Pork Belly Ssam

Ssam days we should treat ourselves, and it doesn’t always have to be that difficult. Here’s what you can do to make some delicious Pork Belly Wraps, also called Pork Belly Ssam.

This recipe serves 4 and comes in three parts:

1. Braised pork belly
350g pork belly
2 cloves of garlic
1 knob of ginger (thumb size)
1 tbsp sesame oil
2 tbsp light soy
1/2 tbsp dark soy
1 tbsp mirin
2 tsp brown sugar
1/4 tsp sea salt
1/2 cup of water
- Fry ginger and garlic in a medium pot, with sesame oil till fragrant
- Add in the rest of the ingredients except the pork belly, and bring to a simmer
- Place the pork belly into the stock, cover with a lid and braise for 1 hour on low heat.
- After 1 hour, turn off the heat. Once cooled, slice thinly to serve.

While braising the pork belly, you can prepare the rest of the ingredients.

2. Garnish
Lettuce
Spring onions
Sliced green chillies
Sliced garlic
Rice of your choice
Cabbage Kimchi (from Lee’s Kimchi of course 😉)

3. Ssamjang (dipping sauce)
1 tsp Gochujang paste
1 tsp Doenjang paste (you can also use brown miso)
1 tbsp Sesame oil
1 tbsp water
Sesame seeds
Honey to taste
- mix everything well and garnish with sesame seeds

To assemble your Ssam, you can place in any order, sliced pork belly dipped with ssamjang sauce, a slice of garlic, chilli, spring onion, kimchi and rice. Wrap it up into a pouch and eat it whole. Rule of thumb - don’t overfill and you’ll be able to chew.

Enjoy!