Thank you, David Chang. Mr. Chang is my 2009 chef-of-the year, Korean New Yorker, owner of hot spots—Momofuku Ko, Momofuku Ssam Bar, and Momofuku Noodle Bar, and author of the must-have-if-you-have-plenty-of-money cookbook, "Momofuku". I first read an article about him in the Wall Street Journal, and found an on-line recipe for Bo Ssam shown on a Martha Stewart episode, whew! Anyways, his recipe for Bo Ssam, slow-cooked pork butt, was the sparking point for the twenty-first production of our annual overabundance of food, otherwise known as Return to the Light.
Everyone was on time, as per their usual, and we started with Korean ginger tea. Other than a few tough chews of sweet, sticky bulgogi, I have had little contact with Korean food. Madhur Jaffrey wrote two excellent cookbooks, Far Eastern Cookery and my old 70's favorite Vegetarian Cooking, that feature a wide selection of Korean recipes. Similar to Thai food, Korean food relies on four flavors: sweet, sour, salty, creamy plus heat (only Korean food drops the creamy). Asian recipes borrow back and forth, trading rice, noodles, chilies, palm sugar, spicy red pepper, fresh vegetables, ginger, a variety of pickled vegetables, sesame seeds, soy sauce, and rice vinegar. I found a heavy use of fish, garlic, pickled vegetables, and soybean products, not so much lemon grass, fish sauce, coconut, or wheat-based products.
Korean cooks must spend their entire day in the kitchen. Each of my chosen recipes called for many ingredients, a long list of finely chopped seasonings, a variety of sauces, roasted seeds and coconut, spiced, blanched, and pickled vegetables, flavored oil, seasoned stocks, and pounded roots—who knew! Prep cook Bob, minced and diced until his hands were blue. We used every dish, jar, cup, plate, and bowl we own. Our size-challenged refrigerator gave up and broke a shelf in mid-production. Luckily for us, the cool weather provided an enormous, outdoor balcony refrigerator for emergency use. Most of the food required cooking a la minute, so everyone chatted and caught up at the table while Bob and I bustled about in the kitchen.
In my opinion, David Chang's Bo Ssam was the main event and ruled the day. The pork butt, slowly cooked at 300 degrees for eight hours and finished off for fifteen minutes at 500 degrees with a brown sugar glaze, was succulent, juicy, crispy and delicious. At Momofuku Ko, the Bo Ssam is available only to reservations of eight or more and is served with lettuce leaves, white rice, pickled vegetables, spicy bean paste sauces, and vegetable salads. Los Angeles's Korean franchise, Pinkberrys http://www.pinkberry.com/, inspired the frozen yogurt, fruit, and sprinkle dessert. Knife at the ready, Prep Bob tiny-diced strawberries, mangos, kiwis, bananas and Asian pears, roasted coconut, and chopped peanuts.
The most difficult part of working through the menu was the extensive variety of side dishes, sauces, pickled thises and thats, garnishes, and accompaniments. An org-chart of dishes and their attending partners would have come in handy. Anyways, the cooking part was fun, the company delightful, and the day too short. Today the tablecloths are folded and back in the drawer, the myriad of dishes, bowls, cups, and plates have been washed and put away, the sesame seeds have been vacuumed up, and a new refrigerator shelf is on its way. What remains are a few pictures, a few recipes, and good memories. If you're interested in any of the other recipes, just comment me and I'll send them on over.
Nancy and Tom
Beth and Spence
Fritz and Marilyn
MENU
Place pork in a large bowl or roasting pan. In a medium bowl, mix together granulated sugar and 1 cup coarse salt. Rub sugar mixture all over pork and cover bowl with plastic wrap; transfer to refrigerator for at least 6 hours and up to overnight.
Preheat oven to 300 degrees.
Transfer pork to a large roasting pan, discarding any accumulated juices (or drain accumulated juices from roasting pan that pork is in). Transfer roasting pan to oven and cook, basting every hour with rendered fat in roasting pan, until meat is tender and easily shredded with a fork, about 6-7 hours.
Meanwhile, in a small bowl, mix together remaining tablespoon coarse salt and brown sugar; rub mixture all over pork.
Increase oven temperature to 500 degrees. Return pork to oven until sugar has melted into a crisp crust, 10 to 15 minutes. Serve hot with oysters, kimchis, ginger-scallion sauce, ssam sauce, rice, lettuce, and sea salt.
Ssam Sauce
• 1 tablespoon ssamjang (soybean and chile-pepper paste)
• 1 1/2 teaspoons kochujang (Korean chile-pepper paste)
• 1/4 cup sherry-wine vinegar
• 1/4 cup grapeseed oil
Mix all ingredients together in a medium bowl. Sauce may be kept covered in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.
Cucumber Salad
• 3 # pickling cukes
• 1 medium onion, thin slice
• 1 Tbs. Kosher salt
• 3 ½ Tbs. lemon juice
• ¼ tsp. cayenne
• 2 Tbs. roasted, crushed sesame seeds
• 1 ½ Tbs. sesame oil
Cut cucumbers and onions in fine slices. Sprinkle with salt, mix well and set aside for 1 hour. Drain liquid, add lemon juice, cayenne, sesame seeds, and sesame oil. Serve cold or room temp.
Carrot and White Radish Salad
• 1 carrot
• ½ lb. white radish
• 1 Tbs. sesame oil
• 1 Tbs. rice vinegar
• 1 tsp. soy sauce
• ½ tsp. sugar
• Dash of cayenne
Cut carrot and radish in julienne strips. Add salt to carrot/radish, mix well, and set aside for 1 hr. Drain thoroughly, pressing out as much liquid as possible. Add sesame oil, soy sauce, vinegar, sugar, and cayenne.
