Ssamjang — Wrapping Sauce Blend Ratios (쌈장)

Ssamjang belongs to the Korean tradition of ssam, the eating of rice, meat and relishes wrapped in a leaf, and it is made on the household table from the two staple jang, doenjang and gochujang. The Korean chilli (Capsicum annuum) reached the peninsula only in the late Joseon period, so the doenjang and gochujang blend in its familiar form belongs to that later age, while wrapped eating is far older. The sauce is carried by the home cook, who blends it to the character of the family's own jang and to the meat on the table.

Ssamjang (쌈장, 'wrapping sauce') is the compound fermented condiment that completes Korean BBQ wraps — a careful blend of doenjang (fermented soybean paste) and gochujang (fermented chilli paste), seasoned with sesame oil, garlic, green onion, and a small amount of sweetness (sugar, mulyeot, or Asian pear). The ratio of doenjang to gochujang determines the sauce's character: doenjang-forward (2:1) produces a deeper, more savoury, less spicy ssamjang used with fatty pork; gochujang-forward (1:1) produces a spicier, sweeter ssamjang preferred with beef. The blend requires adjustment based on the specific jang's character — a very salty doenjang needs less gochujang's salt contribution.

Ssamjang is eaten with grilled pork belly and beef, rice, and leaves such as lettuce, perilla (Perilla frutescens) and cabbage, with raw garlic and green chilli alongside. A small spoonful seasons the meat, supplies the savour that plain grilled fat lacks, and its fermented depth is lifted by sesame oil and the sharpness of raw garlic. The fat of the meat is cut by the salt, chilli and leaf, and the wrap is eaten in one mouthful so that all of these meet together. It is drunk with soju or beer, whose cold and clean character clears the fat from the palate between wraps.