Ssam-bap

Ssam-bap grows out of the Korean culture of ‘쌈’ (ssam, wrapping rice in leafy vegetables before eating). In Korea, people have long eaten seasonal leaves such as lettuce, perilla leaves, napa cabbage leaves, and squash leaves with rice and jang, fermented sauces and pastes. On a Korean table where jang flavors can be assertive, leafy greens soften the saltiness and bundle everything into a single bite.

Restaurant-style Ssam-bap today turns that habit into a complete meal. A spread typically brings together assorted ssam greens, rice, meat, and Ssamjang or thick Doenjang sauce, with small portions of meat wrapped bite by bite at the center of the meal.

Ssam-bap is not a dish you assemble in batches ahead of time. The leaves can get wet or wilt easily, so each wrap is made right before eating. In Korea, oversized ssam can be hard to fit into your mouth, so the natural way is to fold the leaf into a bite-sized parcel.

Much of Ssam-bap's flavor depends on the different aromas of the leafy greens. Lettuce is soft and juicy, perilla leaves are strongly aromatic, and pleasantly bitter leaves help cut through the fat of the meat. Raw garlic and green chilies are more pungent and spicy than they may look, so start with just a little.