Budae Jjigae (Korean Army Base Stew) Recipe

Budae jjigae is perhaps the best known example of Korean-American fusion cuisine. This mystifying mashup dates back to the Korean War, as the dish's name hints. Budae jjigae translates to army base stew, and some of the distinctive ingredients include items that were easily purchased in any American army base commissary: hot dogs, sliced cheese, and Spam (this last item is still incredibly popular in South Korea). These All-American ingredients are combined with noodles, vegetables, and Korean seasonings to create a dish that, as recipe developer Patterson Watkins tells us, "makes for a great conversation as well as a world history lesson." She calls it a "memorable meal," one she tasted for the first time when a Korean friend prepared it for her.

While the list of ingredients involved in this stew is rather lengthy, most if not all of these items should be fairly easy to source. What's more, the dish is not difficult to prepare. Watkins sums up the entire recipe in a single sentence: "Organize everything in one pot, add the seasonings and stew liquids, cover, and simmer." As she says, the whole process is "super simple."

Though this dish calls for quite a few ingredients, each lends its own interesting texture and flavor to the mix. The chunky bits in the stew consist of Spam, hot dogs, tofu, kimchi, onion, and mushrooms. Watkins favors a combination of enoki or beech and shiitake mushrooms but tells us that "all mushrooms are welcome" as long as you chop them into bite-sized bits.

Moving on to the soup base: It's made of chicken broth seasoned with gochugaru, rice wine, soy sauce, fish sauce, garlic, and gochujang. You'll also need some ramen noodles as well as sliced American cheese and scallions to finish off the budae jjigae.

Are you ready to get jjigae with it? The first step is to select a wide, shallow-ish pan to fit all of the ingredients in. Watkins lists off several types of pans including ttukbaegi, rondeau, or a shallow braiser, although a Dutch oven or any other wide, not-too-high-sided saucepan would work, too.

Now, take the Spam, hot dogs, tofu, kimchi, onion, and mushrooms, and arrange them in a filled wreath inside the pan. Next, mix up the soup base — the gochugaru, rice wine, soy sauce, fish sauce, garlic, and gochujang — with the chicken broth, and pour the mixture over the ingredients in the pan.

Turn the heat up under the pan until it reaches medium-high, then wait until the broth starts boiling. You don't need to stir, as everything is fine right where it is. When the stew reaches the boiling point, turn the heat down to low and cover the pot. (If you don't have a lid that fits, foil will do the trick.)

Simmer the stew for 15 minutes, then open up the lid and partially submerge the ramen noodles in the broth. Cover the stew again and cook it for 3 more minutes or until the noodles are soft.

Once the stew is done, top it with the sliced cheese and scallions. If you'd like some starch, you can also dish it up with a side of cooked white rice.

One note on this budae jjigae: If you are dining solo, you will probably want to reduce the recipe. Watkins admits that the dish is "unfortunately not well suited for leftovers" and suggests you "invite some buddies over" for convivial feasting.