Budae Jjigae (Korean Army Stew)

Looking down on a large pot of Korean Army Stew.

Budae Jjigae (Korean Army Stew)

Budae Jjigae or Korean Army Stew is the comfort food you never knew you always needed. It is loaded to the brim with spam, sausage, baked beans, kimchi, vegetables, cheese, and instant noodles surrounded by a flavorful Korean chili broth. Bonus! this under 30-minute recipe is astonishingly effortless to make and doesn't require any fancy equipment.

Course Lunch & Dinner Recipes

Cuisine Korean

Keyword Easy Recipe, Korean, Soup

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 15

Total Time 30

Servings pot

Calories 644kcal

Author Megan

Ingredients

Seasoning

2 tablespoon Gochugaru Korean red chili pepper flakes
1 teaspoon Gochujang Korean red chili pepper paste
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon fish sauce
1 tablespoon rice wine mirin
1 tablespoon sugar
¼ teaspoon black pepper
1 ½ tablespoon garlic about 5 cloves minced
2 tablespoon chicken stock

To Serve

½ cup Kimchi chopped
½ can 6 oz Spam, sliced 1/4 inch thick
3 hotdogs sliced 1/4 inch thick
3 strips bacon or pork belly sliced 2 inch pieces
4 oz medium firm tofu sliced 1/4 inch thick
½ medium onion thinly sliced
1 cup napa cabbage thinly chopped
¼ cup baked beans
1 oz enoki mushroom stems removed
6-7 oz shiitake mushroom caps stem removed and sliced
5 green onions sliced diagonally
Raddish sprouts optional garnish
3 oz Rice Cake soaked in water for 15 minutes if frozen
1 pack ramen noodles
1-2 slices American cheese
4 cups Chicken Stock or Anchovy or Beef Broth
White rice to serve

Instructions

Make the Seasoning

Make the seasoning sauce. In a medium mixing bowl, mix together the sauce ingredients (gochugaru, gochujang, soy sauce, fish sauce, rice wine, sugar, black pepper, minced garlic, chicken stock) until combined. Set aside.

Make the Stew

Prepare the Ingredients. Soak the frozen rice cakes in water for 15 minutes if frozen. Slice the spam, hotdog, bacon and tofu into 1/4 inch pieces. Chop the napa cabbage into bite sized pieces. Wedge cut the onion. Diagonally slice the green onion. Slice the stems off the mushrooms.
Cook the ingredients. In a large shallow pot or braiser, add the kimchi, spam, hotdog, bacon, tofu, onion, beans, mushrooms. Pour in the chicken stock and add the seasoning sauce in the center. Cover and cook on medium high heat until the stock begins to boil.
Add the ramen, rice cakes, green onion and cheese. Add the ramen, rice cakes, green onion and cheese. Continue cooking uncovered for an additional 2-3 minutes or until the noodles are cooked.
Serve with steamed rice. You can serve this dish with a portable burner on low with rice and other korean side dishes.

Notes

Mix and Match! You can literally put any kind of meat, vegetable, or noodle into this dish. This is essentially like a Korean hotpot. You can take away or add to your preference.
Use a portable stove to keep the soup from getting cold as you eat. This is optional but I always find that a hot soup is always better than a lukewarm one. It also makes the entire dining experience more enjoyable!
Chicken Stock v. Beef Broth v. Anchovy Stock. If you want to use the more traditional route, you can use anchovy stock. However, since this is not a very common ingredient, I opted to use Chicken stock which saves so much time unless you want to make your own stock from scratch. You can always opt to use beef broth instead of chicken stock instead.
The noodles will soak up the liquid the longer it sits in the broth. I advise that you add the noodles in last and try to consume the noodles first when it is done cooking. The longer it sits in the broth, the more it will absorb the liquid and become overly soft.
Storage Instructions: You can store this in a liquid-safe container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Please note the noodles will soak up the liquid and become soggy. It is best that you remove the noodles before storing them and simply add a fresh batch of ramen when reheating.

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