The Bo Ssam Miracle

Snuggles before bedtime <3

Thomas was up with horrible gas last night ... 3 times ... it was rough, considering he'd been sleeping through the night for 2 weeks.  Needless to say, we all slept in after tag teaming our little gas bomb.  As mom put it - you should have tied a string to the kid so he didn't up and float out the window!  I just don't understand where the gas is coming from ... carrots? rice cereal? breast milk? banana bits?  He's also has been plagued with pretty hideous gas bubbles in his tummy after nursing ...

Our bird feeder
as promised
cute, huh?

We've been working on "weening" from nursing to sleep, because with the hideous gas bubbles come burp-time and a reluctance to nurse, leaving me high-and-dry with tricks to get him asleep since he probably thinks, "MOM why aren't you NURSING me!" while crying and wailing in my arms ... Poor dear.  Last night was the first time in a very long time where I was able to sit down and rock him to sleep. It was so peaceful and delightful that I was practically giddy coming down the stairs!

..................

Yesterday morning I made my weekly call home.  It's become a ritual .. wake up on Saturday morning .. make coffee .. call dad.  He's usually at the pc playing games, listening to music, staying up-to-date on the latest current events or planning his day.  This time I caught him bragging about a recipe he found for Bo Ssam.  It sounded curious, and picking up the ingredients for the recipe quickly became a part of my daily plan.  He told me not to tell anyone about the recipe, though, because it is so simple, yet simply delicious ... that you can surely impress your friends with it ;-)

I followed the instructions listed throughout the article, delighting in telling Ryan about the story that preceded the recipe as it was found in the NY Times (sorry, dad).  Mmm ...  I would devour this beastly delight after a 10-course meal, too!

The recipe: Momofuku Bo Ssam

Some substitutions -

We bought a much smaller roast ... with no bone ... In hindsight I would go bone-in so it would be easier to identify that "fall-off-the-bone" stage that is so obviously a visual cue that your roast is perfectly complete.

Our roast was super salty .. using about half the 'dry brine' recipe .. Perhaps ditch the tablespoon of salt in the brown-sugar-basting that takes place at the end.

We could not locate the chili-fermented-bean paste or the chili paste ... so we created the second Ssam sauce using Sriracha (rooster sauce, baby - it's really good for everything ;-) hahah).  We both agreed that while it was deliciously perfect, the fermented bean probably added that last note of flavour we both craved.

Make a trip to your local Asian market for the ssamjang and kochujang ... as well as the Kimchi.

Read the story before you commit to the recipe. You'll enjoy telling your diners a story while sharing a meal together.

Chop Sticks - a MUST! (enough to convince me to buy some for us ;-))

Delicious.