Wednesday, 27 August 2025

Budae Jjigae (Korean Army Base Stew)

I've made budae jjigae ramen before, but I'd never actually made the stew itself before. So I decided to finally give this version of it a try while I was in New Zealand.

I think, in the end, I actually preferred the budae jjigae ramen to this stew. But I'm still glad to have tried it! And, honestly budea jjigae is such a flexible recipe that there's really a lot of room for variation and adjustment. So I wouldn't necessarily be opposed to making this again with slightly different ingredients and proportions at some point.

Photo goes here.

Budae Jjigae

Slightly adapted from Aaron & Claire

Ingredients

Seasoning Paste

  • 6 Tbsp. gochugaru (Korean chile flakes)
  • 2 Tbsp. sugar
  • 2-3 Tbsp. garlic paste
  • 2 Tbsp. dark soy sauce
  • 1 Tbsp. dasida (Korean beef stock powder)
  • 1/4 c. water

Soup

  • 400g cabbage
  • 1 Yukon Gold potato
  • 4-5 green onions
  • 400g SPAM
  • 6-8 sausages
  • 4 slices bacon
  • 400g ground beef
  • 1/4 c. baked beans
  • 2-3 slices American (or mild cheddar) cheese
  • 3 c. Korean bone broth (sagol yuksu)
  • ~3 c. water
  • 1-2 cake(s) of instant ramen noodles (optional)

Directions

  1. Combine the gochugaru, sugar, garlic, soy sauce, dasida, and water. Mix well and set aside.
  2. Cut the cabbage into bite-sized pieces.
  3. Slice the potato, green onions, SPAM, sausages, and bacon.
  4. Arrange all the ingredients nicely in a pot (or divide into two smaller pots).
  5. Add the seasoning paste in the middle.
  6. Use the ground beef to make some tiny meatballs -- no seasoning necessary -- and arrange them around the seasoning paste.
  7. Add the baked beans and place the cheese on top.
  8. Pour in the bone broth and water and bring to a boil.
  9. Once the rest of the ingredients are almost cooked, add in the ramen (if using) and cook until done.
  10. Serve with hot rice and/or kimchi.

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