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Korean army stew showing a red gochujang broth with curly ramen, sliced sausages, luncheon meat, tofu, kimchi, enoki mushrooms, scallions, and melted cheese, on marble surface

Korean Army Stew / Budae Jjigae

Korean army stew, or budae jjigae, is a spicy red gochujang broth simmered with mature napa cabbage kimchi, luncheon meat, sliced sausages, firm tofu, enoki and king oyster mushrooms, onion, scallions, and springy instant ramen, finished under melted cheese, the key being ingredients that stay grouped and visibly distinct in the pot. Simmering those arranged ingredients in a lightly seasoned broth, rather than stirring everything together or salting heavily at the start, is the technique this whole stew depends on for balance — luncheon meat, sausages, and kimchi all release salt as they cook, so an over-seasoned base turns harsh by the time the noodles go in, the same season-lightly-and-adjust-late principle used elsewhere in this collection whenever salty, preserved ingredients share one pot. Using mature, properly sour kimchi and its juice is what gives the broth tangy depth instead of flat chilli heat. Adding the ramen only in the final minutes is what keeps the noodles springy rather than swollen and soft. The payoff is a budae jjigae with real, bubbling-hot comfort — a rich red, tangy broth, chewy noodles, salty-smoky meats, silky tofu, and a stretch of soft melted cheese in every bowl.
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Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 40 minutes
Servings: 4
Course: Main Course, Soup
Cuisine: korean
Calories: 1020
Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients
  

For the Broth Base
  • 1,400–1500 ml light anchovy-kelp stock or light unsalted chicken stock
  • 300 g mature napa cabbage kimchi cut into bite-size pieces
  • 80–120 ml kimchi juice
  • 2 tbsp gochujang
  • 1½–2 tbsp gochugaru
  • 1 tbsp soy sauce
  • 1 tsp fish sauce or soup soy sauce
  • 1 tbsp minced garlic
  • 1 tsp sugar
  • ¼ tsp black pepper
For the Main Stew Components
  • 300 g luncheon meat Spam-style, cut into medium cubes or rectangles
  • 250–300 g Korean sausages smoked sausages, or hot dogs, sliced on the bias into thick rounds
  • 400 g firm tofu cut into medium cubes
  • 4 packs instant ramen noodles about 480–520g total, seasoning packets discarded
  • 200 g enoki mushrooms base trimmed and separated into clusters
  • 180–200 g king oyster mushrooms or oyster mushrooms, sliced into thick batons or bite-size pieces
  • 1 medium onion cut into thick slices or chunks
  • 5–6 scallions cut into 4–5cm lengths, plus a little extra thinly sliced for garnish
  • 4 slices processed cheese or American-style cheese
Optional Balance Adjustments
  • Extra stock or hot water as needed
  • Extra gochugaru to taste
  • Extra kimchi juice to taste

Method
 

Mix the Broth
  1. In a large bowl or measuring jug, combine the 1,400–1,500ml of stock with the 80–120ml of kimchi juice, 2 tbsp gochujang, 1½–2 tbsp gochugaru, 1 tbsp soy sauce, 1 tsp fish sauce, 1 tbsp minced garlic, 1 tsp sugar, and ¼ tsp black pepper. Whisk for about 1 minute until the gochujang is mostly dissolved and the liquid is an even brick red. Keep the seasoning slightly lighter than seems necessary at this point, because the kimchi, luncheon meat, sausages, and ramen will all add salt as the stew cooks. That restraint is what leaves room to adjust at the end instead of rescuing an over-salted pot.
Prep the Ingredients
  1. Cut every stew component before any heat is applied: cube the luncheon meat, slice the sausages on the bias into thick rounds, cube the tofu, trim and separate the enoki, slice the king oyster mushrooms, cut the onion into thick chunks, and slice the scallions into 4–5cm lengths. If the luncheon meat tastes very salty, blanch it in boiling water for 30 seconds, drain, and pat dry before adding it to the pot. Keep the 4 ramen blocks and the 4 cheese slices to one side, still wrapped or covered. That upfront preparation is what lets the final stages move quickly once the noodles go in.
Arrange the Pot
  1. Choose a wide pot, shallow casserole, or deep sauté pan and arrange the 300g of kimchi, luncheon meat, sausages, tofu, mushrooms, onion, and scallion lengths in separate sections around the edge. Place the ramen noodles near the centre or slightly off-centre, but do not add the cheese yet. Keep the groups tidy and distinct, with the enoki and pale mushrooms side by side and the tofu set where it will not be knocked about. That grouping is what keeps each component visible and lets it cook at its own pace.
Simmer the Stew
  1. Pour the broth mixture gently around the arranged ingredients, then bring it to a boil over medium-high heat, which takes about 5 minutes. Once it boils, reduce to a strong simmer and cook for 6–8 minutes, until the kimchi softens, the luncheon meat and sausages are heated through, and the mushrooms begin to tenderise. Skim off foam if it collects, but leave the red chilli oil on the surface. That short simmer before the noodles is what builds the broth without breaking the tofu or wilting the scallions.
Add the Ramen and Cheese
  1. Gently loosen the ramen blocks into the broth, pushing them under the liquid with chopsticks, and simmer for 2–3 minutes, turning the noodles once or twice so they soften evenly. Lay the 4 cheese slices over part of the noodles and cook for 1–2 minutes more, until the cheese softens and begins to melt and the noodles are springy with a little chew. The cheese should enrich the surface and the broth without disappearing completely. That late addition is what keeps the noodles bouncy and the cheese visible.
Finish and Serve
  1. Taste the broth and adjust with a little extra kimchi juice for tang, extra gochugaru for heat, or a splash of stock or hot water if it tastes too salty or has reduced too far. Ladle the stew into 4 bowls, making sure each portion gets noodles, broth, sausage, luncheon meat, tofu, kimchi, mushrooms, and scallions, and spoon some of the softened cheese over each bowl. Finish with the extra thinly sliced scallion and serve immediately, with steamed rice on the side if you like. That immediate serving is what protects the noodle texture, since the ramen keeps absorbing broth for as long as the pot sits on the heat.

Notes

Keeping the broth lighter than seems necessary at the start deserves genuine recognition as the technique most directly responsible for whether the finished stew is balanced or punishingly salty. Luncheon meat, sausages, and kimchi all release salt into the liquid over the simmer, and the ramen absorbs and concentrates it further, so a base that tastes perfect in the jug is usually too salty by the time it reaches the bowl.
Using mature, properly sour napa kimchi deserves the same attention this technique receives throughout this collection’s other kimchi-based dishes. Fresh kimchi tastes flatter and sweeter and cannot supply the fermented tang that gives the broth depth, whereas mature kimchi and its juice build a savoury, lightly acidic backbone that stands up to the rich meats and melted cheese.
Adding the ramen near the end only deserves genuine respect as the detail most directly responsible for noodles that stay springy rather than mushy. Instant noodles keep absorbing broth for as long as they sit in it, so noodles added too early swell, soften, and drain the pot of liquid long before the stew reaches the table.
Keeping the ingredients grouped while they simmer deserves attention as a genuine, checkable presentation cue rather than a loose stylistic habit. Separate sections let each component cook at its own pace and stay visibly distinct, so the tofu holds its shape and the scallions stay fresh instead of everything blurring into one overcooked, uniform mixture.