone in, skinless (Note 1))

1/2 cup (110g) white sugar

1/2 cup (115g) kosher or cooking salt ((NOT table salt, Note 2)) Brown Sugar Crust: 1 tbsp kosher or cooking salt ((NOT table salt, Note 2))

7 tbsp brown sugar Ginger Shallot Sauce: 2.5 cups scallions (, thinly sliced (both green and white parts, ~5-6 stems))

1/2 cup fresh ginger (, peeled and finely grated (Note 3))

1/3 cup canola oil ((Note 4))

1.5 tsp light soy sauce ((or all purpose, not dark soy sauce Note 5))

1 teaspoon sherry vinegar ((Note 6))

1/2 tsp kosher or cooking salt (, to taste (Note 2)) Spicy Ssam Sauce (Note 7): 2 tbsp ssamjang ((Note 8))

1 tbsp gochujang ((Note 8))

5 tsp sherry vinegar ((Note 6))

2 tbsp canola oil ((Note 4))

1 tbsp water

1 tsp white sugar Serving: 4 – 5 heads butter/bib lettuce ((40 – 50+ leaves, Note 9))

3 cups cooked white rice

500g/1lb kimchi

12 + oysters (, optional (Note 10)) Bossam Slow Cooked Pork: Mix sugar and salt together. Pat pork dry. Coat pork in sugar salt mixture, getting it into all the crevices. Rub/pat well to adhere as best you can – discard excess salt unused/falls off (usually ~ 2-3tbsp). Place in a glass dish, cover loosely with cling wrap and refrigerated 24 – 36 hours (Note 11). Preheat oven to 150°C/300°C (all oven types) with rack in the middle of oven. Remove pork from fridge. Either transfer pork to clean pan or drain off excess liquid / scrape out salt/sugar in pan. Roast 5 hours (Note 12), spooning over pan juices once each hour, until you can easily pull the meat apart with 2 forks (check on side). Remove from oven, rest for 10 minutes (up to 1 hour is fine, loosely cover in foil). Turn oven up to 260°C/500°F (all oven types). Brown Sugar Crust: Mix brown sugar and salt. Spoon juices all over pork. Spoon sugar onto pork and use your hands to make it stick to the top and sides (not underneath). Make layer on top as even as you can (for even caramelisation). Place in oven for 10 minutes until surface is a deep golden crust, sugar is bubbling and caramelised (see VIDEO!). Keep a close eye on it from 5 minutes. If the highest points start getting black, cover with small piece of foil (just stick it on). Remove from oven and transfer to serving platter for serving. (Don’t use pan juices, it will be salty from brine) Sauces: Ginger Shallot Sauce: Mix ingredients in bowl and stand for 20 minutes to let it soften. Ssam Sauce: Mix ingredients together. Oil will naturally separate over time if sauce is left to stand, just mix again to reincorporate. Serving: Place pork on serving platter with lettuce, oysters, kimchi, rice, Ginger Shallot Sauce and Ssam Sauce on the side. Attack the pork – it will shred easily. Shred as much or little as you want, let people do it themselves or you can do it for them. Prepare to fight over the epic crust. To eat, place lettuce in hand. Spoon in some rice, top with pulled pork, small piece of kimchi, oyster, some ginger shallot sauce then finally a little drizzle of spicy Ssam sauce. Bundle up, bite and enjoy! 1. Pork – Pork Butt is a specific cut of pork shoulder that is much larger than the usual pork shoulder sold in Australian supermarkets. It is a formidable block of meat, a nice even rectangle shape which is key for ensuring the pork is slow cooked evenly so every part is meltingly tender – no dry bits anywhere! 3.5-4kg/7-8lb is the ideal weight for best result – the most incredible juicy pulled pork. Up to 4.5kg is still near perfect too. While this recipe will work very well for smaller pork shoulder, because the meat will cook faster it will not be quite as juicy. Still very VERY juicy, just not quite as juicy as using a 4kg piece – I’ve made pulled pork with 1.5-2kg/3-4lb pieces many times. 2. Salt – use kosher or cooking salt, grains are larger than table salt which is superfine. If you have no choice but to use table salt, cut down to 2/3 cup (or for rub). 3. Ginger – finely grate using a microplane or similar. If you don’t have one, mince with knife until very very fine. 4. Oil – or grapeseed, peanut or vegetable oil 5. Soy sauce – use light or all purpose. Don’t use bottle labelled “dark soy sauce”, far too intense flavour. 6. Sherry vinegar – sub with any of these: apple cider vinegar, red or white wine vinegar or champagne vinegar. 7. Ssam Sauce – if you can’t get your hands on the Gojuchang and Ssamjang paste, don’t fret. This Ssam sauce isn’t pivotal to the Bossam eating experience. Just make the Chilli Sauce in this chicken recipe, or even use Sriracha or another chilli paste instead of making Ssam. 8. Ssamjang and Gochujang – spicy Korean pastes available at most Asian grocery stores, Korean stores and online. Can’t find it? Don’t stress – read Note 6 for subs. 9. Butter/bib lettuce – soft lettuce often sold with roots. Soft lettuce ideal for making wraps. But crisp “cup” shaped lettuce will be fine too!

Volume – easily makes 50+ lettuce wraps. Just get as much lettuce as you want to serve, knowing there’s enough pork for over 50 lettuce wraps (leftover pork is sensational) 10. Oysters – served with traditional bossam, it’s part of the eating experience! It’s like a “surprise inside” when you’re munching through the lettuce wrap and come across the oyster, great textural contrast. Bit indulgent to have an oyster for every piece of lettuce so just provide as much as you’re willing to indulge in. 11. Brining time – minimum 6 hours, 12 hours ok, 24 – 36 hours optimum, 48 hours ok too (especially if using 4.5kg/9lb pork) 12. Internal temp of pork is irrelevant in slow roasting because the internal temp doesn’t change once cooked beyond well done, but meat can still be tough. Need time not temperature for meat to become fall apart. Oven types – for slow roasting at low temps, I find the same temp is required for standard and fan forced/convection. Cook times – original recipe says 6 hours for 3.5 – 5kg / 7 – 10lb pork shoulder. That’s a HUGE variation in pork size and the cook times vary – here is the cook times by weight: 3.5 – 4kg / 7 – 8lb = 5 hours (best weight for most juicy flesh)

4.5/9lb = 5.5 hrs

5kg/10lb = 6 hrs I haven’t tried this with smaller pork pieces, but based on other slow cooked pork I’ve done, I think the times will approximately be: 2 kg / 4lb = 3 hrs 45 min

2.5kg / 5 lb = 4 hrs

3kg / 6lb = 4.5 hrs SLOW COOKER – won’t get quite the same flavour because you won’t get the same caramelisation, but can be done. 10 hours on low, urge you to finish in oven for best result. Do not use juices in slow cooker, will be too salty. 13. Leftovers – being a juicy cut of meat, the pork will reheat beautifully. Don’t have to use for wraps, just serve with all leftover condiments and sides – rice and sauce with kimchi etc.

Life of Dozer

There’s just no words to tell you how excited/hopeful Dozer was around such an enormous piece of meat.

Did he get some?🤔 Watch today’s recipe video to see!!!

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