Bo Ssam

For past two weeks, I have been sitting almost all day on my computer typing away my final papers for my classes while not eating much and sleeping at ridiculous hours of the day. I was not feeling like my usual self. So, my parents decided it was time to bring in the heavy machinery to give my body and my brain a boost. And their weapon of choice: bo ssam. Pork belly. Basically, MEATTTTT!!!! (I apologize in advance to anyone who does not eat meat.)

Bo Ssam is pork belly. The pork belly is grilled or sautéed or fried. It is boiled with some spices, such as ginseng, to minimize the odor of the meat. After it is boiled, it is cut into thin slices and served with various sides and sauces.

Some people eat bo ssam by itself, but I would not recommend this because you will feel sick. This sickness is not due to the meat having gone bad. It's just that pork belly is really greasy and oily, like any other meat, but, if you only eat the meat, you're probably going feel queasy. Trust me. I've been on that boat and you don't want to experience it. EVER! But, if you eat pork belly the "proper" way, *sits up straight and places a napkin on lap*, you'll be able to enjoy pork belly immensely.

Bo ssam is eaten in many different styles with a variety of sides. The main way to eat it is to wrap in a piece of ssam, or steamed Korean cabbage, with some ssamjang, which is a semi-spicy wrap sauce that literally translates into “wrap sauce/paste.” You can choose to include a piece of garlic, some onion, and a piece of pepper separately or all together. Another way to eat pork belly is with seh-oo-juht, which is a sauce made out of tiny pickled and fermented shrimp. I know, it sounds really disgusting. But, you don’t eat the shrimp itself. Rather, you simply dip the piece of pork belly into the water of the she-oo-juht. Okay, maybe that’s worse than the sauce itself. But, it gives a salty taste to the pork belly and helps to alleviate the queasy feeling that you get from eating too much oil. It makes you feel less sick. But, the other way to eat pork belly is with the kimchi. If you want to get really fancy, you can eat bo ssam with some raw oysters. I personally say that this is the best way to go, but if you think that none of these ingredients are for you, there is one ingredient that you must, and I mean MUST, eat with bo ssam. Kimchi. When all else fails, kimchi is the one ingredient that you need to eat bo ssam with. You have two types here: the traditional kimchi or jjang-ah-chi.

The kimchi is crucial to bo ssam because it blends all of the flavors together. The traditional kimchi needs to be recently and freshly made. Newly made kimchi is still “alive,” as in the cabbage has not become fermented and tender. The texture of the newly made kimchi is rough and crunchy and compliments the chewy pork belly. The jjang-ah-chi is a different form of kimchi that is made from dried Korean radish. It is not as crunchy as the traditional and newly made kimchi. However, it is sweeter and more enjoyed by younger people. Either way, you must eat bo ssam with kimchi.

I would say that this combination is a match made by heaven. It is so good! And this dish is very popular dish in Korea and has a special history to it. Bo ssam is not a common household dish. It was eaten during the gimjang season. The gimjang season is the season where huge amounts of kimchi was made and prepared for the oncoming winter. And after the kimchi was made, celebrations would commence and people usually ate pork during these celebrations. This is how bo ssam was born.

Honestly, for me, bo ssam is more than just my go-to energy booster food. It is a history lesson that you can eat. I never knew that there was a season of making kimchi that was celebrated after its completion by eating pork until my grandmother made kimchi. She is in her eighties now, so she has lived through the gimjang season. She taught me about kimchi, what to add, what the family “secret” ingredient is (and sorry, I can’t tell you!), and made bo ssam for me. This food brings my entire family together because we make kimchi together, divide it amongst ourselves, and eat it with bo ssam. You can find this dish at Gam Ja Gol in Koreatown for about $22 per person (including tax). So, go out and try some bo ssam! Good luck on deciding which combination you enjoy the most!