Budae Jigae, “Army Base Stew” How-to

Budae jjigae is made up of various meats, vegetables, and noodles combined together in a spicy stew. Most Koreans really enjoy it, and you can find it anywhere in Korea, sometimes at any hour! This stew is very quick and easy to make.

Budae jjigae is one of the earliest forms of Korean fusion food. It originated during the Korean War.

As the war raged on, South Korean soldiers were running out of food. When America came to aid the South Korean military, they brought with them new food from the west. Meats such as spam, hot dogs and pepperoni were introduced to South Korea for the very first time; American cheese also made its mark. The Korean soldiers took this food and concocted a new Korean dish: budae jjigae. Combining the western foods with their eastern spices, they made a tasty stew that has become a popular dish today.

Because of the many military bases that reside in the city of Uijeongbu, it is said Budae Jjigae originated there. In the late 20th century, Uijeongbu proposed that the name budae jjigae be changed to Uijeongbu jjigae so as to remove connotations of the sad past in which the stew was invented.

Ingredients 
150g of Spam
3 frankfurter sausages
1 handful of bean sprouts
150g of tofu
1 instant noodles (don’t use the flavoring)
1 handful of rice cakes (optional)
1/2 onion
2 mushrooms
2 spring onions
800ml of water with chicken stock

Sauce
1 tsp of gochujang
1 tsp of red pepper powder
2 cloves of crushed garlic
3 tsp of soy sauce1 Tsp of sugar
1 tsp of sesame oil

Start by putting about 800ml of water in a pan, then add to this about four cubes or two tablespoons of chicken stock and mix well. Cut the Spam, sausages and tofu into slices and cut all the vegetables. In a bowl, add all the ingredients for the sauce and mix well. Place the sauce into the pan and add the other ingredients around it. Keep the noodles on the side for now.

Bring the entire mix to boil and cook for about 15 minutes, until the onions are soft. At this point, add the noodles. It’s common to use some instant noodles like shin ramyeon, but you could use any supermarket noodles. This will take another 3-5 minutes to cook.

 

Serve in a bowl and enjoy. There should be plenty for up to five people. You can serve this stew with rice and some side dishes if you like, but with the noodles there is enough to fill you up.

 

By Chang Ho Yoon

 

Step by Step