What Korean boiled pork dish is served with cabbage wraps? Bossam is the answer. It consists of pork—often belly, shoulder, or neck—that is simmered with aromatics and seasonings, sliced, and wrapped in vegetables such as napa cabbage, lettuce, or perilla leaves.
The name bossam means “wrapped” or “packaged,” describing the way diners combine pork with accompaniments. Common partners include kimchi, spicy radish salad, raw garlic, ssamjang, and salty fermented shrimp called saeu-jeot. A version served with fresh oysters is known as gul-bossam.
Bossam is traditionally associated with gimjang, the Korean process of preparing kimchi for winter. One story links the dish to Joseon-era feasts held after large-scale kimchi making, when workers were served freshly boiled pork alongside newly prepared, crisp kimchi.
Bossam is sometimes confused with jokbal, which is braised pig’s feet, or samgyeopsal, grilled pork belly. Bulgogi is also a pork or beef dish, but it is marinated and grilled rather than boiled and wrapped.