Cycle 15 – Item 295

26 (Sat) October 2024

Mom’s Bossam Kimchi (+ Bossam)

4.0

by Mom (from Hangari Bossam)

at home

-Changgok, Sujeong, Seongnam, Gyeonggi, Republic of Korea-

with the Family

Out of the blue, my mother made kimchi.  She used to do so all the time (see for example 8.205 Mom’s Kimchi), but ever infrequently these days, partly because nobody’s really around to enjoy it, partly because she’s getting too old, and partly because the supermarket stuff is good enough.  This time, she did bossam kimchi and ggakdugi.  She brought them to the office and placed the containers in the fridge, leaving a stickie note on my computer monitor: “Don’t forget to take the kimchi home today – eat as soon as possible!”

I had totally forgotten about mom’s bossam kimchi featured 13 years ago during Cycle 2, which I had described as follows, almost exactly the same story:

For some reason, my mother suddenly made a batch.  She hasn’t made her own kimchi in years.  She claims not to have made bossam kimchi in decades, even though it’s one of those things that good North Korean girls are supposed to do on a regular basis. She gave us several bundles upon the condition that we promise to eat them within the next couple days.

Hangari Bossam is a Korean restaurant.  Specializes in bossam.  Franchise.

The relationship between the respective origins of the term “bossam” in the pork dish and “bossam” in the kimchi dish are unclear.  According to Namuwiki, kimchi dish bossam was commonly served with boiled pork, so any kimchi + pork combo eventually took over the name “bossam,” even when served with other kinds of kimchi, while the original kimchi dish came to be known as “bossam kimchi” (see generally bossam).  But according to Wikipedia, boiled pork is often served with various leafy wraps, such as napa cabbage or red lettuce, “bossam” simply refers to “treasure (bo) + wrapped (ssam),” same etymology of the kimchi dish (see bossam).

The kimchi was sublime, pairing perfectly with the bossam, also amazing in its own right with the various kimchi that came in the package.

(See all HANSIK)

(See all RESTAURANTS IN KOREA)