If you have been a fan of Korean dramas, you must have been drooling whenever they eat. Well you are not alone as I do feel it too. It has been my dream to go to South Korea and eat all the foods that I saw in every dramas. Samgyupsal, tteokbokki, odeng, kimchi stew and even their chicken and beer or their makgeolli. I know that there are a lot of Korean restaurants here in the Philippines nowadays but I know it feels different if it would be in Korea.
Since I haven't fulfilled my dream yet, I did try to cook some Korean dishes like kimchi fried rice, kimchi stew and the latest was the Korean army stew.
What is budae jjigae?
This popular hot pot dish literally translates to "army stew". Budae is a general term for military base in Korea and jjigae is a term for stew or soup. It is a Korean-American fusion food because of the use of kimchi, ramyeon, processed canned meats such as Spam and sausages and sliced cheese.
A little backstory, there was a scarcity of food in Korea soon after the war in the early 1950s. They looked for food supply in military base camps and found a lot of American processed foods. They then got the idea to make a stew out of all the ingredients that they have. Hence the name, budae.
How to make it?
The next question would be is how to make it but before that I am just going to say that this was the first time that I have cooked and tasted it. I don't know how it actually tastes like but I must say that it was really good. I saw this recipe when the Youtuber that I follow had a cookbang, cooking and eating in front of a video. It was also her first time to cook it but her reaction with the finished product made me want to cook it as well. I was so curious because she didn't even mix the whole thing but she and her mom said that it was delicious.
So how exactly did I make it? I just arranged all the ingredients in a shallow pan, let it simmer and voila! Done! You might be asking yourself, "is that all?". Yes, that is all. Though she actually marinated her meat with a little soy sauce, salt and pepper.
What do I need?
[ ] 100g pork belly, thinly sliced
[ ] 1tbsp soy sauce
[ ] Salt
[ ] Pepper
[ ] 1 can vienna sausage
[ ] 1 can Spam
[ ] 1 white onion, sliced into rings
[ ] 5 cloves garlic, minced
[ ] 2 square blocks tofu, sliced
[ ] Lettuce
[ ] 150g kimchi
[ ] 1tbsp ssamjang
[ ] Water
[ ] 1 pack ramyeon
[ ] Cheese slices
[ ] Spring onion
Like I have said earlier, you just lay all the ingredients in a shallow pan or pot except the ramyeon and cheese as you will when it is already simmering. You will add the cheese when you are about to serve it so it has that melting effect. It is best if you can serve it on a hot ceramic pot or on top of a portable stove with the fire still on so that it will still be hot until you finish all of it.
If you want to see the video for my budae jjigae, you can check out my Youtube channel, The Foodist Diary.
Do tag me here or even on Facebook (The Foodist Diary) if you tried my recipe and let me know how it goes. Happy cooking!
By the way, I didn't actually use Spam in my recipe. Honestly I am not a fan of it as for me it is salty plus the fact that it is too expensive. I remember way back in college when I brought pandesal (bread) with Maling (brand of luncheon meat) and ate it during class while hiding from my professor then my friend also took a bite and after she said "eeewww Maling!". LOL. She doesn't like it because of its after taste but even so she was able to eat one whole pandesal. She's a Spam person and I can say we all have different preferrences when it comes to food. Just like my friend, I like those kind of people who can still eat a certain food even if it isn't their brand.
Then you might be wondering why I only have a few pieces of sausages. Actually I divided my recipe into 2 pans. One was for me and my parents and the other for our helper so she can still eat it hot and nice just like how you would serve it in a restaurant and not as a leftover from our pan.
One last thing, if you have watched Lee Min Ho's latest drama, The King: Eternal Monarch, he mentioned it there because he wanted to try the one that is said to be the restaurant's specialty. I am not sure if budae jjigae was also mentioned in Itaewon Class starring Park Seo Joon. I guess I have to watch it again.
Ok enough. LOL. I think I have said enough. Kamsahamnida.
