Budae-jjigae

Budae-jjigae (부대찌개; lit. 'army base stew') or spicy sausage stew is a type of Korean jjigae (stew), made with ham, sausage, Spam, baked beans, kimchi, instant noodles, and gochujang.[1] The dish was created shortly after the Korean War using surplus processed and canned foods from United States Forces Korea bases in South Korea.[2] Although the dish was born in the period of post-war impoverishment, it continued to be popular during the period of rapid growth, and is still popular today. There are many restaurants specializing in budae-jjigae, with the most famous ones on the budae-jjigae street in Uijeongbu, where the dish was allegedly first made. The dish is now a popular anju (accompaniment to alcoholic drinks) and a comfort food cooked in a large pot for multiple people.[2][3]

Budae-jjigae
Alternative namesSausage stew, Army stew
TypeJjigae
Place of originKorea
Region or stateUijeongbu
Associated cuisineKorean
Main ingredientsHam, hot dogs, Spam, baked beans, kimchi, instant noodles, gochujang, American cheese
Korean name
Hangul
부대찌개
Hanja
部隊찌개
Revised Romanizationbudae-jjigae
McCune–Reischauerpudae-tchigae
IPA[pu.dɛ.t͈ɕi.ɡɛ]
Budae-jjigae after ingredients are mixed together

Etymology

Budae (Korean: 부대; Hanja: 部隊) is a military unit, often a troop. As a troop's camp is also called budae, the word gun budae (Korean: 군부대; "military camp") is often used to refer to military camps in general, with migun budae (Korean: 미군부대; "U.S. military camp") referring to U.S. military bases. Jjigae (Korean: 찌개), often translated as "stew", means a soup thicker than guk (soup).

History
Uijeongbu Budae-jjigae Street

After the Korean War, food was scarce in South Korea. People dwelling around U.S. military bases in the Uijeongbu, Pyeongtaek, and Munsan regions made use of leftover or excess food from those bases. These were generally either scraps stolen from the bases or excess leftovers sold by American soldiers through a black market (as Koreans could not legally access American products).[2][4] These foods were usually processed meat products, collectively known as budae-gogi (부대고기; "army base meat"), often including ham, hot dogs, Spam, and canned baked beans.[5][6]

It is said that budae-jjigae began as a buttery stir-fried meal made of canned pineapples, cabbages, onions, American cheese, and mystery meat, called ggulgguri-juk (꿀꿀이죽; "piggy porridge");[7] many of these ingredients are still added to budae-jjigae today.[8] Over time, anchovy broth (flavored with gochujang and kimchi) began to be used as the base, resulting in the modern budae-jjigae.[5]

Budae-jjigae is still popular in South Korea. Common ingredients now include baked beans, Vienna sausage, bacon, tofu, pork, ground beef, mandu, instant noodles, macaroni, tteok (rice cake), American cheese, mozzarella, minari, scallions, chili peppers, garlic, mushrooms, and other in-season vegetables.[7] The city of Uijeongbu, which is bordered by Seoul to the south and has many army bases, is particularly famous for its budae-jjigae. In the late 20th century, the city of Uijeongbu stipulated that the dish be referred to as Uijeongbu-jjigae to remove the military or wartime connotation in the name, though not many restaurants follow this guideline. Some restaurants have begun calling their product Uijeongbu-budae-jjigae. There is also what locals refer to as "Uijeongbu Budae-jjigae Street", home to a high concentration of budae-jjigae restaurants.[9][10]

U.S. President connection

A form of budae-jjigae developed in Yongsan-gu, Seoul is called Johnsontang (존슨탕; "Johnson soup").[11] It is named after U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson, who is said to have enjoyed the dish during his 1966 visit to South Korea.[4][8][12] It was also purportedly served to Jimmy Carter during his visit in 1979, resulting in its less-common alternate name Cartertang.[13] The restaurant Johnson allegedly ate the dish at, Bada Sikdang, still serves Johnsontang as its signature dish.[13][14]

See also

References
  1. National Institute of Korean Language (2 May 2014). "주요 한식명(200개) 로마자 표기 및 번역(영, 중, 일) 표준안" (PDF) (in Korean). Retrieved 17 January 2021.
  2. Cho, Grace M. (22 August 2014). "Eating military base stew". Contexts. Retrieved 29 May 2017.
  3. West, Da-Hae (19 June 2016). "Gettin' jjigae with spam: a US/South Korean fusion". The Guardian. Retrieved 29 May 2017.
  4. "Budae Jjigae". Asian Inspirations. Retrieved 1 February 2023.
  5. "budae-jjigae" 부대찌개. Korean Food Foundation. Retrieved 29 May 2017.
  6. Bamman, Mattie John (3 March 2017). "The Korean Comfort Food at the Intersection of War and Peace". Eater. Vox. Retrieved 29 May 2017.
  7. Lee, Hyo-won (24 June 2010). "Life post-June 25, 1950". The Korea Times. Retrieved 1 April 2013.
  8. Yoon, Hahna (10 June 2020). "How a South Korean comfort food went global". BBC Travel. Retrieved 1 February 2023.
  9. "Uijeongbu restaurant owners take pride in army base stew". The Korea Times. 26 June 2012. Retrieved 1 April 2013.
  10. Kim, Violet (6 April 2012). "Food map: Eat your way around Korea". CNN. Retrieved 12 April 2012.
  11. "존슨탕을 아시나요? 미군부대 앞서 시작된 부대찌개 사촌". TV리포트. Retrieved 2019-04-03.
  12. Lee, Yong-sung; Kim, Hyun-chul (30 December 2004). "From Trash to Delicious Treasure". The Korea Times. Archived from the original on 13 January 2006. Retrieved 1 April 2012.
  13. Salmon, Andrew (30 December 2004). "Spam, franks and other presidential ingredients". Korea JoongAng Daily. Retrieved 1 February 2023.
  14. Swanson, Sonja. "Bada Shikdang". Time Out Seoul. Retrieved 1 February 2023.
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