쌈밥

Ssambap (쌈밥) combines two Korean words: ssam (쌈), meaning 'wrapped' or 'wrap', and bap (밥), meaning 'rice'. The dish is less a single recipe and more a way of eating: you take a fresh leaf, place a spoonful of rice and any desired fillings in the center, add a dollop of ssamjang (쌈장, a thick fermented paste), and fold the whole thing into a bite-sized parcel that you pop into your mouth in one go — or, more realistically, in a messy bite that Koreans embrace with delight. The most common wrap leaves are lettuce (상추, sangchu), perilla (깻잎, kkaennip), steamed cabbage (양배추, yangbaechu), and napa cabbage (배추, baechu). More adventurous options include sesame leaves, laver (gim/seaweed), and even thinly sliced radish. The fillings are endlessly variable: grilled pork belly, bulgogi, roasted garlic, kimchi, raw garlic, raw chili, onion slices, and more. Ssam culture permeates Korean dining — it's central to samgyeopsal (pork belly) barbecue, bossam (boiled pork), and entire restaurant concepts built around ssam-style eating. Dedicated ssambap restaurants (쌈밥집) offer rice-focused meals with an enormous spread of wrap options and side dishes.