Baechu Ssam; the perfect bite of cabbage, pork, mushroom, and rice. Everything you need for a happy belly
Happy Thursday, it’s almost the weekend! Are you ready for it?
I have been busy with Momnoms’ Twitch, Fox Den Stories, and attempting to get some kind of rest. I even taught a cooking class this week and it was so fun! But you have to really grind if you want to get somewhere.
On Wednesdays on Twitch we learn a little about the history of Korean food while learning the language as well. This week we decided to make Baechu Ssam which is a savory steamed ground pork cabbage wrap served over rice. The history of ssam in Korean history is very interesting, so remember to read about it after the recipe!
Baechu Ssam (배추쌈)
baechu ssam with seasame seeds on top to make it more flavorful. Savory ground pork in a napa cabbage leaf; it’s a balance of nature and humans
What you need
Chef’s knife
Frying pan
Large pot
Cooking spoon or tongs
Regular spoon
Large mixing bowl
Small bowl
Ingredients
6 leaves napa cabbage
½ lb ground pork
3 oyster mushrooms
1 tbs gochujang
¼ cup soy sauce
2 tbs sesame oil
½ tbs gochugaru
½ tbs deonjang
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp ginger; minced
2 tsp dark brown sugar
Rice; prepared your favorite way
4 cups water; split
2 cups ice water
Directions
Prepare your rice how you like to; we do it in a rice cooker ❤
In a large pot over bring ½ the water up to a simmer; add your cabbage
Take cabbage out within 30 seconds and put in a large mixing bowl with ice water to stop cooking
In a frying pan over medium heat add your pork and mushrooms
Add in ½ of all of the ingredients
Cook for about 6-7 minutes or until your meat is completely cooked through
Put 3-4 spoonfuls of the meat mixture into each napa cabbage leaf and roll them up
In a small bowl mix the rest of the ingredients or until a paste is formed
Place rolls into a large pot and pour paste into the pot
Simmer over a medium low heat for 5 minutes
Serve over rice!
baechu ssam which is savory ground pork cabbage wrap. it’s super easy to make and a very well balanced meal!
History of ssam in Korea
In the Goryeo Dynasty there is record that Buddhists wrapped rice in ‘portable plates’ that sounds like lettuce or cabbage leaves. Cabbage grows well in the Korean soil. As time moved on, the royals of the Joseon Dynasty took over ssam because it was small and classy to eat; you didn’t make a mess or open your mouth too much eating it.
Apparently opening your mouth wide was a sign that you were poor in the Joseon Dynasty.
It became more popular of an easy and portable way to have healthy meals and we moved on to more recent times. Giving you all the nutrients that you need without having to spend too much time making it or sitting to eat it.
It also represents balance of humans within nature as ssam is considered a connection to nature and sea. It also represents their community style living; you sit with your friends and family to create ssam.
Korean We Learned on Stream!
We also started our journey to learn to language in order to better be able to read and translate recipes that we find and would like to make. We learned the Sino numbers which we would use more when asking for things in Korea!
1: 일 (il)
2: 이 (i)
3: 삼 (sam)
4: 사 (sa)
5: 오 (o)
6: 육 (yuk)
7: 칠 (chil)
8: 팔 (pal)
9: 구 (gu)
10: 십 (sip)
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