{"id":11992,"date":"2018-06-26T07:45:40","date_gmt":"2018-06-26T14:45:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/kimchimari.com\/?p=11992"},"modified":"2020-07-15T16:52:48","modified_gmt":"2020-07-15T23:52:48","slug":"budae-jjigae-korean-army-stew","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kimchimari.com\/budae-jjigae-korean-army-stew\/","title":{"rendered":"Budae Jjigae (Korean Army Stew)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Budae Jjigae (Korean Army Stew) is a wonderfully hearty kimchi stew that has become really popular since its creation after the Korean war. If you love Kimchi, this is a MUST-TRY EASY dish.<\/em><\/p>\n

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Budae Jjigae (Korean Army Stew) Boiling In Pot – Close Up<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The History of Budae Jjigae<\/h2>\n

After the Korean war, the US military stayed behind and setup bases in several locations throughout Korea. Usually near these bases, \u00a0one could buy American products -especially canned foods like, yes, the infamous SPAM!!<\/p>\n

So what to do with SPAM? \u00a0Well..what else? Add Kimchi!! Kimchi makes everything taste better!! And so this Kimchi Army Stew (aka \ubd80\ub300\ucc0c\uac8c – pronounced Boo-Dae Jjigae) was born.<\/p>\n

The word Budae means Army Base in Korean and by now you know Jjigae means stew. That’s why it is translated as Korean Army Stew or Korean Army Base Stew. This dish is still very popular today and\u00a0most Koreans say the area for the best Budae Jjigae is actually \uc758\uc815\ubd80 (Uijeongbu) -the place of origin.<\/p>\n

One memory I have about SPAM and other American goodies is that even when I was a kid (in the late 60’s early 70’s, many years after the war) this one lady (ajoomas) came \u00a0to our house and secretly sold various foods that were basically smuggled out of the army bases.<\/p>\n

I remember getting excited every time this \uc591\ud0a4 \uc544\uc90c\ub9c8 (Yankee Ajooma – haha.. get it? ) would visit, to see what yummy goodies came out of her bag! Because, at that time, things like peanut butter, grape jelly, SPAM, American Kraft Cheese singles, corn beef, baked beans and chocolates were not available anywhere else but only through her.<\/p>\n

What makes an Awesome Budae Jjigae?<\/h2>\n