Momofuku's Bo Ssam

I finally made the bo ssam. It's been on my wish list to try for a while and I am so glad I finally did. It's a hit! Easy to make for company if you have the ingredients. Serve with rice and a side of pickled carrots, cucumbers, fennel, etc. 

NOTES 

- Remember to apply the dry rub the night before but not more than a day.

- Make the pork butt in the crock pot! 
- You can substitute regular soy sauce for the light soy sauce.
- Ssamjang and gochujang are available at asian groceries like Uwajimaya
- Double the ginger-scallion sauce!

- I made the ssam sauce as-written, but it was too vinegary. The proportions listed below include my adjustments. Also sub'ing Black Vinegar for the sherry vinegar was great.

PORK BUTT
1 whole bone-in pork butt or picnic ham (It calls for 8 to 10 pounds, but I think mine was closer to 6 bone-in. You can substitute 4 lb boneless)
½-1 cup white sugar
½-1 cup plus 1 tablespoon kosher salt
7 tablespoons brown sugar

GINGER-SCALLION SAUCE

• 2 ½ cups thinly sliced scallions, both green and white parts
• ½ cup peeled, minced fresh ginger (I microplane the ginger)
• ¼ cup neutral oil 
• 1 ½ teaspoons light soy sauce (also called "thin" soy sauce)
• 1 scant teaspoon sherry vinegar
• ½ teaspoon kosher salt, or to taste

SSAM SAUCE

• 2 Tbsp ssamjang (a fermented bean-and-chile paste available in many Asian markets, and online)
• 2 Tbsp gochujang paste (a chile paste available in many Asian markets, and online. The original recipe called for 1 tbsp gochujang)
• ¼ cup Black Vinegar or sherry vinegar (the original calls for ½ cup so increase to taste)
• ½ cup neutral oil (like grapeseed or canola) (start with ¼ cup)

ACCOMPANIMENTS
2 cups plain white rice, cooked
3 heads bibb lettuce, leaves separated, washed and dried
Kimchi 

Smashed Cucumber Salad

Pickled Vegetables

Seaweed Salad

PREPARATION

1. PORK Place the pork in a large, shallow bowl. 
2. Mix the white sugar and 1 cup of the salt together in another bowl (This was a lot. Start with ½ cup each of sugar and salt.) Rub the mixture all over the meat. Cover it with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator for at least 6 hours or overnight.
3. FOR CROCKPOT Definitely cook the roast in the Crockpot! David Chang's directions are for the oven (below), however in the notes someone suggested using a crock pot instead and finishing it in the oven. It was easy and the pork was incredibly tender and juicy.  Add 1/4 c. water to the crockpot and cook on LOW for 8-10 hours. 
   
4. FOR OVEN David Chang: When you're ready to cook, heat oven to 300F. Remove pork from refrigerator, brush any excess sugar mixture off the fat cap and discard any juices. Place the pork in a roasting pan and set in the oven and cook for approximately 6 hours, or until it collapses, yielding easily to the tines of a fork. (After the first hour, baste hourly with pan juices.) At this point, you may remove the meat from the oven and allow it to rest for up to an hour.
5. GINGER SCALLION SAUCE  In a large bowl, combine the scallions with the rest of the ingredients. Mix well and taste, adding salt if needed.
6. SSAM SAUCE In a medium bowl, combine the chili pastes, the vinegar and oil, and mix well. 
7. FINISH PORK When your accompaniments are prepared and you are ready to serve the food, heat oven to 500F. 
8. In a small bowl, stir together the remaining tablespoon of salt with the brown sugar. Rub this mixture all over the cooked pork. Place in oven for approximately 10 to 15 minutes, or until a dark caramel crust has developed on the meat (took about 25 mins for me, but I started checking at 10 mins). 
9. Serve hot, with the ssam sauce, ginger scallion sauce, kim chi, rice, and lettuce leaves.