Recipes - Koreatown Collection: Army Base Stew & Seoul Mule

Kimchi Bouillons - Army Base Stew (Budae Jjigae)

Ingredients (Serves 4)

For the stock:

• 2 dried shiitake mushrooms
• 8 large dried anchovies, heads and guts removed, in a soup strainer or tightly wrapped in a cheesecloth
• Dried kelp (a 5 x 6 inch sheet)
• 8 cups water
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt

For the seasoning paste:

• 6 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 tablespoon Korean hot pepper paste
• 2 tablespoons Korean hot pepper flakes
• 1 teaspoon soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 2 tablespoons water

For stew:

• ½ pound pork belly (or pork shoulder), cut into bite size pieces
• 2 cups worth cabbage, cut into bite size pieces
• ½ of a medium onion, sliced
• 2 green onions, cut into 1 inch pieces
• ½ cup fermented kimchi, chopped
• 4 ounces of Polish sausage, sliced
• 4 ounces of spam, sliced thinly
• ½ of packaged instant ramen noodles
• 1 cup worth radish sprouts (or spinach, watercress, arugula)
• ½ cup worth tofu, sliced (Optional)
• 12-16 sliced rice cakes (Optional)
• 1 slice of American cheese (Optional)

Directions

Prepare stock:

1. Combine the water, anchovies, mushrooms, and kelp in a large pot. Cover and cook for 30 minutes over medium high heat. Add the pork and cook for another 10 minutes.
2. Remove the pot from the heat. Take out the anchovies, kelp and mushrooms. Slice the mushrooms into bite size pieces.
3. Strain the mixture of the stock and the pork into a large bowl. Put the pork into a small bowl. You will get about 6 cups of stock. Stir in the salt until dissolved.

Make seasoning paste:

1. Combine the seasoning paste ingredients – garlic, hot pepper paste, hot pepper flakes, soy sauce, sugar, and water in a bowl. Mix well.

Arrange the ingredients in a shallow pot (10 to 12 inch):

1. Put the cabbage, onion, green onion, pork, and the mushrooms, on the bottom of the pot.
2. Add the kimchi, and the seasoning paste over top.
3. Add the spam, sausage, rice cake, tofu, and cheese.
4. Add the ramen noodles. 
5. Put radish sprouts on top and add 3 cups of stock.
   
   

Cook and serve:

1. This dish is served family style with friends and family gathering around the pot, talking and laughing, and maybe drinking. Cook over medium high heat on a portable burner. Once the broth starts to simmer, you can add the Kimchi Bouillion bomb into the pot. You can start eating the veggies and meat as you wait for the broth to boil and the noodles to soften. If you don’t have a tabletop burner, you can cook it on the stove away from the table.
   
   
2. Serve right after the noodles and ramen have softened. Transfer some cooked stew to individual bowls and serve. Add more stock as the broth boils down.

Seoul Mule 

• 3 oz. of your preferred Soju
• 1 Seoul Mule cube
• top off with sparkling water
• stir and enjoy