Green Bean and Tomato Salad with Buttermilk Dressing
David Chang's buttermilk dressing is our kind of ranch. Use the freshest beans possible: You want that tender snap.
Ssäm Sauce
Editor's note: Use this recipe to make Chef David Chang's Bo Ssäm.Ssämjang—a spicy fermented bean paste sold in Korean markets—is a traditional accompaniment to grilled meats. Ssämjang is like the love child of two Korean sauces: a mix of denjang (Korea's funkier answer to Japanese miso) and kochujang, a spicy chile paste.Anyway, rather than just thinning out the ssämjang with oil or water as is most commonly done, we've allied ssämjang with extra kochujang and added vinegar in the mix to bring up the acidity of the sauce.
Ginger Scallion Sauce
Editor's note: Use this recipe to make Chef David Chang's Bo Ssäm.
Short-Grain Rice
Editor's note: Use this recipe to make Chef David Chang's Bo Ssäm.Japanese short-grain white rice is the only rice we make. We, like all restaurants and many home cooks, use a rice cooker to prepare it—it's just that much easier and more reliable than cooking rice on the stove. Here are directions for both methods.
Napa Cabbage Kimchi (aka paechu kimchi)
Editor's note: Use this recipe to make Chef David Chang's Bo Ssäm.This is the kimchi we use most often in our cooking and in our restaurants.
Bo Ssäm
Our bo ssäm was a long time in the making before it showed up on the menu. I'd had an inkling for years it would be a good idea—bo ssäm is a supercommon dish in Korean restaurants, though the ingredients and cooking that go into it are frequently an afterthought. The oysters are usually Gulf oysters from a bucket, the kind that are really only suited to frying; the pork is belly that's been boiled into submission. Almost every time I ate it at a restaurant, I'd think about how much better it would be if all the ingredients were awesome.The first time we made one was for family meal back when we'd just started serving kimchi puree on our oysters at Noodle Bar. One of the new cooks was f*cking up oysters left and right, so I made him shuck a few dozen perfectly, and then we ate them ssäm-style: wrapped up in lettuce with rice, kimchi, and some shredded pork shoulder that was otherwise destined for the ramen bowl. (The shoulder in our bo ssäm is, essentially, the same shoulder we put in the soup at Noodle Bar, except that we add more sugar in the last step to make the crust even more delicious—it's like a shoulder encrusted in pig candy.) So there, in the cramped, dark subterranean kitchen of Noodle Bar, I ate the best bo ssäm of my life.I think that experience and our take on the bo ssäm are typical of the way we approach "traditional" dishes: with one foot rooted in tradition and the other foot kicking it forward. There is a great line from Emerson that sums up my perspective perfectly: "Meek young men grow up in libraries, believing it their duty to accept the views which Cicero, which Locke, which Bacon have given, forgetful that Cicero, Locke, and Bacon were only young men in libraries when they wrote these books."
Pork-Belly Buns
We knew Chang was something special the minute we tasted his signature dish. He plays with the classic Chinese pork bun, retaining its pillowy white wrapping, adding crisp cucumbers and scallions, and transforming it into an American original with pork belly. Make them at home, and the first bite will prove they are worth the effort.
Steamed Asian White Rice
Long-grain rice won't do the trick here; short- and medium-grain have the perfect texture for the clay-pot chicken, not quite absorbing the sauce but supporting it in a delicious way.
Clay-Pot Miso Chicken
Though this rich, intense, homey stew has the depth of a recipe handed down through generations, it's actually a modern interpretation, by Momof*cku partner Joaquin Baca, of a Mexican stew he grew up eating, made with Japanese ingredients. And it's the best kind of comfort food: The dark greens, mushrooms, and burdock, braised with silky chicken in a savory broth, make this single dish feel like a satisfying, well-balanced meal.
Apple and Smoked-Bacon Salad with Lychees and Chili Nuts
Chang's two restaurants cater decidedly to the pork lover, and this salad is no exception. Among the sweet, smoky, and tart notes tossed together, you'll get an occasional zing of heat from the chili nuts (which, served on their own, may very well become your new favorite bar snack).
Roasted Brussels Sprouts
Deep-fried Brussels sprouts are a popular side dish at Ssäm Bar. Cooked in a hot oven (easier for the home cook), they still get that nutty sweetness and nicely browned crisp exterior. Rice Krispies, standing in for Indian puffed rice (which is more difficult to find), add crunch, while sous-chef Tien Ho's Vietnamese-style dressing lends the sprouts an offbeat complexity.
King Oyster Mushrooms with Pistachio Purée
Chefs will tell you that sometimes inspiration comes from the exalted—but just as often by chance. "I was shopping for porcini mushrooms at a restaurant-supply store and saw a bag of king oyster mushrooms sitting next to a package of some amazing pistachios," says Chang, though this sophisticated dish would never give away its accidental origins.
Pickled Vegetables
Few Asian meals are complete without pickles, which function variously as appetizers, condiments, salads, palate cleansers, and relishes. Here, Chang breaks down the process so you do the work once but get four very different quick pickles out of it.
Apple Soju co*cktails
This refreshing aperitif, a brainchild of David Arnold of the French Culinary Institute, bathes crisp matchsticks of Pink Lady apple with soju (a Korean spirit) and a little sparkle.
Steak in Lettuce Rolls
Sink your teeth into a ssäm, Korea's answer to a burrito. This recipe from David Chang, co-chef at Momof*cku Ssäm Bar in New York City, trades tortillas for crisp lettuce to save calories and fat.
