asian jewish deli

Next to pork belly buns, Momofuku is probably most famous for bo ssam. David Chang and his crew slow roast an entire pork shoulder and serve it along side lettuce, rice, raw oysters, kimchi, and ssam sauce. If this sounds like a lot of food.. it is. The recommended minimum party size is six!

Various Momofuku bo ssam recipes have been published in newspapers and magazines, so it was no surprise that one is also included in the Momofuku cookbook, although it is so simple that no recipe is really needed. A pork shoulder (bone-in recommended, but I used boneless) is rubbed in salt and sugar overnight, then slow roasted. Towards the end of cooking, you sprinkle on a brown sugar and salt mixture and let it caramelize. (“It’s like a shoulder encrusted in pig candy,” Chang notes.)

I will admit to skepticism when I put the shoulder in with just salt and sugar, but the end result shows complexity far beyond the humble ingredients. Lettuce with rice, kimchi puree, ssam sauce (sweet, sour, and savory), and ginger scallion sauce provided the perfect accompaniments to wrap the fatty pork in. I didn’t buy oysters this time, but I have in the past and they pair surprisingly well with the pork and kimchi.

The pork is one of the most versatile recipes in the book, if not only for the amount of food you end up with. The pork is good on almost everything: ramen, kimchi stew (upcoming post), on plain rice, with eggs.. the possibilities are endless!

Tags: bo ssam, food, kimchi, momofuku

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