Budae Jjigae

Budae Jjigae aka army stew was created shortly after the Korean War ended when food was scarce and many Koreans were starving.

Processed foods such as spam, hot dogs, baked beans, cheese, ham, etc were scrounged or smuggled from U.S military bases and the locals threw the American ingredients into a large pot together with an assortment of Korean vegetables, spicy seasonings and other leftovers to create a stew of sorts.

Thus, through ingenuity and resourcefulness, Budae Jjigae was born!

 My first time making the stew.

All you need is kimchi and some American processed meats and viola —  it's Budae Jjigae!

There really is no right or wrong way to make army stew because you can create hundreds of combinations with whatever ingredients you have on hand.

Steaming hot and bubbling and wonderfully hearty

Totally unhealthy but absolutely worth it!  And especially perfect on a cold, rainy night.

A video to share