Bossam - Boiled Pork with Napa - (보쌈)

Remember that moo-che I made the other day?  I initially made it so that we can enjoy it with some bossam this week. I started STEP ONE of it tonight.         

 

Get a medium sized napa and cut all the leaves off and wash it well.



Get a little more than a full cup of salt (I added more salt after I took this picture) and mix it around with about 3 CUPS of hot water.  Use a whisk or chopsticks to make sure the salt dissolves thoroughly.



Then add 7 more cups of water and mix it around.



Cut the napa vertically into manageable pieces and add it to the salt water and let it sit for about 4-5 hours.



Eventually, it will shrivel up like shown in this picture. Grab the white part of the napa and when it's mushy to the touch...



....rinse it clean under cold water.



Clean each piece thoroughly in a tub of water to get the taste of salt out and then store it in a container for later use. I'm going to use it tomorrow! I just wanted to save a step in the morning...

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STEP TWO – MAKING BOSSAM

Get your bossam (basically a block of pork butt) and wash it thoroughly and then bring a pot of water to a boil.



Add 1 TB each of cofee and soy bean paste and add the pork and bring the water to a strong boil.


 
Meanwhile, ready your vegetables. I added green onions (I didn't have a whole one, otherwise I would have just added that), 1 serrano chile, and a handful of peppercorns into this tea bag.  I also added 1 small onion, about 10 whole garlic cloves, and a 3 inch sprig of ginger. If you have large green onions, add some of that too!



At this point, all the gunk should start rising to the top (15 minutes), remove from the heat.




Rinse the pot and pork clean and add new water along with all the vegetables.



Add 1/2 TB of soy bean paste and let everything boil for about 1.5 hours. Flip the pork over every 30 minutes or so to ensure even cooking and add more water if you feel you need to.



After it's done cooking, remove it from the heat and give it a quick rinse. Slice it up into thin pieces 1.5 inch wide or so.



Plate it and you're ready to serve!



Make sure you eat it with the napa and moo-cheh which was made earlier. You take the napa, place the pork and moo-cheh inside and wrap it up. You can add sliced garlic and jalapenos for more spice. =)  The MR likes eating it with salted shrimp jut paste.  I’ll post a recipe for that as well one day!  Until then, DIG IN!