History of Pork Belly & Kimchi Lettuce Wraps (Bossam)

Bossam is a classic dish in Korean culture where braised pork belly is wrapped in leafy greens and topped with ssamjang – a sauce that combines gochujang (sweet and spicy chili paste), doenjang (fermented soybean paste), and ganjang (soy sauce). Kimchi is also a common ingredient in these wraps.

Speaking of kimchi, it’s got quite the history. Kimchi has been around for nearly 1,500 years in Korea. Whole villages would come together to prepare the kimchi before winter. The process is called gimjang and has been mentioned in Korean literature as early as the 13th century. After the work was all helpers were fed pork neck with kimchi and ssam (which is a verb meaning “to wrap”). Thus the dish comes full circle as bossam is closely associated with gimjang.

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