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Korean Army Stew beginning to boil

Easy Korean Army Stew Recipe (Budae Jjigae)

Korean Army Stew (Budae Jjigae) is one of my favorite dishes to make when feeding a large group because it's so flavorful and simple to prepare. Use pantry ingredients like instant ramen noodles and SPAM to fill up your Korean Army Stew!
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Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Total Time 35 minutes
Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients
  

For the broth:
  • 8 cups water
  • 28 grams chicken bouillon see notes
  • 2 tbsp gochujang (Korean chili paste) see notes
  • ¼ cup gochugaru (chili powder)
  • ¼ cup mirin (rice wine)
  • ¼ cup soy sauce to taste, see notes
  • 3 cloves garlic crushed
  • 1 tbsp sugar
  • 1 tsp freshly cracked black pepper
  • pinch kosher salt to taste
For the toppings:
  • 2 packets Korean instant noodles see notes
  • 1 lb thinly sliced beef, lamb, or pork
  • 1 can SPAM sliced into ¼ inch slices
  • 1 can quail eggs drained
  • 1 can sliced bamboo shoots drained
  • 1 pack mushrooms, such as shimeji or enoki see notes
  • 10 small pork sausages halved
  • ¼ cup green onions sliced
  • 1 cup fish cake sheets sliced into strips
  • 1 cup fish balls see notes
  • 1 cup kimchi
  • 2 cups bok choy

Method
 

  1. In a small bowl, whisk together crushed garlic, gochugaru, salt, pepper, sugar, gochujang, mirin, and soy sauce to form a paste.
  2. In the hot pot you plan to use to cook and eat from, pour the paste and add the water. Begin heating. Then mix in the chicken bouillon until fully dissolved. At this point, do a taste test and add more bouillon if you want it saltier or add water to tone it down.
  3. Once the pot is boiling, start throwing in all the other ingredients. I recommend starting with any vegetables with thick stalks and root vegetables like carrots and daikon. You can also add mushrooms or frozen fish balls now. You can pretty much add anything that isn't thin meats.
  4. Once the pot reached a boil again, you can cook the thin meats as you eat them

Notes

  1. Bouillon Cubes: I use Herb-Ox Chicken Bouillon Cubes (link), which are typically 4 grams each. I noticed that other bouillon cubes are larger (6g), so make sure to adjust the amount accordingly!
  2. Gochujang: I use CJ Foods Gochujang. I've used "Very Hot" and "Mild", and both taste great. Adjust the heat depending on the spice tolerance you prefer.
  3. Gochugaru: I use "taekyung gochugaru" (link) based on what I've seen recommended in The Korean Vegan's cookbook (link).
  4. Soy Sauce: the type of soy sauce you use will impact the flavor. Some soy sauce brands may be saltier than others, so adjust to your liking.
  5. Instant Noodles: I prefer to use Korean ramyun noodles, which are slightly thicker and bouncier. I find that they hold up better in a stew like this. Some noodle brands I've use are Shin Ramyun, Buldak, or Neoguri. You may also use Ottogi Ramensari, which has JUST the noodles.
  6. Mushrooms: I love using shimeji, maitake, enoki, and wood ear mushrooms. Feel free to use mushrooms you enjoy!
  7. Fish Balls: I love to try different types of fish balls that I find at the Asian grocery stores. I try to always get the ones shaped like a Hershey's Kiss, or teardrop shape. They typically have fish roe inside.