Word has spread like wildfire about this cooking class taught by Heather Jeong. It has attracted food writers including those from SMH, timeout out sydney and request from Crave Sydney to open a 4 week course in October. Heather Jeong has approx 20 yrs of cooking experience, food caterer and also works with SBS food safari.
KCO's cooking class started back in April 2011 and since then have successfully held 2 terms of fully booked courses. I was lucky to secure a spot at one of the classes.
At the particular class i attended, we learnt how to make traditional Korean Bossam and a David Chang inspired Bossam that he serves at his Momofuku Ssam Bar Restaurant in New York.
Ssam means to wrap, and Bossam is basically steamed pork (belly or shoulder) wrapped with anything from lettuce, sesame leaf, seaweed to thin slices of radish. Along with the pork you also put in fresh oysters, moo kimchee (korean radish kimchee) and salted shrimp paste, served with ssam jang (soybean chilli paste).
It was a very interactive class where there was a nice balance between hands on, demonstration and eating~! Heather is extremely generous and prepares extra dishes for the class to eat so you leave the room with a full tummy. Heather made some korean pasta soup, tempura vegetables, numerous korean side dishes and almond meal strawberry cake for dessert.
We learnt how to make moo kimchee which is essentially chilli radish which can be eaten straight off or fermented for the extra sourness. A tip with making chilli paste: buy packet chilli from korean groceries and mix a small handful with rice paste. A little chilli powder will then go a long way.
chilli powder with rice paste
salted shrimp paste with added chilli and sesame oil
moo kimchee with oysters!
Pork is basically boiled and retains its natural flavours with succulent layers of fat and meat intertwined. The pork accompanied by crunchy & chilli radish kinchee with goes well with the creaminess of the oyster and juicy cabbage.
As you can see i enjoyed savouring the wraps one after another...and another!
The traditional Bossam was then compared to a David Chang inspired Bossam. David Chang, the infamous American/Korean celebrity chef who has amazed the American restaurant scene with his pork bun and bossam, shot to fame with his fusion of different cultures' cuisine and creating explosions on plates.
In his Bossam, David Chang does not boil, he brines the pork. He also uses chinese shallot/ginger and rice in his wraps but retains the traditional bossam's use of oysters and ssam jang sauce.
What is brining?
Brining is a cooking technique used to produce juicy and tender meat, essentially cooking it in salt water and some sugar.
How does brining make the pork juicier you ask?
We learnt in biology back in high school about osmosis. As the salt concentration is higher in the water than inside the meat, the salt water moves into the meat. The heat in the pot then seals the salt water inside the meat rendering it juicier and more seasoned than its original state.
David Chang also uses chinese inspired shallot and ginger sauce to compliment and wrap his pork in butter lettuce rather than the traditional wraps.
Shallot and ginger
Unlike the chinese shallot and ginger sauce, this one adds a dash of vinegar.
freshly shucked oysters
The brined meat is rubbed with a layer of sugar and salt at the final stage in the oven so a crust is formed on the outside. Once it is ready, the meat is "pulled" into strands. Personally i prefer boiled pork in the bossam as it was juicier and full bodied compared to stringy pork meat in David Chang's version.
David's version is also served wrapped with rice but by this stage i was so full i could barely breathe and could not take in the carbs!
side dishes homemade by Heather
a ready made packet of korean pasta soup that can be purchased from Korean groceries
freshly made korean pasta soup
After devouring a mountain of food, i could not resist the irrestible: Dessert! Heather made the moistest almond meal cake i have tasted and so i helped myself to 3 big pieces =)
I will be posting up a series of korean recipes from my 4 week course in October, so stay tuned!
Korean Cultural Office
255 Elizabeth Steet
Sydney
Tel - 02 8267 3467
http://koreanculture.org.au
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