Budae Jjigae (Army Stew)

Last week I was introduced to a dish called Army Stew or Army Base Stew. I had hear mention of this dish before but it didn't seem like something I wanted to eat. But then I went out with some friends and we ordered this along with a couple other dishes and it was amazing. It tasted so good! So I decided to try my hand at making it. Apparently this dish was created during the war. There were American soldiers mixed with Korean soldiers and they created this by mixing together whatever they had on hand. You can see both the American and Korean influences in this dish.
This weeks playlist is all about the girl power. The first song on my list is OOH-AHH Like OOH-AHH by TWICE. This song is so bubbly and upbeat. I can help but dance and sing along with it whenever I hear it. The video is pretty interesting. I didn't expect the zombie theme would go well with the song. I love the dance moves and costumes. It's definitely the kind of video I would make if I were a Kpop musician. The next song on the list is My Type by Jessi, Cheetah and KangNam from Unpretty Rapstar. This song is pretty badass. I love seeing powerful, beautiful, talented female rappers. This song is so much fun and I love rapping along with it in my car. Check out their performance here.
Now time for some Budae Jjigae. I got this recipe from My Korean Kitchen. You can find the recipe here.

Ingredients:

4 cocktail franfurt sausages (I used hot dogs)
200g Spam
200g Enoki Mushrooms
200g King Oyster Mushrooms
100g Shiitake mushrooms
1/2 cup Bite sized Ripe Kimchi
250g Tofu
50g Korean Sliced Rice Cakes
30g Green Onion
110g Ramen Noodles
2 slices American Cheese
4 cups Chicken Stock

Sauce
1 tbsp minced Garlic
2 tbsp Korean Chili flakes
2 tbsp Rice Wine
1 tbsp Soy Sauce
1/2 tbsp Korean Chili paste
1/2 tbsp sugar

a little bit of black pepper

Step 1.
Cut up the sausages, spam, tofu, mushrooms and kimchi into bit size pieces and add them to the pot.

Step 2.
Combine all the sauce ingredients in a small bowl and mix well.

Step 3.
Add the sauce to the middle of the pot and then add the chicken stock around the sides of the pot.

Step 4.
Cover and cook on media, high heat until the mixture comes to a bowl.

Step 5.
Add the sliced rice cakes, ramen, green onion and let it cook uncovered until the noodles are cooked.

Step 6.
Add the black pepper and slices of American cheese then it is ready to serve.

This was pretty easy to make and it will feed a lot of people. You can swap out ingredients for others. Some people like to add addition vegetables or use anchovy stock instead of chicken stock. I think everyone has their own version of this recipe. Play around and make it your own. I hope you have a wonderful week! Until next time :)

XOXO,
Rachel