Budae Jjigae, Army Stew

부대찌개

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Average: 3 (1 vote)

soup

prep time:

40 min

inactive time:

0 min

cooking time:

10 min

total time:

50 min

Budae Jjigae, or army stew, originated shortly after the Korean War when food was scarce and many Koreans were starving. Food was smuggled from American military bases, and then local Koreans used the American ingredients to create a stew. With processed meats such as spam and hot dogs, the stew became an assortment of Korean vegetables, spicy seasonings and other leftovers thrown together into a large pot. This is how Budae Jjigae came to be; created out of necessity during a difficult time.

Army stew is still popular in South Korea. It's a trendy table-cooking food in restaurants and often eaten while drinking soju (rice liquor). Budae Jjiage has evolved since its post-war origins. It now has more Korean ingredients such as ddeok (rice cakes), kimchi, gochujang and various types of noodles.

How does this crazy combination of East-meets-West flavors taste? Surprisingly good! Budae Jjiage's flavor is complex, yet well balanced and definitely has a spicy kick. Serve this dish at your next dinner party. It will be unforgettable!

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INGREDIENTS

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main ingredients
6 cups	Beef Bone Broth 사골육수 (or anchovy broth or broth of your choice, may need less if NOT table-cooking
5 oz	Spam 스팸
4 oz	Hotdog 소세지
4 oz	Ground Pork 간 돼지고기 (can also use beef or other meat)
6 oz	Tofu, Soft or regular (for stew) 두부 (찌개용) (optional)
2 oz	Baked Beans 빈즈 (in a can, optional)
4 oz	Kimchi 김치 (over fermented sour kimchi is better)
6	Green Onion 파
2 oz	Enochi Mushroom 팽이버섯 (or your favorite mushroom)
1	Instant Noodle 라면 (or 2 oz of cooked macaroni)
3 oz	Rice Cake for soup, Sliced Garae Ddeok 떡국떡 (optional)
1 sheet	Processed Cheese (optional)
for broth seasoning
1 tbs	Gochujang (Hot Pepper Paste) 고추장
3 tbs	Gochugaru, Korean Hot Pepper Flakes 고춧가루
1 tbs	Sugar 설탕 (optional, or 2 tbs of maesil-jeup, Asian plum extract)
1 tbs	Anchovy Fish Sauce 멸치액젓 (optional or 1 additional tsp of soy sauce)
3 tbs	Cheongju, Korean Rice Wine 청주 (or white wine)
1 tsp	Soy Sauce (regular) 왜간장
1 tbs	Garlic (minced) 다진 마늘
⅔ tsp	Black Pepper 후추
for making fried rice (optional second course for table cooking)
1 cup ⅔ tbs	Cooked Rice 밥
2 oz	Kimchi 김치 (finely chopped)
1 tbs	Sesame Oil 참기름
2 sheet	Seaweed (Gim, Laver) 김 (8" by 8" sheet or equivalent, can use less or more to your preference)
1	Egg 계란 (cracked)

tips:

Good to Know
Many of the ingredients such as spam, hot dogs and beans are already seasoned. So depending on the amount of these ingredients you use, the stew may become more or less salty. If you are not sure, you can always hold back some of the seasoning sauce in the beginning and gradually add it as you taste the stew.

You can add more rice cake and/or noodles if you like. But, if you add too much of them, the stew will become too thick and starchy.

More questions? Please leave your questions in the comments section below. We will do our best to answer as soon as we can.

instructions	photos	summary
Ingredient amounts in the recipe instructions are for the default serving size.	Click to enlarge photos.	Ingredient amounts in the recipe summary are for the default serving size.
1. Make seasoning sauce In a bowl, put 1 tbs of gochujang (hot pepper paste), 3 tbs of gochugaru (hot pepper flakes), 1 tbs of sugar, 1 tbs of anchovy fish sauce, 3 tbs of rice wine, 1 tsp of soy sauce, 1 tbs of minced garlic and ½ tsp of black pepper. Mix well and set it aside. Let it mature for about 30 min. (If you have time, mature the sauce overnight.)		1 Mix 1 tbs gochujang (hot pepper paste) 3 tbs gochugaru 1 tbs sugar 1 tbs anchovy fish sauce 3 tbs rice wine 1 tsp soy sauce 1 tbs minced garlic ½ tsp black pepper
2. Soak rice cake (optional) Soak rice cake in cold water for about 30 minutes (optional). *This is optional, but pre-soaking will reduce the cooking time and make the broth less starchy. If you like starchy broth, don’t pre-soak and add rice cake at the beginning.		2 Soak rice cake 30 min
3. Cut spam Cut 5.3 oz (150g) of spam into thin two bite-size pieces (approximately 1.5” x 1.5” x ¼” or 4 cm x 4 cm X 0.6 cm).		3 Cut into two bite size 5.3 oz spam
4. Cut Tofu Cut 6 oz (170g) of tofu into two bite-size pieces. Don’t cut it too thinly. It may break. (approximately 1.5” x 1.5” x 3/8” or 4 cm x 4 cm X 0.9 cm).		4 Cut into two bite size 6 oz tofu
5. Slice hot dogs Slice 4 oz (113g) of hot dogs (or sausages) diagonally.		5 Slice diagonally 4 oz hot dog
6. Chop kimchi Chop 4 oz (113g) kimchi into bite size pieces.		6 Chop into bite size 4 oz kimchi
7. Wash enochi mushroom Wash 2 oz (56g) enochi mushroom.		7 Enochi mushroom wash
8. Cut green onions Wash, peel and cut 5 green onions diagonally.		8 Green onion wash peel cut diagonally
9. Arrange the ingredients In a shallow wide pot, arrange spam, hot dogs, ground pork, tofu, baked beans, kimchi and enochi mushroom. Add the seasoning sauce from step 1 in the middle and green onions on top. Pour 4 cups of beef bone broth (or your choice of broth) over the ingredients. *Leave 2 cups of broth for later.		9 Arrange spam hot dogs ground pork tofu baked beans rice cake kimchi enochi mushroom Add seasoning sauce green onion 4 cups broth
10. Table cooking Typically, Koreans will cook this on a portable stove while everyone is seated at the dinner table. But, you can certainly cook it on a regular stove and serve it. Bring the stew to boil on high heat.		10 Bring to boil High Heat
11. Add instant noodles Once the stew comes to a boil, let it boil for about 5 minutes on high heat. Then add instant noodles (broken in half) and rice cake. *Do not add the seasoning that comes with the instant noodles. Add a slice of cheese on top (optional). Stir and turn over all the ingredients with tongs or a ladle.		11 Let it boil High Heat #timer 5 Add instant noodles rice cake cheese
12. Serve When the instant noodles are cooked (soft), the stew is ready to be served. Serve with a bowl of rice on the side. If you are table-cooking, turn down the heat to low and let it simmer as you eat. Add more broth if the stew gets boiled down and becomes too thick or salty. Koreans often eat out of a communal pot when eating stews. But you can have individual bowls on the table if you like.		12 Serve when noodles are cooked with bowl of rice If table-cooking turn down heat add more broth as needed
13. Fried Rice I (Optional second course) After finishing the soup, remove the liquid from the pot leaving a very small amount of broth at the bottom. Add the rice mix (cooked rice, chopped kimchi, crumbled seaweed sheets, cracked egg and sesame oil) into the pot and stir-fry on high heat for 3 min.		13 Leave a little bit of soup Add rice mix Stir-fry High Heat 3 min
14. Fried Rice II (Optional second course) Pat down the rice so it’s leveled and turn down the heat to low. Leave it for 5-10 min for the rice to form a crispy crust at the bottom. Turn off the heat and enjoy your fried rice!		14 Level the rice and turn down heat Low Heat 5 min Enjoy!