Budae Jjigae

Budae jjigae — army stew — is Korea's gloriously indulgent one-pot wonder: spam, sausages, kimchi, baked beans and instant ramen bubbling together in a fiery gochujang broth, finished with melting cheese. It is chaotic, comforting and completely irresistible.

Prep time

15 mins

Cook time

20 mins

Total time

35 mins

Servings

4 servings

Calories

690

Ingredients

• 1 litre chicken stock
• 2 tbsp gochujang, 1 tbsp gochugaru, 1 tbsp soy sauce, 1 tsp sugar and 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 200g spam, sliced
• 4 cocktail sausages or hot dogs, sliced
• 200g kimchi, roughly chopped
• 100g baked beans
• 150g firm tofu, sliced
• 100g enoki mushrooms
• 1 pack instant ramen noodles
• 100g shredded mozzarella
• 2 spring onions, sliced
• Cooked rice, to serve

Instructions

1. Whisk the stock with the gochujang, gochugaru, soy sauce, sugar and garlic in a large shallow pot.
2. Arrange the spam, sausages, kimchi, baked beans, tofu and mushrooms in neat sections over the broth.
3. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat and cook for 8 minutes.
4. Nestle the ramen noodles into the center and cook 3-4 minutes until just tender.
5. Sprinkle the mozzarella over the top, cover and cook 2 minutes until melted.
6. Scatter over the spring onions and serve bubbling hot, straight from the pot, with rice.

Pro tips

• Assemble everything before turning on the heat — it cooks fast.
• Add the ramen near the end so it does not go mushy.
• The cheese is not optional — it balances the spice beautifully.
• Adjust the gochugaru to control the heat level.

Frequently asked questions