Bossam Kimchi and Sooyook
Ingredients
Bossam Kimchi Ingredients
- 1 Napa cabbage
- 10 cups water
- 1.35 cups coarse sea salt
- 1/4 large radish (like Daikon)
- 1/2 cup green onion
- 1/4 cup pear (optional)
- 1/4 cup oysters
Seasoning Ingredients
- 5 tablespoons red pepper powder
- 2.5 tablespoons sugar
- 2.5 tablespoons syrup
- 1 tablespoon fish sauce
- 1 tablespoon chopped garlic
- 1/4 tablespoon salt
Sooyook Ingredients
- 1 lbs pork belly
- 10 garlic cloves
- 1 tablespoon ginger
- 5 stalks of green onion
- 1 onion (skin on)
- 1/2 cup cooking wine/sake
- 2 teaspoons soybean paste
- 1 teaspoon coffee beans (optional)
- 1 quart water
Instructions
Bossam Kimchi
- Trim the bottom and outside leaves of the cabbage. Split the cabbage into fourths. Marinate it in salt water (10 cups of water with 1.35 cups salt). Let it sit on the cut side for up to 3 hours, and then for another 3 hours after turning it over.
- Rinse the marinated cabbage under running water 3-4 times. Drain out water on a tray, cabbage facing down, for about 1 hour.
- Shred radish and pear (optional) into pieces about 1/4 inch then marinade it with the Napa cabbage. Slice greens as well.
- Rinse the oysters in salt water. Drain the water. (optional)
- Mix all ingredients for the seasoning (ingredient list above). It would be a thick paste type seasoning. Put a side.
- Spread the paste between every 2-3 layers of the Napa cabbage (or every single layer for stronger flavor). Add oyster and pear and gently mix with everything. (optional)
- Transfer everything into an airtight container and leave it for about 6 hours in room temperature.
- Slice kimchi into 2 inch pieces and serve. Sprinkle sesame seeds on top. (optional)
- Keep leftover Bossam kimchi in a fridge. (It’s good for 2 weeks)
Sooyook - Steamed Pork Belly
- Rinse the green onion and onion well, but leave the skin on (the onion skin is a part of the broth).
- Place the vegetables in the pot first then place the pork belly on top.
- Fill the water into the pot then turn on medium high heat.
- Once the pot starts boiling, reduce the heat to medium low and keep boiling for about 1.5 hours.
- Turn off the heat and take the pork belly out of the pot.
- Rest the pork belly for 10 minutes.
- Slice the pork belly and serve with Bossam kimchi.
[slice, chop]
DJ Choi: Get rid of the top leaves first.
[rinsing, chopping]
A long time ago, Korean people used to make kimchi at their home with their neighbors because they have really harsh winter, just like Wisconsin, and they don’t have enough fresh veggies. So, they just pickle all the Napa cabbage all together.
The cabbage in here. And lightly mix everything. Okay, looks evenly mixed. I usually use dumbbell.
[kettlebell squeaking]
So, it is pretty much like a party day, celebrating the first day of winter. And we call that culture as “kimjang.” It needs a little bit more liquid in there. I still remember my aunties and uncles and my cousins– everybody– came visit my parents’ house and they bring, like, 40 Napa cabbage and that would filled up our yard.
[blender whirring]
[chopping]
Okay, I’ll throw the green onions in there.
They marinate the cabbage all together, and they put a lot of stuffing in there. And I still remember this smell always remind me of my childhood and thinking about my family, uncles and aunties, and all the good food, and nice and crisp air in December, or mid-November.
We’re going to make some sooyook to wrap this with kimchi.
After everything, they go get a pig, a whole pig. And they butcher it, and boil in a cast pot. It’s a huge pot, and they put a lot of ingredients in there, like miso and onions and green onions. A lot of fresh greens in there.
And then, they take it out from the pot, and they slice, and share with the fresh kimchi. Because they taste really good with the fresh-made kimchi.
There you go! Everybody, grab the bowl!
– Extra, please.
– Okay.
[toasting]
The reason why I want to keep this culture as heritage: if I don’t really keep this culture, then my children never going to have a chance to reveal what this is.
If they learn about kimjang culture, then it’s going to be a little easier to involved in, you know, Korean-American society and in higher chance he can teach this heritage to his son or daughter in a future, too, so that we never lose this beautiful culture.
For DJ (Dongjoon) Choi, making kimchi as a child was a family affair.
“I still remember my aunties and uncles and my cousins; everybody came to visit my parents’ house and they bring like forty Napa cabbage,” Choi shared.
Kimjang, the Korean tradition of preparing and sharing kimchi, is something Choi remembers fondly from his childhood in South Korea.
“It is pretty much like a party day, celebrating the first day of winter and we call that culture as kimjang,” Choi described.
The kimjang tradition helped prepare families for the long, cold winter ahead, something Wisconsinites are all too familiar with.
“Is very Korean culture a long time ago… people used to make kimchi at their home with their neighbors because they had really harsh winters just like Wisconsin and they don’t have enough fresh veggies,” he explained.
After coming to Central Wisconsin for college, Choi met his wife. They eventually married and had two sons. Now, Choi’s determined to keep the kimjang tradition alive in his Plover home with his kids.
“If they learn about kimjang culture … then it’s gonna be a little easier to (be) involved in, you know, Korean American society. And a higher chance, he can teach this heritage to his son or daughter in the future too, so that we never lose this beautiful culture,” he shared.
Choi begins
making Bossam kimchi by pickling, or salting, the cabbage to draw water out. This allows him to preserve and prepare the cabbage for seasoning. Adding a kettlebell weight on top of the cabbage, he lets it sit for three hours. Then, the cabbage is turned and left again for an additional three hours. Finally, the cabbage is rinsed, rested and prepared for seasoning. It’s a process that takes practice.
“Pickling the cabbage is very essential stage, and that is a very tricky stage as well,” Choi said. “It is very delicate, it needs a lot of practice but once you figure it out, it is super easy.”
Next, the vibrant, spicy kimchi paste gets layered between each of the cabbage leaves. When every leaf is covered the cabbage is transferred into an airtight container and left at room temperature for 6 hours before being refrigerated or served.
Choi serves his family and friends his Bossam kimchi with Sooyook, boiled pork shoulder, sticky rice and soju, a Korean alcoholic beverage.
This story is part of Food Traditions, a multimedia project exploring food and culture across Wisconsin.
