Ssamjang

Ssamjang is a thick, spicy paste served with food wrapped in leaves in Korean cuisine. Its name translates roughly as 'wrapping sauce', a fitting description of its role at the table.

History

The name combines ssam, meaning 'wrapped', and jang, meaning 'paste' or 'thick sauce'. Together they describe the sauce's purpose: it accompanies morsels that are wrapped in a leaf and eaten whole. The sources consulted do not give a detailed date of origin or a known inventor, so no specific beginning should be assumed.

The base is made from doenjang, fermented soybean paste, and gochujang, red chili paste, with sesame oil, onion, garlic, spring onion and, optionally, brown sugar. Within that shared framework, each household or cook adjusts the balance of salty, spicy and sweet.

From this basic version several variants have developed: versions with ground walnuts or sunflower and pumpkin seeds, with stir-fried short-arm octopus, peppers and onion, with crushed tofu, with flying fish roe, with diced beans, or, in a regional style, with river snails. Prepackaged commercial versions are also sold, which makes the sauce easier to use outside the home.

Culture

Ssamjang is most often served with ssam, a way of eating in which a leaf of sangchu (romaine lettuce) or perilla rests on an open hand. On it go a small ball of rice, a spoonful of ssamjang and a piece of meat, such as galbi or samgyeopsal, or some kimchi. The leaf is folded around the filling and the bundle is eaten in one bite, which is why it is kept small.

It is a simple, shared way of eating, common at home and in barbecue restaurants. Today it is widely found in Korea and in other countries with Korean restaurants, where it often appears as a table sauce alongside grilled meat.