Momofuku Bossam (or Bo ssam) is David Chang’s famous dish from his Momofuku restaurant in New York. It’s an epic centrepiece consisting of slow cooked pork roast with an insane caramelised crust, served with condiments for DIY fully loaded Korean lettuce wraps.
A showstopper made for sharing, astonishingly simple, fun to eat and eye-rollingly delicious. Momofuku charges US$250 for the privilege of eating it. This costs a fraction of that!
Momofuku Bossam (or Bo ssam)
Momofuku Bossum is Chef David Chang’s famous version of a traditional Korean pork dish called Bossam which consists of thinly sliced pork belly simmered in a seasoned broth that are then used to make lettuce wraps.
A signature dish at his New York restaurant Momofuku, he makes it using a pork shoulder that’s been dry cured overnight so it’s seasoned all the way through, slow roasted for 5 to 6 hours until fall apart tender then blasted at the end with a brown sugar rub which forms an epic caramelised crust.
It’s a formidable centrepiece made for sharing, an eating experience you’ll remember for years to come. If you have it at Momofuku, it will cost you a whopping US$250 (that’s A$350!!!). But it’s obscenely easy to make. You don’t even need to make a trip to the Asian store! (Yes, really)
The pork is dry cured overnight so it’s seasoned all the way through from end to end, then slow cooked for 5 – 6 hours until fall apart tender.
What is served with Bossam
Here are all the components that make up David Chang’s Momofuku Bossam:
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Slow roasted pork – dry cured overnight then slow roasted for 5 to 6 hours, the meat is seasoned all the way through and fall apart tender, and encased with an insane crispy brown sugar crust that everybody fights over;
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Ginger shallot sauce – made with a LOT of ginger, this seals the deal;
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Spicy Ssam sauce – the only part that calls for Asian grocery ingredients, but is not a critical part of the overall Bossam experience and is easily replaceable with any hot sauce or chilli paste;
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Rice and kimchi (spicy Korean pickled cabbage) – for stuffing into the lettuce wraps;
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Oysters – might sound strange but it works! Taken from the traditional way of serving Bossam in Korea, raw oysters are stuffed into the lettuce wraps. It’s like a little “surprise inside” when you get to it. Fabulous textural and flavour contrast; and
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Soft lettuce leaves – to stuff everything in, bundle up and devour.
What you need
Here’s what you need to make the slow cooked pork – 4 ingredients!
Boston Butt
Best cut is Pork Butt aka Boston Butt which the upper part of the pork shoulder. Butt is the ideal cut because:
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it’s BIG, as in 3.5 – 4kg / 7-8 lb, and it needs to be so it can sustain the long cook time required to achieve the signature thick caramelised crust without the meat inside become less juicy than ideal; and
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it’s an even rectangle shape so it cooks through evenly.
🇦🇺Australia – get this cut at butchers or Costco (it’s very good value).
How to make Momofuku Bossam
And here’s how to make it:
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Dry cure with just salt and sugar for 24 to 36 hours (ie rub with salt and sugar, refrigerate);
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Slow roast for 5 – 6 hours at 150°C/300°F or until fork tender;
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Cover with brown sugar and blast in hot oven for 10 minutes to create the brown sugar crust;
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Shred and serve with sauces and sides to make lettuce wraps – see below for sauces.
Sauces for Bossam
The two sauces served with Momofuku Bossam are:
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Ginger Shallot Sauce (aka Ginger Scallion Sauce) – this is actually a traditional sauce served with other dishes across Asia (eg Hainanese Chicken); and
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Ssam Sauce – a spicy red sauce made with Korean chilli pastes. Easy substitute with any chilli paste or hot sauce.
Ginger Shallot Sauce
Just a handful of ingredients – just mix and leave to soften for just 20 minutes or so.
Spicy Ssam Sauce
This is the spicy red chilli sauce made with Korean chilli pastes (Gochujang and Ssamjang) and will require a trip to a Korean grocery store or large Asian store to get them. Once you have them, it’s a simple mix job.
But do NOT fret if you can’t get these chilli pastes. You don’t use a lot of the Spicy Ssam Sauce so it’s absolutely not a big deal at all to just substitute it with a simple hot sauce, chilli paste or even Sriracha!
Do NOT worry if you can’t get Gochujang and Ssamjang. Just use your favourite chilli paste, Sriracha or a hot sauce instead – you just want some kind of spicy sauce for the wrap!
How to serve Bossam
Bossam is a DIY affair. Place the magnificent slow cooked pork on a large platter (or tray, as I have done) and surround it with all the sauces and sides that are used to make the lettuce wraps:
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Ginger Shallot Sauce (Scallion);
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Spicy Ssam Sauce – or Sriracha, hot sauce or chilli paste;
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Oysters – for the full Momofuku experience;
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Kimchi – just store bought for me, quite widely available nowadays;
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Rice (out of frame – oops! 😂); and
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Soft lettuce leaves – or crispy if you prefer.
Then let everyone tear into the meat and gear yourself up for a fight over that incredible crust (I’ll take anyone on to get my fair share)…
…and make your own fully loaded Korean Lettuce Wraps. The Momofuku way.
This iconic Bossam recipe is David Chang’s, from his cookbook Momofuku. It’s also been shared in various online publications, including the New York Times.
This recipe follows the published recipe, but with some helpful tips and adjustments we’ve made after making this multiple times over the years. For example, the Ssam sauce as written in NYT has way too much vinegar. There’s way too much salt in the dry rub (you end up throwing half out), and we’ve figured out how to get that brown sugar crust perfect – without setting off your smoke alarm!
That’s enough from me. Now it’s your turn to impress the pants off your family and friends! – Nagi x
Watch how to make it
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Momofuku Bossam (Korean Slow Cooked Pork Shoulder Roast)
Ingredients
Slow Cooked Pork:
- 3.5-4 kg/ 7-8 lb pork butt / shoulder , bone in & skinless (Note 1)
- 1/2 cup (110g) white sugar
- 1/2 cup (115g) kosher or cooking salt (NOT table salt) (Note 2)
Brown Sugar Crust:
- 1 tbsp kosher or cooking salt (NOT table salt) (Note 2)
- 7 tbsp brown sugar , light or normal (not dark)
Ginger Shallot Sauce:
- 2.5 cups scallions , thinly sliced (both green and white parts, ~5-6 stems)
- 1/2 cup fresh ginger , peeled and finely grated (Note 3)
- 1/3 cup canola oil (Note 4)
- 1.5 tsp light soy sauce (or all purpose, not dark soy sauce Note 5)
- 1 teaspoon sherry vinegar (Note 6)
- 1/2 tsp kosher or cooking salt , to taste (Note 2)
Spicy Ssam Sauce (Note 7):
- 2 tbsp ssamjang (Note 8)
- 1 tbsp gochujang (Note 8)
- 5 tsp sherry vinegar (Note 6)
- 2 tbsp canola oil (Note 4)
- 1 tbsp water
- 1 tsp white sugar
Serving:
- 4 - 5 heads butter/bib lettuce (40 - 50+ leaves, Note 9)
- 3 cups cooked white rice
- 500g/1lb kimchi
- 12 + oysters , raw, in shell (optional, Note 10)
Instructions
Bossam Slow Cooked Pork:
- Mix sugar and salt together. Pat pork dry. Coat pork in sugar salt mixture, getting it into all the crevices. Rub/pat well to adhere as best you can - discard excess salt unused/falls off (usually ~ 2-3 tbsp).
- Place in a glass dish (Note 13), cover loosely with cling wrap and refrigerated 24 - 36 hours (Note 11).
- Preheat oven to 150°C/300°F (all oven types) with rack in the middle of oven.
- Remove pork from fridge - surface will be wet. Either transfer pork to clean pan (metal, ceramic or glass) or drain off excess liquid / scrape out salt/sugar in same glass pan. Do not rinse pork.
- Roast 5 hours (Note 12), uncovered, spooning over pan juices once each hour, until you can easily pull the meat apart with 2 forks (check on side).
- Remove from oven, rest for 10 minutes (up to 1 hour is fine, loosely cover in foil).
- Turn oven up to 260°C/500°F (all oven types).
Brown Sugar Crust:
- Mix brown sugar and salt.
- Spoon juices all over pork.
- Spoon sugar onto pork and use your hands to make it stick to the top and sides (not underneath). Make layer on top as even as you can (for even caramelisation).
- Place in oven for 10 minutes until surface is a deep golden crust, sugar is bubbling and caramelised (see VIDEO!). Keep a close eye on it from 5 minutes. If the highest points start getting black, cover with small piece of foil (just stick it on).
- Remove from oven and transfer to serving platter for serving. (Don't use pan juices, it will be salty from brine)
Sauces:
- Ginger Shallot Sauce: Mix ingredients in bowl and stand for 20 minutes to let it soften.
- Ssam Sauce: Mix ingredients together. Oil will naturally separate over time if sauce is left to stand, just mix again to reincorporate.
Serving:
- Place pork on serving platter with lettuce, oysters, kimchi, rice, Ginger Shallot Sauce and Ssam Sauce on the side.
- Attack the pork - it will shred easily. Shred as much or little as you want, let people do it themselves or you can do it for them. Prepare to fight over the epic crust.
- To eat, place lettuce in hand. Spoon in some rice, top with pulled pork, small piece of kimchi, oyster, some ginger shallot sauce then finally a little drizzle of spicy Ssam sauce.
- Bundle up, bite and enjoy!
Recipe Notes:
Volume - easily makes 50+ lettuce wraps. Just get as much lettuce as you want to serve, knowing there's enough pork for over 50 lettuce wraps (leftover pork is sensational) 10. Oysters - raw oysters are served with traditional bossam, it's part of the eating experience! It's like a "surprise inside" when you're munching through the lettuce wrap and come across the oyster, great textural contrast. Bit indulgent to have an oyster for every piece of lettuce so just provide as much as you're willing to indulge in. 11. Brining/curing time - minimum 6 hours, 12 hours ok, 24 - 36 hours optimum, 48 hours ok too (especially if using 4.5kg/9lb pork) DO NOT rinse pork after curing. You should only use enough sugar/salt rub so it sticks to the pork, don't layer it on thickly on the surface. Recipes that suggest rinsing are probably using the wrong salt/sugar amount published in NYT and other media publications which is way too much (see Note 13 for more info). 12. Internal temp of pork is irrelevant in slow roasting because the internal temp doesn't change once cooked beyond well done, but meat can still be tough. Need time not temperature for meat to become fall apart. Oven types - for slow roasting at low temps, I find the same temp is required for standard and fan forced/convection. Cook times - original recipe says 6 hours for 3.5 - 5kg / 7 - 10lb pork shoulder. That's a HUGE variation in pork size and the cook times vary - here is the cook times by weight:
- 3.5 - 4kg / 7 - 8lb = 5 hours (best weight for most juicy flesh)
- 4.5/9lb = 5.5 hrs
- 5kg/10lb = 6 hrs
- 2 kg / 4lb = 3 hrs 45 min
- 2.5kg / 5 lb = 4 hrs
- 3kg / 6lb = 4.5 hrs
- Original recipe calls for 1 cup each salt and sugar which is WAY too much. This amount will never stick to the pork so it's wasteful. Sprinkling excess over pork doesn't work either - makes it way too salty. 1/2 cup of each works perfectly - you won't throw out much, seasons the pork perfectly all the way through without being too salty;
- Ssam sauce had way too much vinegar (had 1/2 cup) - way to sour; and
- Cook time - original recipe says 6 hrs for 3.5-5kg/7-10lb pork. That range is too broad - 3.5kg/7lb pork for 6 hours = dry. Found that 3.5-4kg/7-8lb for 5 hrs is perfect, cook times for other weights in Note 12.
Nutrition Information:
The Spicy Side of Life: Korean recipes
Life of Dozer
There’s just no words to tell you how excited/hopeful Dozer was around such an enormous piece of meat.
Did he get some?🤔 Watch today’s recipe video to see!!!
Maria Webber says
Hi Nagi! Thank you so much for this recipe. I made it a couple weeks ago and it was a huge hit. I’m making it again today but I was wondering if I can cook the meat in a roaster oven instead of the regular oven? Thank you
Cristy F says
This is an absolutely excellent recipe, easy to follow with spectacular results. We didn’t want to stop eating. I have never actually rated a recipe before, but really wanted to give props here.
ANTHONY FRANCIS says
I made this today. My wife and my 18 year old both loved it. Thanks for such an excellent presentation of this recipe. Both the written description and the video are perfect.
Jim says
Is it a problem if I end up curing the butt for about 60-72 hours (3 days instead of 2)? I did some digging around and it could make the meat drier?
Kathy says
I dont eat pork. What other meat can I replace it with?
Nagi says
Hi Kathy – this recipe is specific to that cut of pork – it won’t work with anything else, sorry! N x
Ilana says
Hi Nagi
I don’t eat pork because I keep kosher. This is an amazing recipe though. Do you think it could work with lamb shoulder?
Nagi says
I haven’t tested it with anything else – I don’t know if the method will work with lamb sorry. N x
Cherieve Payne says
Hi Nagi. My local butcher only has boneless shoulders. Will this work? Thanks again for your delicious recipes x
Nagi says
Hi Cherieve.. for this recipe you really need the Boston butt cut of shoulder which can be hard to find here – a rolled boneless shoulder won’t work. Try asking your butcher to cut it for you…you might have to ask one of the more senior guys in the shop who know more about unusual cuts. N x
Lizzie says
I love this recipe and have made it with a boneless “butt” It is fine!
Bruce Wayne says
So simple, yet so so so delicious. Quite possibly the most delicious meal I’ve ever made
Amy says
Question: If my pork is frozen, can I set it in the marinate for the few days it thaws in the fridge, or should I thaw it first and then marinate for another day? Thanks!
Snippet says
This was amazing, thank you for this recipe! I skipped the oisters since they creep me out (food shouldnt have that texture! xD ) , but otherwise followed the recipe. The salty and sugary crust is nothing short of magical! <3
I see a lot of people in the comments here asking about other ways of cooking this; I would DEFINITELY recommend choosing a method that gives you a crispy, caramelized crust. Its a game changer!
AM says
Can I slow cook this on the BBQ in a foil pan instead of in the oven? Any concerns about this method?
Nagi says
Hi AM, my only concern is the directional heat. I haven’t tried but would love to know if you give it a go! N x
AM says
I will try it on the gas grill and turn off two of the burners. I will let you know. – although I’m not sure why I’m experimenting when I’m entertaining a crowd 🙂
James C Hart says
Nagi this sounds amazing. I usually make kalua pork in the slow cooker. do you think you could cook this in the slow cooker and finish it in the oven?
Carol says
What brand of Kimchi do you advise?? Love your recipes! Cant wait to try this!
Nagi says
Hi Carol, any store-bought is fine – I usually get mine from the local asian grocer. N x
Ren Up says
Hi Nagi! This bo sssam was ah-mazing! The only thing I didn’t get right was the crust (I used light brown sugar at 260 as directed… I blame it on the light brown sugar here in the UK being different?) but even so… this was the perfect dinner party / entertaining food. The oyster shucking provided us some theatre too and a lot of conversation about whether people were game to try it. In the end, everyone loved the addition of the oyster – I should have bought more! This recipe is getting to my “keeper” list. Thank you for sharing this unforgettable recipe!
Ling Lee says
Thanks for sharing the recipe. Is the glass dish able to withstand 260 degrees in the oven? or would it require transfering to a roasting pan?
Nagi says
Hi Ling, mine does (you can see this in the video) but if you’re worried, transfer it t a roasting tray just to be sure! N x
Rebekah says
I got pork shoulder not butt and it turned out okay, though for the first 2 hours of baking there was very, very little ‘juice’ out to baste with. At hour 1 I’m pretty sure it was just some melted fat that was 2 tbsps worth at the most, Hour 2 had more but not that much but at hour 3 when I took it out, it was swimming so I could finally baste it.
Using shoulder, some bits were a bit thinner so I think it came out a bit drier than it should have but it still tasted great!
I did find the ginger shallot sauce way too oily so next time I think I’ll cut the oil a bit.
Even so, thank you for a great recipe! Because making the amendments to the original is still work! 😀
Sylvia says
I accidentally purchased boneless pork shoulder… will this still work and taste as wonderful?
Lorelei says
We made a 10.3 lb shoulder for a party last night. Decided to use Diamond kosher salt, per other suggestions. Let it cure for about a day and a half. Took EXACTLY six hours – its temp was 198. Let it sit for 50 minutes, then applied the brown sugar. Life pro tip: if you have a dessert torch, use it! We did, and it was browned perfectly! When we broke into this gorgeous meat, it was still steaming hot (even after the 50 minute rest.) It’s a challenge to find oysters in MN, but everything else was made, per the recipe. It was was gorgeous. It was easy. IT WAS DELICIOUS! No leftovers at all – so our party of 11 ate all 10+ pounds of this magic. The ultimate perfect dish for a party. Low effort. Great reward. (I add a tablespoon of honey to the ssam/red sauce, as it was my preference…) This is going into my Hall of Fame. Thanks, Nagi, for the best recipe I’ve made/enjoyed in many years!
Mary says
This was so good! The meat was super tender and the sauces all worked so well together! Love this ❤️
Catherine Carpenter says
Do you have a brand recommendation for your favorite Kimchi?