Siwon’s Korean Army Stew

This is one of my favorite Korean dishes. Google states that its name comes from the dish’s contents being the product of leftover food from American soldiers. In korean it is called “buddae-jjigae”. This recipe serves 4.

Ingredients (Main)

• 4 cups (1 litre) chicken stock
• 200g (7 ounces) SPAM, thinly sliced
• 4 cocktail Frankfurt sausage (150g, 5.3 ounces), thinly & diagonally sliced
• 250g (9 ounces) tofu, sliced (about 1.5cm, 1/2 inch thickness)
• 200g (7 ounces) enoki mushrooms, base stem removed & stems separated
• 200g (7 ounces) king oyster mushrooms, thinly sliced length ways
• 100g (3.5 ounces) shiitake mushroom caps, thinly sliced
• 1/2 cup aged kimchi, cut into bite sized pieces
• 110g (3.9 ounces) instant ramen noodles
• 50g (1.8 ounces) Korean rice cakes for soup, soaked in cold water for 15 mins if it was frozen
• 30g (1 ounces) green onion, thinly & diagonally sliced
• 1 or 2 slices of cheese

Ingredients (Sauce)

• 2 Tbsp Korean chili flakes (Gochugaru)
• 2 Tbsp rice wine (mirin)
• 1 Tbsp soy sauce
• 1 Tbsp minced garlic
• 1/2 Tbsp sugar
• 1/2 Tbsp Korean chili paste (Gochujang)
• A few sprinkles of ground black pepper

Instructions

1. Assemble the main ingredients (except for instant ramen noodles, rice cakes, green onion and cheese) in a shallow pot.
2. Add the sauce in the middle. Pour the stock in the corner of the pot. Close the lid and boil it on medium high heat until the stock starts to boil (about 8 mins).
3. Add the remaining ingredients – instant ramen noodles, rice cakes, green onion and cheese on top of the pot and boil uncovered until the noodles are cooked (about 2 to 3 mins). Reduce the heat to low (if you’re cooking on a portable burner and sharing the food at the dinning table).
4. Start dishing out soup, protein and vegetables onto your own soup bowl. Serve with steamed rice (& with other Korean side dishes).

Enjoy!

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