Food is the core element of a country that provides insight into its culture, environment, and history. Budae jjigae or army stew, which is loved by many as a side dish, dine-out menu, and a spicy bar food enjoyed with drinks, is also a dish that reflects this aspect of food. Ironically, budae jjigae is a Korean food that embodies both the painful memory of the Korean War and recovery from the battles. Because this dish isn’t in North Korea, it’s considered South Korean food.
Budae jjigae originates back to the period of the Korean War in the 1950s when there was a shortage of food supply. At the time, the US Army was stationed in various areas, including the cities of Dongducheon, Yangju, Uijeongbu, and Pyeongtaek in Gyeonggi-do Province, as well as Gunsan in Jeollabuk-do Province. The starving Korean people would secretly steal leftover food waste or food supplies from the American soldiers and use them to make food. Because they weren’t in a situation to be picky about ingredients, it is said that they took any food they could find from the US military troops and made porridges by boiling everything together. Sometimes they would even find chewed gum or cigarette butts thrown away by the American soldiers inside the porridge. These porridges used to be called ‘ggoolggoori-juk’ or ‘oink porridge’ because they resembled food waste that pigs ate. As time passed and the economy began to recover during the 1970s, however, restaurants around the US Army troops started to sell gochujang jjigae or red chili paste stew made using canned ham from the US military instead of leftover food waste. The gochujang jjigae during this period has the most similarity with today’s budae jjigae. At the time, processed meat like ham, bacon, and sausages wasn’t widely available. The US Army troops were the only place you could get processed meat from, which is why it was called ‘budae meat’ or ‘army meat’! That’s how ‘budae jjigae’ earned its name. After surviving poverty and starvation, Koreans began to add various ingredients like kimchi, baked beans, plain ramen noodles, rice cake, and cheese to this stew and developed it into an exceptional dish. A mixed soup, containing random ingredients, that was cooked to survive starvation when there was a shortage of food right after the Korean War has evolved into a widely popularized savory fusion dish with canned ham and spicy soup. Many different styles of budae jjigae developed in various parts of Korea as well. For example, Uijeongbu-style budae jjigae is made with a clear kimchi-based broth for a clean taste, Songtan-style budae jjigae has a lot of cheese and ham to create a thick and rich soup, and Paju-style budae jjigae boasts ultimate savoriness.
Today, where people are enjoying a much more prosperous lifestyle incomparable to the Korean War period, budae jjigae’s distinct rich flavor and spiciness is still receiving a lot of love. Not only that but it’s also become one of the biggest leaders in K-food to popularize Korean food all over the world! Lonely Planet, a globally-recognized travel magazine, nominated budae jjigae as the best Korean dish, and even Anthony Bourdain, a famous American chef, mentioned budae jjigae as the best soup for curing hangovers. Because Spam is one of the main ingredients that contribute to budae jjigae’s flavor, the company that makes Spam provides the recipe for budae jjigae on its official Youtube channel as well.
This year marks the 71st anniversary of the Korean War. With this Korean soup recipe that embodies history, why don’t you make some budae jjigae for dinner tonight and spend a moment to learn about the tragedies of the Korean War and appreciate today's life without such wars?
