Name: Budae Jjigae
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 10 min
Total time: 15 min
Ingredients: ¼ tofu (sliced); ⅓ spam (sliced); 1 smoked sausage (sliced); ¼ cup kimchi; 3 cups chicken or anchovy broth (unsalted); ½ cup rice cakes; 1 instant ramen (without seasoning); 1 slice of cheddar cheese or shredded cheddar; 1 green onion (sliced); 1 tablespoon red pepper powder (gochugaru); 1 tablespoon red pepper paste (gochujang); ½ tablespoon soy sauce; ½ tablespoon fish sauce; ½ tablespoon sugar; 2 garlic (minced); ½ teaspoon black pepper

Published: Oct 3, 2021 · Modified: Mar 28, 2024 by Dana · This post may contain affiliate links · 3 Comments

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Budae jjigae, also known as Korean army stew, is a flavorful and savory hot pot dish that has a unique taste due to the combination of Korean and American ingredients. The broth is typically spicy and slightly sweet, with a complex umami flavor that comes from kimchi, gochujang (Korean red pepper paste), fish sauce and sausages.

A pot of Korean Army Stew featuring instant ramen, soft tofu, spam, mushrooms, sausages, rice cakes, kimchi, and seasoning sauce in chicken broth garnished with cheese and green onions.

What is budae jjigae (부대찌개)?

Budae jjigae, is a popular Korean hot pot dish that originated during the Korean War. It is a fusion dish that combines Korean ingredients like kimchi and gochujang with American ingredients like spam and hot dogs. American soldiers brought spam, baked beans and hot dogs to Korea during the war and Koreans use them in the spicy broth along with tofu, cabbage, rice cakes and scallions. The spicy broth is made with gochujang, soy sauce, and other seasonings. It is usually served hot and accompanied by a bowl of rice.

Traditionally, budae jjigae is enjoyed on a portable stove as a communal dish, so you can cook the and eat together.

Ingredients you need for your budae jjigae:

The ingredients for budae jjigae can be found at H-mart (korean grocery store). There’s a variety of different toppings that you can add in your korean army stew such as starch noodles, baked beans and mushrooms. Below, you will find ingredients that I like to use for my recipe:

Rice cakes, kimchi, cheddar cheese, chicken broth, green onion, instant ramen, soft tofu, sausage, and spam laid out on the counter.

In Korean Army Stew, you have to add in preserved meats such as spam and smoked sausage as this dish was inspired by American soldiers serving in the Korean army. This is a mix of Korean-American flavors.

Sour kimchi works great with this dish as it adds a little bit of tanginess and works well with the fattiness of the spam.

All the ingredients are cooked in an anchovy or chicken broth for extra flavor. The best is when you add in rice cakes and instant ramen (must have!) to soak up all the flavor! You can add udon noodles or eat with white rice. If you love stew, you should also try this Tuna Kimchi Jjigae.

Seasoning Sauce

Red pepper paste, sugar, soy sauce, fish sauce, garlic, red pepper powder, and black pepper laid out on the counter.

Seasoning paste – To flavor our soup, we will need red pepper paste (gochujang), red pepper powder (gochugaru), soy sauce, fish sauce, sugar, garlic, and generous amount of black pepper. This is added in the beginning of our soup to ensure the tofu soaks in all the flavor!

How to make the budae jjigae:

Sliced soft tofu, sliced spam, and chopped green onion on a wooden cutting board.

Step 1. Prepare your ingredients. Slice tofu, sausage, and spam. Next, mince your garlic. Soak rice cakes in water while preparing your seasoning sauce. Mince garlic and slice green onions.

Red pepper powder, red pepper paste, black pepper, soy sauce, fish sauce, sugar, and minced garlic mixed together.

Step 2. Mix sauce by adding all sauce ingredients: gochugaru, gochujang, soy sauce, fish sauce, sugar, minced garlic and black pepper until well combined.

A simmering pot with sausages, sliced spam, soft tofu, mushrooms, rice cakes, and seasoning sauce in a chicken broth.

Step 3. Add sliced soft tofu, sliced spam, sausage, ¼ cup kimchi, 3 cups of broth, ½ cup rice cakes and sauce in the pot. The presentation looks best when you organize the ingredients in sections. Turn heat to medium and cook for 5-10 minutes until boiling.

Adding instant ramen in a pot of boiling Korean Army Stew with sausages, sliced spam, soft tofu, mushrooms, rice cakes, and seasoning sauce in a chicken broth.

Step 4. When the broth is boiling, add instant ramen on top of all the ingredients. Turn heat to medium and cook for 3-5 minutes until instant ramen has cooked to your desired texture.

Adding sliced cheddar cheese and chopped green onions on top of a pot of boiling Korean Army Stew with instant ramen, sausages, sliced spam, soft tofu, mushrooms, rice cakes, and seasoning sauce in a chicken broth.

Step 5. Add cheese and green onions for garnish. When the cheese has melted, the stew is ready to eat!

Step 6. Enjoy while it’s hot! If broth is too thick add half cup of hot water at the end and mix.

Expert Tips:

If your soup is too thick to your liking, you can add half cup to 1 cup of hot water in the army stew (especially if you like more soup). Stir together and it will be less thick.
Eat the noodles first because the longer it sits in the broth, the more soggy it is (unless you like those type of noodles 😅)
Put pot on a portable stove so your stew can stay warm at all times when you’re eating. This dish is meant to be eaten really hot.

Check Out More Delicious Soups

Tuna Kimchi Jjigae (Kimchi Stew) – a delicious stew that uses your extra fermented kimchi for a funky (in a good way!) soup!
Soon Dubu (Korean Soft Tofu Soup) – super soft tofu in a spicy seafood broth is perfect with rice and korean bbq
Doenjang Jjigae (Korean Soybean Paste Stew) – takes less than 20 minutes to make this savory stew filled with tofu, zucchini, potatoes, and beef.