Ssam

When I first heard of David Chang's Ssam Bar, I was a bit confused to hear about his use of tortillas (or something similar). It also didn't occur to me that Chang might choose to take a more western approach to this traditional Korean dish, and only later did I find out that he also offers a traditional ssam preparation. Here's how we did it at my in-law's house one weekend. The base layer is green lettuce. On top of that is a kkaennip leaf, some sook gat, grilled pork belly with a dab of ssamjang. Ssamjang is daenjang with a little something extra. Everyone has their own recipe. Garlic, hot peppers, sesame seed oil, and kochujang (red hot pepper paste) are common additions.

kkaennip, or perilla. Although it's commonly referred to as wild sesame in Korean, the two plants are not closely related. The flavor is hard to pin down, but it's definitely slightly minty, not sweet, and slightly astringent. References: Gernot Katzer's Spice Pages, Wikipedia. Sook gat (stems and leaves of crown daisy) in the background.

A plate of thinly sliced and marinated pa (scallions). More sook gat in the background.

This ssam is lettuce, kkaennip, pork belly, and pa. There aren't that many rules with ssam. The rice underneath? You could put that in the ssam, too. There aren't many rules beyond doing what tastes good.