Meat & BBQ
Bossam (Korean Boiled Pork Wraps)
Prep
20 min
Cook
60 min
Servings
4
Steps
- 1
Place the pork belly in a pot with the onion, garlic, ginger, green onions, doenjang, and coffee or soju.
- 2
Add enough water to fully cover the pork.
- 3
Bring to a boil, then reduce to a steady simmer.
- 4
Simmer 45-90 minutes, until a skewer slides through the thickest part with no resistance.
- 5
Let the pork rest in the liquid for 10 minutes off the heat before removing.
- 6
Slice thin, against the grain.
- 7
Serve with salted cabbage leaves, radish salad, salted shrimp, and kimchi for wrapping at the table.
Did you know — Korean culture
Bossam's whole format comes from a scheduling decision, not a flavor idea. It's traditionally tied to kimjang, the once-a-year communal kimchi-making push — families slaughtered a pig the same week they were harvesting and salting cabbage, giving exhausted workers a rich, ready meal wrapped in the same salted leaves already being prepped for the kimchi pots.
Bossam is boiled, not braised, and the brine is doing more work than the word "boiled" suggests. Doenjang, garlic, ginger, and green onion turn the cooking liquid into something that seasons the meat from the outside in, rather than just cooking it in plain water.
The dish traces back to the Goryeo dynasty in the Gaesong region, and its more common story ties it directly to kimjang — the communal kimchi-making season. Butchering a pig at the same time as the annual cabbage harvest gave the exhausted workers something substantial to eat, and bossam's whole format — rich pork wrapped in the same salted cabbage being prepped for kimchi — comes straight out of that pairing.
Slicing thin matters more here than with most pork dishes. Bossam is eaten wrapped, not forked straight off the plate, and a thick slice just overwhelms the cabbage leaf instead of folding into a clean bite.
Troubleshooting
Pork still tough? Keep simmering — bossam wants a full hour or more for a proper cut of belly, not the shorter cook time you'd use for thinner pork.
Smells too strong? That's what the coffee or soju is for — either cuts the gamy edge of boiled pork without you tasting either ingredient directly in the final dish.
Wrap falling apart at the table? Cabbage leaves need a light salting and a few minutes to soften before serving — stiff, unsalted leaves crack instead of folding.