Korean Bo Ssam Wraps with Spicy Korean Coleslaw
Serves 20
Adapted from My Korean Kitchen
For Pork:
8-10 pounds whole pork shoulder or pork butt (ideally bone-in with some fat)
1 cup white sugar
1 cup sea salt, plus more for seasoning
7 tablespoons brown sugar
2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
For Ssam Sauce:
¼ cup doenjang (Korean soybean paste)
2 tablespoons gochujang (Korean chili paste)
2 tablespoons sesame seed oil
½ tablespoon honey
2 teaspoons sesame seeds
1-2 cloves garlic, minced
¼ white onion, diced
2 green onions, thinly sliced
For Spicy Korean Coleslaw:
Adapted from My Korean Kitchen
2 tablespoons gochugaru (Korean chili flakes)
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
1-1½ tablespoons fish sauce or 2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon confectioner’s sugar (also called castor sugar)
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon sesame seed oil
1 tablespoon sesame seeds
1-2 cloves garlic
½ pound cabbage, shredded (can use Napa cabbage or red cabbage)
Sea salt
2 large carrots, halved, crosswise, and julienned
2 green onions, thinly sliced
For Pickled Veggies:
¾ cup carrots, julienned
¾ cup white onion, thinly sliced
½ cup daikon radishes, halved and thinly sliced
½ cup rice vinegar
¼ cup water
¼ cup white sugar
¼ teaspoon salt
For Wraps:
Romaine lettuce leaves (or slider buns if you want to make a sandwich instead)
The night before you want your meal, place your pork in either a large, shallow baking tray or a high-walled Dutch oven (I used my Dutch oven). In a small bowl, combine and mix 1 cup of sugar and 1 cup of salt. Gently rub this mixture all over the meat. Make sure you get into all of the crevices. Cover and refrigerate at least 6 hours or overnight.
When you’re ready to cook, heat your oven to 300°F. Next, take the pork out of the fridge. You’ll notice an accumulation of liquid, along with the salt and sugar mixture, at the bottom of the tray/Dutch-oven. Spill this away, but don’t rinse the pork, as you want the rub to remain on the pork.
Turn the pork so the fatty side is up and cook it in the oven, uncovered, for 6 hours (a heavier piece of pork may take longer to cook).
While the pork is cooking, make the accompaniments. First, make the Ssam Sauce. In a food processor, combine the doenjang, the gochujang, sesame seed oil, honey, sesame seeds, garlic, and onion. Blend until smooth. Once blended, add the green onions and mix through. Refrigerate and set aside until ready to eat.
Next, make the Spicy Korean Coleslaw. In a small mixing bowl, combine the gochugaru, rice vinegar, fish sauce, sugar, lemon juice, sesame seed oil, sesame seeds, and garlic. Combine everything together until well blended.
In a large mixing bowl, add the cabbage. Sprinkle some sea salt over top and gently mix everything together to slightly wilt the cabbage. Add the carrots and mix in the sauce. Combine everything together well. Sprinkle the green onions over top. Refrigerate and set aside until ready to eat.
Finally, make pickled veggies. In a large, resealable container combine the carrots, onions, radishes, rice vinegar, water, sugar, and salt. Mix together well and let sit, at room temperature, for at least 30 minutes, preferably at least an hour. Once it’s reached your desired taste, drain the liquid away. (The longer you leave the vegetables in, the stronger the pickle taste will be and the more they will lose their crunch). Refrigerate and set aside until ready to eat.
Once you’ve taken the pork out of the oven, in a medium bowl, combine the 1 tablespoon of sea salt, the brown sugar, and apple cider vinegar. Using either your hands (be careful of the hot pork) or a basting brush, apply the brown sugar mixture all over the pork, especially the top (this will give you a delicious crust!).
Turn your oven up to 500°F or use your oven’s broiler function. Cook until a dark caramel crust has formed on the meat, about 5-10 minutes.
To make your wrap, add a few stringy pieces of the pork to a lettuce leaf. Add some Ssam sauce on top of the pork. And top with the Spicy Korean Coleslaw and Pickled Veggies. Alternatively, take a slider bun, put a layer of Ssam sauce on the bottom bun, add a solid layer of meat and top with a good heaping of the Spicy Korean Coleslaw, Pickled Veggies, and a few smaller lettuce leaves.
Enjoy!
