Cooking in
Alberta
Korean
Bossam: Korean Boiled Pork Shoulder
Bossam — pork shoulder slowly simmered in an aromatic liquid, then served in fresh cabbage leaves with kimchi, oysters, and ganjang (soy sauce) — demonstrates the Korean technique of complete collagen conversion through gentle simmering rather than dry-heat roasting. The boiled pork's specific yielding, silky texture — different from roasted or braised pork — comes from the water-based cooking environment, which never allows the surface to reach Maillard temperatures.
‹Swipe for the next dish›
I
The Market List
The benchmark for each ingredient, and who stocks it near you. Tap a stockist to go straight to the product.
1.5–2 kg
pork shoulder
bone-in if possible
Your own market
For the cooking liquid
3 litres
water
Your own market
60 g
fresh ginger
sliced
Origin · New ZealandNot yet stocked in Alberta
1 head
garlic
cloves separated, unpeeled
Your own market
60 ml
ganjang (Korean soy sauce)
Not yet stocked in Alberta
60 g
doenjang (Korean fermented soybean paste)
stirred in
To serve
1 head
fresh napa cabbage
leaves separated and kept cold
Not yet stocked in Alberta
200 g
12
raw oysters
shucked, kept cold
Your own market
120 g
gochujang
400 g
steamed short-grain white rice
freshly cooked and hot
Your own market
Each tap is counted, so the stockist sees the demand Provenance sends them.
II
The Method
1
Combine the water, ginger, garlic, ganjang, and doenjang in a pot large enough to submerge the pork shoulder fully, then stir until the doenjang has dissolved into the liquid rather than sitting in clumps on the bottom, so that its flavour distributes evenly through the braise from the start. The liquid should smell of salt, earth, and ferment — that is your baseline before the pork goes in.
2
Lower the pork shoulder into the liquid and bring it to a gentle simmer over medium heat — small bubbles breaking the surface, never a rolling boil — so the exterior eases into the heat gradually and the interior has time to catch up before the outside tightens. This is where the dish lives or dies: a violent boil seizes the outer layers before the centre can reach temperature, producing a tough, grainy surface rather than the silky, giving texture that defines bossam. Reduce the heat immediately if the boil threatens to roll.
3
Maintain the gentle simmer for 2–3 hours, checking at intervals that the shoulder remains fully submerged and topping up with hot water if needed, so the exposed surface does not dry and tighten where it meets the air. The liquid will deepen in colour and the kitchen will fill with a rounded, savoury smell as the aromatics work into the pork's exterior layers.
4
Test for doneness at the thickest point by pressing the meat firmly with tongs or a finger — it should yield completely without resistance, feeling soft and giving rather than springy, so you are certain the centre has reached the same yielding state as the outer layers. A skewer or chopstick should pass through without force; if any firm resistance remains, continue simmering and test every 15 minutes.
5
Lift the shoulder from the liquid and rest it for 10 minutes before slicing, so the juices that have been driven toward the surface during cooking redistribute back through the meat rather than running out onto the board. Slice thinly at the table — the slices should hold their shape but collapse slightly under their own weight, with a visible sheen on the cut surface.
6
Arrange the cold cabbage leaves, cold kimchi, cold raw oysters, gochujang, and hot rice on the table alongside the sliced pork. Each diner assembles one thin pork slice into a cabbage leaf, topped with kimchi, one raw oyster, a small measure of gochujang, and a pinch of rice — the wrap eaten in a single bite so that the heat of the pork, the cold of the cabbage and oyster, and the ferment of the kimchi arrive together rather than in sequence.
From the canon — Kimchi (baechu kimchi — napa cabbage kimchi) is Korea's foundational fermented condiment — salted napa cabbage packed with a paste of gochugaru (Korean red p… Kimchi →
III
Quality Hierarchy
01
Reserve — Bone-in heritage-breed pork shoulder with high intramuscular fat and collagen; well-fermented kimchi of several weeks' age; freshly shucked live oysters; house-made doenjang aged a minimum of one year.
02
Estate — Bone-in free-range pork shoulder; good commercial kimchi with visible fermentation activity; fresh-shucked oysters from a trusted fishmonger; artisanal imported doenjang.
03
Market — Boneless pork shoulder from a reliable butcher; supermarket kimchi with a fermented character; pre-shucked oysters used the same day; standard Korean supermarket doenjang.
04
House — Any pork shoulder; commercial kimchi of any age; canned or jarred oysters if fresh are unavailable; any available doenjang or a mixture of miso and soy sauce at a standard proportion.
IV
Sensory Tests
◇Sight. The liquid shows only small, lazy bubbles at the surface — no turbulent rolling; it deepens to a dark amber over the course of cooking.
◇Touch. At the thickest point, the shoulder yields completely under firm pressure from tongs, with no springy resistance.
◇Sight. Sliced pork holds its shape momentarily then collapses slightly under its own weight; the cut surface carries a visible silky sheen.
◇Smell. The kitchen carries a rounded, deeply savoury aroma of fermented paste, garlic, and rendered collagen — no raw or sharp pork smell remains.
◇Where it lives or dies. The dish lives or dies at the moment the liquid reaches temperature: a rolling boil toughens the pork's exterior protein irreversibly, destroying the silky, collagen-converted texture that separates bossam from any other cooked pork.
Pillar V
Cross-cuisine parallels are part of membership.
The dishes this one teaches you, across the cuisines — on every recipe.
Enter · from $49 a year
VI
What to Pour
The pairing
Shochu
From Alberta
Nothing from Alberta holds against this yet.
Without alcohol
No pour without alcohol holds against this yet.
Why each one works is part of membership — Enter · from $49 a year →
The whole pairingPillar VII
Origin and lineage are part of membership.
Where the dish comes from and how it came to be — on every recipe.
Enter · from $49 a year
The working kitchen
Sourced through Provenance