Bossam (Boiled Pork Wraps)

Bossam is a way of eating boiled pork: slices of tender meat wrapped at the table in salted napa cabbage or lettuce with a spicy radish salad, a little salted shrimp and other condiments. The Korean Food Promotion Institute describes the pork as simmered so that it has no gamey smell, then pressed under a heavy stone to squeeze out remaining fat, and ties the name to the long Korean habit of wrapping food (ssam) — above all to boksam, "wrapping good fortune," eaten at the first full moon. Pigs, too, have long symbolized wealth and luck in Korea, so the institute reads the dish as a doubled wish for fortune. See ssam culture.

The meat itself is suyuk, boiled meat. The Encyclopedia of Korean Folk Culture traces boiled meats back to the Joseon royal ancestral rites and to cookbooks such as Siui jeonseo, which recommends eating boiled pork with vinegar soy sauce, salted-shrimp liquid and chili powder. It notes that in South Gyeongsang pork boiled with doenjang, garlic, ginger, soju and medicinal herbs is eaten with napa cabbage kimchi and ssamjang — essentially today's bossam. The institute explains the old pairing of pork and salted shrimp (saeujeot) in terms of the enzymes in fermented shrimp; whatever the reason, the combination is a fixture. Pork was once mostly eaten when a village slaughtered a pig for a feast, which is part of why the dish still feels celebratory.

Kimchi is the other half of bossam. The institute calls kimchi indispensable to bossam, its cool, refreshing bite balancing the rich pork, and notes that the kimchi served with it is traditionally made without chili powder so as not to overwhelm the meat. A separate dish, bossam-kimchi, is a Kaesong-style kimchi wrapped in cabbage leaves; the Encyclopedia of Korean Culture notes that people in Kaesong called it ssam-kimchi because the word bossam also named an old abduction custom. See making ssam and wraps.

• Boiled, not fried: simmering and pressing render out some fat; the folk encyclopedia notes boiled meat has long been seen as a lighter way to eat pork.
• Vegetables in every bite: cabbage, radish, garlic and chilies wrap each slice, adding fiber, vitamin C and vitamin K.
• Pork nutrients: pork is a good source of protein and thiamin (vitamin B1).

• With mild kimchi: the Korean Food Promotion Institute describes bossam served with a kimchi made without chili powder.
• South Gyeongsang suyuk (Gyeongsang): pork boiled with doenjang, garlic, ginger, soju, cinnamon and herbs such as hwanggi and danggwi, served with cabbage kimchi and ssamjang, as the folk encyclopedia records.
• Jeju dombae-gogi (Jeju): boiled pork sliced on a wooden board (dombae) and served at feasts with doenjang or soy sauce — a close cousin.
• Jeolla suyuk (Jeolla): pork soaked in doenjang water and boiled with green onion, garlic, ginger and rice wine, served with vinegared chili paste.