Korean Grilled Cabbage Leaf Wraps
Quick answer
- Total time
- 20 min
- Level
- Easy
- Servings
- 2 servings
- Ingredients
- 6
About this dish
Instead of lettuce or perilla, this ssam uses napa cabbage leaves charred briefly on a grill, which pick up smoke and sweetness while the inner ribs keep their crunch.
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That crunch is what lets a leaf wrap around grilled pork belly without tearing. A doenjang-based ssamjang adds salty, fermented depth to the pork fat and cabbage sweetness, and a lightly grilled chili tucked in brings heat.
Ingredients
Instructions
- 1
Dry and spread out 6 cabbage leaves.
Lightly press only the thick stem sections with the back of a knife so the leaves contact the grill evenly.
- 2
Heat the grill or grate well over high heat before adding the cabbage.
Grill each leaf for only 2 to 3 minutes per side, turning as soon as the outside chars and smells smoky.
- 3
Remove the cabbage while the inner layers still feel crisp, and lay the leaves without stacking them.
If they release a lot of moisture or sag heavily, they have cooked too far for wrapping.
- 4
Mix 2 tablespoons doenjang, 1 teaspoon minced garlic, and 0.5 teaspoon sesame oil evenly.
Loosen the doenjang first so the salty flavor does not concentrate in one spot.
- 5
Cut 200 g grilled pork belly into 2 to 3 cm pieces, and lightly grill the Korean chili before slicing it.
Keep the pork warm, because the fat firms as it cools and makes the wrap less juicy.
- 6
Spread a thin layer of ssamjang on each cabbage leaf, then add pork belly and chili.
Fold in both sides, roll firmly around the filling, and serve immediately while the cabbage is still warm and flexible.
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