Budae doenjang jjigae is a hearty, savory stew that blends the deep, fermented flavor of Korean soybean paste (doenjang) with the smoky, salty punch of Western-style processed meats like Spam, sausage, and bacon. It’s a spin-off of the more famous budae jjigae (“army base stew”), which originated near U.S. military bases in Korea after the war, when ingredients like canned meat were scarce and precious. Here, doenjang replaces the usual gochujang-based broth, giving the stew a rounder, earthier taste.
This is the kind of dish Koreans reach for on a chilly evening or after a long day — something warm, filling, and quick to throw together with whatever’s in the fridge. It’s often eaten straight from a bubbling pot set in the middle of the table, shared with rice and a few side dishes.
What makes this version worth making is the contrast: the umami-rich doenjang and kimchi ground everything with a distinctly Korean backbone, while the Spam, sausage, and bacon add a rich, almost indulgent depth that makes it feel like comfort food from two different worlds at once.
Ingredients
- Dried kelp (dasima) 1g
- Tofu 10g
- Rice cake slices (tteokguk tteok) 10g (about 4-5 slices)
- Spam (mild) 10g
- Minced garlic 5g (about 1 tsp)
- Korean radish (mu) 20g
- Kimchi 15g
- Sausage 10g (1/2 piece)
- Ground beef mince (uminji) 5g (about 1 tsp)
- Onion 5g
- Low-sodium doenjang (soybean paste) 15g (about 1 tbsp)
- Bacon 5g
- Green onion (daepa) 5g
- Cheongyang chili pepper 5g
- Red chili pepper 1g
Instructions
- Cut the kimchi, bacon, Spam, sausage, onion, tofu, and radish into 0.5cm (about 1/5 inch) thick slices.
- Boil the dried kelp (dasima) with water to make a kelp stock (dasima broth).
- In a pot, add the sausage, bacon, tofu, Spam, radish, ground beef mince, kimchi, and 300g (about 1 1/4 cups) of the kelp stock, and bring to a boil. Then add the low-sodium doenjang, onion, green onion, minced garlic, and rice cake slices. Once all the ingredients are fully cooked, add the red chili pepper and cheongyang chili pepper to finish.
Tips & Variations
Ingredient notes:
- Dasima (dried kelp) and doenjang can be found at any Korean or Asian grocery store, or ordered online. Low-sodium doenjang is preferred here since the stew already gets saltiness from Spam, bacon, and sausage.
- If you can’t find “떡국 떡” (sliced rice cakes for tteokguk), any thin oval rice cake slices sold as “tteok for soup” will work fine.
- Cheongyang chili peppers are Korean green chilies with a notable kick; substitute with a serrano or Thai chili if unavailable. Adjust quantity to taste.
- “우민찌” (uminji) refers to minced or ground beef — plain ground beef works as a substitute.
Common mistakes:
- Don’t skip slicing everything to a similar thickness (about 0.5cm) — this helps all the ingredients cook evenly in the short simmering time.
- Add the doenjang after the broth is already boiling and dissolve it well; adding it too early or leaving clumps can make the stew taste uneven.
- Since Spam, bacon, and sausage are already salty, taste before adding extra salt or soy sauce.
Nutrition
- Calories: 72.6 kcal
- Carbohydrates: 4.2 g
- Protein: 5.3 g
- Fat: 3.9 g
- Sodium: 191.9 mg