Budae Jjigae (부대찌개) Korean Army Base Stew

Learn how to make the popular Korean hot pot dish – Budae Jjigae (Korean Army Stew or Army base stew) the easiest way! It is loaded with Kimchi, spam, sausages, ramen noodles and more!

After the Korean war there was a food shortage. So whatever was on hand at army bases were made into soups or stews. It was usually leftover processed foods. For all who have served....

This dish was once considered peasant food because it was made from surplus ingredients during the war such as spam, hot dogs, and canned goods.But now people love eating this as a comfort food for its rich and savory broth! In fact, if you order it at a restaurant, it’ll probably be over $35 after tip and tax. Army Stew is definitely more worth it to make it at home!The ingredients listed below, you can adjust to your taste preference and honestly add anything you like!

Budae-jjigae (부대찌개; literally "army base stew") or spicy sausage stew is a type of jjigae (stew), made with ham, sausage, spam, baked beans, kimchi, and gochujang. The dish was created shortly after the armistice that ended the Korean War, using the scrounged or smuggled surplus foods from U.S. military bases. Although the dish was born in the period of post-war impoverishment, it continued to be popular during the period of rapid growth, and is still popular today.Wikipidia

A one of dish from korea which have a long history. They say necessity is the mother of invention and this stew is a sterling example of that sentiment. Budae jjigae was created in Uijeongbu, an hour north of Seoul, soon after the Korean War when food scarcity led starving Koreans to concoct a meal using food that was discarded or handed out at US military bases. The Koreans added the unfamiliar ingredients, like Spam, hot dogs and baked beans, into a traditional spicy soup flavoured with gochujang, Korean red pepper paste, and topped it with a square of melted American cheese.

My mother long ago worked for several years in Seoul and had introduced me to this tofu stew. It's a simple dish as far as that goes. The normal soup base is supposed to be what they call myeolchi dashima yuksu (멸치다시마육수), a kelp and anchovy broth. I have substituted Japanese kombu dashi with no trouble, even used katsuobushi dashi at times. Seafood of various types, such as clams and shrimp is usually mixed in, and I've even seen pork slices added. 🇰🇷🫕🍄🐚🦑

"Budae" means "military unit," and this dish apparently got its start as something cooked using a military helmet as a pot. And it seems it originates from Pohang in South Korea, the region I was sent to by my company. I tried making it in a frying pan.Just keep simmering.The real version has Spam in it, but it's a bit expensive, so I left it out this time.Please add whatever ingredients you like.This is on the spicy side, so adjust the amount of gochujang and chili pepper powder to taste. Recipe by Ibechou.

I made this soup to replicate the one I had at a food stall in Korea.Please be careful not to cook the oysters too long. The earthenware pot will break if the heat is too strong, so please be careful. Recipe by Cooking S Papa

My slightly lighter take on Dwenjang Jjigae, which is a pungent Korean stew made with dwenjang (basically Korean style miso). (Note that stew in Korean cuisine isn't that super thick, stand a fork up in it type of texture, but something in between a soup and stew. My recipe is much closer to soup.)If you don't have dwenjang, you can totally use Japanese style miso. The flavor and aroma are less pungent, but the result will still be delicious.Just put the ingredients in a pot, bring 'em to a boil, and then let them simmer, and that's it.We usually enjoy this with a bowl of steamed rice.

To make kimchi jjigae (TCHEEgeh), you really should use ripe (as in sour) kimchi. You could make it with the fresh stuff, but that's not what this dish was invented for, which was to get rid of the kimchi that's been fermenting just a little too long when you've got huge earthenware jars full of fresher stuff still waiting to be eaten.And because it's jjigae or stew, you don't want it to be all that soupy. Jjigae is meant to be thin enough to give you the occasional spoonful of intensely flavored and piping hot broth to eat with your rice, but not so soupy that you could drink it.This recipe is easily doubled if you'd like more servings. Just need a bigger pot. ;)

I saw this on a mukbang show and wanted to try it. 😂 That's all.

Sundubu Jjigae is one of the most famous stews in Korean cuisine. They have many variants of sundubu jjigae. We can cook with different ingredients, like: meats, seafood, vegetables, etc. Basically, sundubu jjigae is using soft tofu with adding others ingredients. We can enjoy it in the winter. Actually, in Korean they are always serving in hot pot, called ttukpegi.

With a rich, flavorful, spicyhot broth and the delicious complement of lots of light, healthful, and nutty tasting soft tofu, soondubu jjigae (pronounced SOONdooboo TCHIgeh), literally "soft tofu stew," is becoming an increasingly popular standalone Korean dish.As with most jjigae dishes, this stuff is usually served screaming hot in an earthenware pot with a raw egg served on the side to be cracked into the bubbling hot mixture and left for a few minutes to cook in that superhot residual heat before digging in.While it helps to have an earthenware pot if you happen to like your soups and stews almost unbearably temperature hot in true Korean fashion, you don't need one to make this dish. A small heavy duty stainless saucepan or enamel coated cast iron pot will do just fine.This recipe includes pork, but if you've ever had soondubu jjigae at a restaurant, you know that you can get beef, seafood and vegetarian versions as well. You can easily substitute the pork in this recipe for an equal amount of other protein. If you're doing a seafood version (smaller shrimp, clams, and pieces of squid or baby octopus work well), you might like to add your protein halfway into the cook time rather than at the beginning in order to avoid overcooking it.You can easily double the recipe to serve 4.

I had some kimchi in my fridge. I like stir-fried udon noodles with kimchi but this time I felt like preparing jjigae-style stewed noodles.Use the kimchi and its pickling brine too. It cooks through easily in residual heat in a clay pot so after covering with a lid, stop heating quickly. You can cook the egg to your liking but I like the eggs to be soft-set. Recipe by Bananazakuro

Either this Cheonggukjang (Natto stew) is not made in Korean restaurants in Japan or people keep their distance because of the smell. When I lived in Thailand, I often enjoyed this in Korean Town, so I recreated the flavor! If you like natto, this is a flavor that you can't resist.The point to making a delicious Korean stew is to place the garlic and sesame oil into the pot before turning on the heat. Then add the kimchi (and natto) before pouring in the water. This will deepen the flavor. If you add in some of the green section of the leek, some of the smell will calm down. For 2 servings. Recipe by TomHiro

Chicken are so quick to fix. This korean spicy chicken stew soup is so delicious and addicting that you just cannot stop reaching to the pot for one more scoop. Great to serve with steamed brown rice or sourdough bread. A comfortable food that is packed of lots of good stuffs.

A Kimchi Stew with a lot of ingredients that make it an easy week-long meal. (The ingredients are for 2 servings, but normally come in larger amounts that will last more days.)Inspiration from Hyosun at Korean Bapsang

Gochujang is fairly spicy but with a flavor. I wanted to use gochujang in recipes other than Asian dishes.Adjust the quantity of the seasonings to your liking.I used runner beans, but you can use kidney beans, chickpeas or soy beans. Recipe by caramel-cookie

I bought some frozen crabs to make gejang (Korean salted fermented seafood) with them, but they didn't taste good enough, so I transformed them into a delicious jjigae instead.When you add the crabs to the pot, make sure to keep the soup boiling! The fresh chili peppers eliminate the crab smell and give the soup a sharp taste. Recipe by kanako8224

This is based on a recipe I saw on YouTube. I wrote it down on a piece of paper because it was so easy to make. Just cut and dump almost everything into a pot and eat with rice. An all-in Korean-style spicy stew

I am in the process of improving my sundubu hot pot recipe and have attempted many times to recreate the taste of my favorite restaurant. My recipe has not been perfected yet, but I published this because I thought I might able to pick up some hints. If there are other sundubu scholars out there, please leave some comments! I'm hoping to exchange some good ideas.I don't have a Korean pot but I use a Japanese earthenware pot for 1-2 people. This recipe is really for one person but the amount can be easily adjusted by adding more tofu. Recipe by Aokoro

I tried tasty sundubu jjigae in Seoul. I tried to recreate it for myself at home and it was quite good. Because you will love its spicy hotness you will make this again.You can use oysters instead of pork or add some mushrooms. The clams are a must though!Use an authentic Korean jigae clay pot ☆Korean red chilli is milder and more fragrant than a Japanese one.Use Chinese chicken stock powder if you can't get Korean beef dashida. You can use konbu stock instead, but bonitostock doesn't work in this dish. Recipe by Mi-kobu-ko

Sautéing the red chili pepper and kimchi creates a rich taste! The umami flavor from the fermented krill is exquisite as well!The ingredients may stick to the pot since no oil is used; but, you will add some water later on and then, they will all come out easily. Just remember to cook it over low heat and not to scorch it! Adjust the seasonings according to the amount and taste of kimchi. You could add other vegetables such as bean sprouts. Recipe by kebeibiko

A Korean celebrity said that the combination of kimchi and tuna is the best, and I've been putting it in ever since.The trick to this recipe is to add the canned tuna to the hot pot. It makes the hot pot super mild and tasty.To finish, soak up the broth with rice or udon noodles. Recipe by meguJJ

I love to eat Korean food and because of this pandemic, I'm forced bring my cravings to me.

I wanted to make a spicy but tasty kimchi jjiage.The secret to its mildness is… stir-fried onion and Chinese cabbage. Using butter makes the soup very mild (⌒～⌒).Don't overcook the Chinese chives. Recipe by noeruchi

Kimchi jjigae is Korean home cooking. I wanted to enjoy this quintessential Korean dish easily at home, so I tried recreating it using my tastebuds as a guide!This is one of my basic go-to Korean recipes.The star of this dish is the kimchi! By adding the kimchi liquid, you'll get closer to an authentic jjigae!The key is to use dashi stock based of dried sardines (iriko)! This is delicious made with canned tuna or mackerel instead of meat. Recipe by Nokosandon

The best way to eat and heat up during winter in case husband comes home late.Eat with sticky rice sprinkled with toasted sesame seeds or rice noodles. Tofu is optional.Calories: Approx 365 per serving

Feel free to swap the pork for chicken, beef, etc.

This method can literally apply to fix all pan sized fish. No fail option.