What's Cooking at ST (and at my house) -- January 27, 2023

• This week is the calm before the storm. No product or technology announcements or new blog posts this week, but we do have some really good announcements queued up for next week. 
• I've shared before that at the #ISSCC conference, ST engineers will disclose details of a new in-memory computing approach that achieves state-of-the-art performance, power efficiency, and computing density using computational SRAM technology to accelerate convolutional neural network algorithms. Now I can share that I'm planning to attend and, if you want to interview the speakers, I can make that happen. Let me know!
• Next week, we'll be at SPIE Photonic West making 5 presentations and making an invited talk on "Laser Beam Scanning for Near-to-Eye Display Applications: Architectural, Optical, Photonic, and Systems Considerations" at SPIE AR.VR.MR. We're also presenting "Pfeiffer Vacuum: using machine learning to drive maintenance strategies" at the #IoTSWC23. 

Do you like videos? We publish a bunch of 'em and here are a few highlights:

• Wanna know how HP leads in PC intelligence and contextual awareness? Let them tell you how we collaborated to create an innovative solution for laptop power management.
• "The Next 'Automation Age'" highlights the profound transformation making the industrial world more technically advanced and sustainable. The presentation supplements a paper that we presented at last year's ESSCIRC.  
• Want to learn the hows and whys of Security on an MCU? This video has you covered. 
• And if you didn't see us at CES, you can watch our demos from the comfort of your home or office. 

Bo Ssam is a Korean dish that fails the quick-dinner test, but as Sam Sifton says in his NYTimes introduction to this recipe, it "wins the dinner-party sweepstakes." We had a houseful this past weekend and this roasted pork shoulder was a big hit -- even though it requires overnight curing and low-and-slow roasting in the oven. But the active prep time is actually pretty reasonable: about 10 minutes to combine the salt and sugar and cover the roast, 20-30 minutes to prepare the dipping sauces and lettuce leaves, a few minutes every hour to baste the roast, and a few more minutes for the final brown sugar and salt crusting. 

My guests thought I was roasting a turkey and expressed concern when they saw the dark black crusting on the pork -- but those were the delicious bits everyone fought over. While this isn't a mid-week recipe, it is one that's worth the time. Eat it by using a lettuce leaf to wrap pork, rice, and a sauce -- the scallion-ginger sauce was particularly good. And don't forget the kimchi!

Enjoy!

Serves 6-10 Time: 7 hours, plus 6 hours’ seasoning

Ingredients

Pork Butt

• 1 whole bone-in pork butt or picnic ham (8 to 10 pounds)
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1 cup plus 1 tablespoon kosher salt
• 7 tablespoons brown sugar

Ginger Scallion Sauce

• 2½ cups thinly sliced scallions, both green and white parts
• ½ cup peeled, minced fresh ginger
• ¼ cup neutral oil (like grapeseed)
• 1½ teaspoons light soy sauce
• 1 scant teaspoon sherry vinegar
• ½ teaspoon kosher salt, or to taste

Ssam Sauce

• 2 tablespoons fermented bean-and-chili paste (ssamjang, available in many Asian markets, and online)
• 1 tablespoon chili paste (gochujang, available in many Asian markets, and online)
• ½ cup sherry vinegar
• ½ cup neutral oil (like grapeseed)

Accompaniments

• 2 cups plain white rice, cooked
• 3 heads bibb lettuce, leaves separated, washed, and dried
• 1 dozen or more fresh oysters (optional)
• Kimchi (available in many Asian markets, and online)

Preparation

• Place the pork in a large, shallow bowl. Mix the white sugar and 1 cup of salt together in another bowl, then rub the mixture all over the meat. Cover it with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator for at least 6 hours, or overnight.
• When you’re ready to cook, heat the oven to 300°F. Remove pork from the refrigerator, brush any excess sugar mixture off the fat cap and discard any juices. Place the pork in a roasting pan and set it in the oven and cook for approximately 6 hours, or until it collapses, yielding easily to the tines of a fork. (After the first hour, baste hourly with pan juices.) At this point, you may remove the meat from the oven and allow it to rest for up to an hour.
• Meanwhile, make the ginger-scallion sauce. In a large bowl, combine the scallions with the rest of the ingredients. Mix well and taste, adding salt if needed.
• Make the ssam sauce. In a medium bowl, combine the chili pastes (the ssamjang and gochujang) with the vinegar and oil, and mix well.
• Prepare rice, wash lettuce and, if using, shuck the oysters. Put kimchi and sauces into serving bowls.
• When your accompaniments are prepared and you are ready to serve the food, turn the oven to 500°F. In a small bowl, stir together the remaining tablespoon of salt with the brown sugar. Rub this mixture all over the cooked pork. Place in oven for approximately 10 to 15 minutes, or until a dark caramel crust has developed on the meat. Serve hot, with the accompaniments.

Enjoy!