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Trotters and Hocks Bo Ssam Recipe

The Nasty Bits

Recipes and stories for everything but the oink.

Chichi Wang
Trotters and Hocks Bo Ssam Recipe

[Photograph: Chichi Wang]

Adapted from Momofuku by David Chang and Peter Meehan.

Read more: The Nasty Bits: Momofuku-Style Bo Ssam, But With More Hocks and Trotters

  • Yield:serves 4 to 6
  • Active time: 20 minutes
  • Total time:about 12 hours

Ingredients

  • 2 whole pork trotters with lower hocks still attached (3 pounds each, about 6 pounds total)
  • 1/2 cup white sugar
  • 1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon kosher salt
  • For the Ginger-Scallion Sauce:
  • 1 cup thinly sliced scallions, green and white parts
  • 1 tablespoon ginger, minced or grated with a microplane grater
  • 2 tablespoon neutral-tasting oil such as canola or grapeseed
  • 1 teaspoon light soy sauce
  • 1/4 teaspoon sherry or red wine vinegar
  • Kosher salt
  • For the Ssam Sauce:
  • 1 tablespoon fermented bean-and- chili paste (ssamjang, available in many Asian markets, and online)
  • 1-2 teaspoons chili paste (kochujang, available in many Asian markets, and online)
  • 1/4 cup sherry vinegar
  • 3 to 4 tablespoons neutral-tasting oil such as canola or grapeseed
  • To Serve:
  • 3 tablespoons brown sugar
  • 2 cups plain white rice, cooked
  • 1 to 2 heads bibb lettuce, leaves separated, washed and dried
  • Kimchi (available in many Asian markets, and online).

Directions

  1. 1.

    Place the hock/trotters on a large plate or a tray. In a small mixing bowl, mix the white sugar and 1/2 cup of the salt. Rub the mixture over the hocks and trotter, both skin as well as meat. Transfer to a baking dish, cover with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator for at least 6 hours, or overnight.

  2. 2.

    The next day, adjust an oven rack to the lower-middle position and preheat oven to 300°F. Remove the hocks/trotters from the refrigerator and discard any pork liquids that have pooled at the bottom of the dish. Place the hocks/trotters in a V-rack set in a roasting pan and roast until very tender, about 4 hours, basting with pan juices every 30 minutes after the first hour. Allow meat to cool for at least 2 hours, or refrigerate for up to 3 days before proceeding.

  3. 3.

    Make the ginger scallion sauce: Combine the scallions ginger, oil, soy sauce, and vinegar in a small mixing bowl. Season to taste with salt and set aside.

  4. 4.

    Make the ssam sauce: combine the chili pastes with the vinegar and oil in a small mixing bowl and set aside.

  5. 5.

    When ready to serve, preheat oven to 500°F. Combine remaining tablespoon salt with brown sugar. Rub the mixture over the cooked trotters/hocks. Roast in the oven until the skin is very dark and crispy, about 15 minutes. Serve immediately with sauces, rice, lettuce, and kimchi

This Recipe Appears In
The Nasty Bits: Momofuku-Style Bo Ssam, But With More Hocks and Trotters Pantry Essentials: All About Ssämjang

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