This spicy Korean stew is one of my favorite comfort foods and it’s so simple to make! It’s also a great way to make your instant ramen even more enjoyable. This version is super simple and great for a single serving.

What is Budae Jjigae?

The translation for budae jjigae means army stew. This dish typically includes many forms of American processed meats and uses Korean spices and seasonings to create this fusion recipe. Budae Jjigae is known to have originated during the Korean War due to the food scarcity and poverty. The US military bases within in Korea had supplies of such foods like SPAM, sausages, ham, and beans. As these American ingredients began to circulate, natives began incorporating them into a Korean-style stew.

Ingredients for Budae Jjigae

• Tofu, mushrooms, green onion: These are ingredients that are optional and/or customizable. Feel free to choose any type of tofu and mushroom you prefer or omit them if you’d like. In this recipe I used firm tofu and seafood mushrooms.
• SPAM, ham, or any processed meats: SPAM is the one of the most common ingredients in budae jjigae. I like to use the reduced sodium version to make it less salty. If you don’t have any, other forms of processed meats also work well.
• Korean vienna sausages: These are affordable and easily found at your local Korean grocery store. I like to slice half of each sausages into fourths and as they cook, they open up and form octopus sausages! If you can’t find them, your choice of sausage (mini hotdogs, regular Vienna sausages, cocktail wieners, etc.) will likely do the trick just as well.
• American sliced cheese: The individually wrapped slices of cheese that everyone claims is not real cheese. The creaminess tastes so delicious with the spiciness of the stew.
• Garlic and onion: For additional flavor into the stew.
• Kimchi, gochugaru, gochujang: These ingredients create the base for the stew. Gochugaru is Korean red pepper flakes and gochujang is Korean red pepper paste.

How to Make It

Slice your tofu and SPAM, cut your kimchi into small pieces, clean and trim your mushrooms, and make your octopus sausages. To make these cut halfway up each sausage twice vertically to form 4 ‘legs.’

Since this recipe makes one serving, you can use a small pot and eat right out of it. Add you SPAM, tofu, mushrooms, kimchi, sausages, onions, and garlic to the pot without turning on the heat. Next, add your gochujang and gochugaru. I like to add these into the center of the pot. Arranging the ingredients nicely make it look extra delicious when it’s ready to eat!

Add enough water to cover all the ingredients and allow the stew to come to a boil. Once it’s boiling, let it cook for an additional minute or two. Next, add your instant noodles and cook until they begin to soften and come apart.

Finally, add a slice of American cheese and your green onions! Once the cheese is melted it’s ready to serve.