How to Make Budae Jjigae 부대찌개 (Korean Army Stew)

What is Budae Jjigae (부대찌개)?

Budae Jjigae, also known as Korean army stew came about shortly after the Korean war in the 1950s. An impoverished nation looking to rebuild an economy and rise once again as a people found solace in the form of this heart warming stew. A one pot meal that requires minimal prep work and quick to make. In a time when refrigeration was almost non existent, the idea was to get by utilizing canned foods (Spam, baked beans) introduced by their American allies.

70 years on, as South Korea bask in much transformed fortunes, the fact that this once makeshift meal has stood the test of time, you know it’s got to be good.

Not only is budae jjigae addictively good, it is also a dish that requires minimal cooking. The preparation is relatively easy; all you will need to do is to prepare the broth and seasoning sauce, then cut and slice up the ingredients.

The key main ingredients are kimchi, spam, sausages, beans and ramen noodles – you really can’t go wrong with such a delicious combination! As for the rest of the ingredients, you can add or omit based on your personal preference. A tip here is to work towards a balance of flavors with your budae jjigae, so do add some fresh greens to counteract all that savory processed food.

INGREDIENTS FOR BUDAE JJIGAE (SERVES 3-4)

• 1 litre broth
• Homemade seasoning sauce
• 200g pork belly, cut into bite sized
• 150-200g Korean SPAM, sliced
• 150g Korean vienna sausages
• 200g canned baked beans
• 1/3 cup kimchi, cut into bite sized with some kimchi juice
• 1-2 packets of instant ramyeon noodles 사리면
• 30g of leek or spring onion, thinly and diagonally sliced
• 2 slices of cheese
• 200g enoki mushrooms, base stem removed
• 200g king oyster mushrooms, sliced thinly lengthways

Some of the other ingredients that you can consider adding into the stew are cabbage, onion, bacon, Korean rice cakes, soft tofu, and also dangmyeon (Korean sweet potato noodles); basically you can add/omit/substitute the ingredients to your liking.

1. All you have to do is to cut all ingredients into bite sized pieces and arrange in a 12-inch shallow pot.
2. Add 3/4 of the seasoning sauce in the middle and pour the broth into the pot. Bring to a boil on medium high heat. I wouldn’t recommend adding all the seasoning at once as it would be better to taste and season with more only if required.
3. Once the stock starts to boil (takes about 8 minutes), add in instant ramyeon noodles and sliced cheese on top and boil uncovered for 3 minutes until noodles have softened then serve immediately!

As you may have noticed above, the pork belly I added into the stew pot is semi-cooked. I personally like to pre-grill the pork belly ala 삼겹살 samgyeopsal ahead of time. Of course, you can skip this step but just ensure the meat is cooked thoroughly before serving.

The Broth

Using flavorful broth such as dashi stock or anchovy stock would be best. But if you are pressed for time, store bought chicken stock is a good alternative.

To make your own broth, you will need:

• 1.5 litre water
• Kombu (dried kelp) about 10x10cm in size
• 10g dried bonito flakes

1. Combine water, kelp and bonito flakes in a large pot and cook for 10 minutes over medium heat. Just as broth is almost at boiling point, turn heat to low and let simmer for a further 10-15 minutes.
2. Remove the pot from the heat and set aside. Strain stock over fine sieve before using.
3. There will be some extra broth that you can use to replenish whilst eating, if required.

This is a basic dashi broth recipe. To further enhance the broth, you could also add about 8-10 pieces of dried anchovies and 2 pieces of shiitake mushrooms which you can later remove and slice to add into the stew as well.

The Seasoning Sauce

• 3 tbsp soy sauce
• 2.5 tbsp gochujang Korean red chilli paste
• 2.5 tbsp mirin
• 1 tbsp minced garlic
• 1 tbsp sugar
• 2 tsp gochugaru Korean red chilli pepper (adjust according to preference for spiciness)
• 1.5 tsp chicken stock powder (optional)
• 1 tsp curry powder (optional)
• Black pepper to season

Combine the seasoning paste ingredients in a bowl and mix well to combine.

Things to Notes

One thing to keep in mind is that noodles absorb a lot of liquid. So if you plan to cook them in the stew, you may want to add in a tad more broth like I did. Otherwise, you can also pre-boil the noodles and add to the stew right before serving.

If you have a portable burner, you can most definitely cook the stew at the table and add more ingredients as you go. Otherwise, it is also fine to cook it all on the stove and serve immediately.

The first thing you should go for is the ramyeon noodles whilst they’re still chewy! This also helps prevent the noodles from soaking up too much broth.

If you need a quick visual guidance, here’s a short 1 minute video for your reference on how I prepare my budae jjigae:

Have you tried this recipe?

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