Vegan Budae Jjigae 부대찌개 (Korean Army Base Stew)

This is a vegan Budae Jjigae 부대찌개 or Korean Army Base Stew made using vegan luncheon meat, mushrooms, tofu, and some vegan cocktail sausages.

This is my take on Budage Jjigae or spicy sausage stew usually composed of different American processed food such as sausages, ham, spam/luncheon meat, kimchi, and sometimes even beans. 

Budae Jjigae is also very easy to prepare as it requires only 1 pot and the rest of the ingredients just required some chopping. You can then assemble everything into the pot you're using, add the soup base mix, broth/water, and leave it to cook!

Its really simple to make and you have yourself a very hearty and tasty 1-pot Korean meal.

WHAT IS BUDAE JJIGAE 부대찌개?

Budae (부대) means a military unit or troop in Korean while JJigae (찌개) is a term meaning “stew”. You’ve probably already heard of or tried other stews such as sundubu jjigae or soft tofu stew (순두부찌개) and kimchi jjigae or kimchi stew (김치찌개). I have a Sundubu Jjigae recipe here.

The origin of Budae Jjigae started after the Korean war in the early 1950s when there was a surplus of American processed food in army bases.

Budae Jjigae is enjoyed hot pot-style and served bubbling hot over a gas range. It’s best enjoyed with other people. My pot isn’t compatible with my induction cooker so I couldn’t serve it that way to enjoy with my family so I cooked everything first in my gas range before I added the noodles last.

This recipe actually serves a good 2-3 people, but if you want to really enjoy all the ingredients that I recommend you double the recipe and use a bigger pot.

HOW TO ENJOY BUDAE JJIGAE

Okay so buddae jjigae is something you can put together and cook at the dinner table. If you have a stove top gas range or an electric/induction cooker and a pot to go with it, then that's great!

It's like enjoying hot pot right at the dinner table. It's also perfect for sharing.

FIRST OPTION: SERVE ON YOUR DINING TABLE OVER A PORTABLE GAS STOVE OR ELECTRIC/INDUCTION COOKER

This is how its traditionally enjoyed and best for sharing. When you visit Korea or go to Korean restaurants, they'll bring out a large pot filled with the uncooked meats, rice cakes, mushrooms, tofu, noodles, and then turn on the heat so it cooks right before your eyes.

I've made these in several occasions and the best way to enjoy this is to prepare all the ingredients, basically just put them all in the pot, pour in the broth/water, and allow it to boil--then scoop up the toppings and noodles you'd like and then enjoy! Then you can just cook more noodles along the way so they stay nice and chewy.

SECOND OPTION: COOK EVERYTHING OVER YOUR STOVE AND ENJOY

This is best for smaller servings. I actually enjoyed this meal straight from the pot! I made sure to add the noodles last so they don't overcook.

NOW LET'S TALK ABOUT THE BUDAE JJIGAE INGREDIENTS

THE SOUP BASE

• Mix together the soup base mix. Set aside.
• The gochujang and gochugaru here is what gives this stew that nice kick of spice!

PROCESSED 'MEATS' AND OTHER ADD-INS

• Extra firm tofu
• Mushrooms
• Green onions or scallions

• Vegan luncheon meat

• For the luncheon meat, I pan-fried mine over a non-stick pan until lightly brownd since the ones I used from Omnipork are very soft if there's not cooked. So pan-frying them will make sure they're firm when placed in the stew.

VEGAN SAUSAGES

I used these vegan cocktail sausages I purchased from The Vegan Grocer (local vegan grocery here in the Philippines) and it's from a taiwanese brand. It's very subtle in flavour but has a good texture. You can use other vegan sausages of your choice!

INSTANT RAMEN NOODLES

I love adding noodles to my budae jjigae because adding some really makes it a complete, hearty meal.

These ramen noodles I used are instant non-fried noodles from the brand Koka that don't have any sauce packets--just noodles!

You can also find a similar wheat ramen noodle alternative here. (affiliate link)

PREPARING AND COOKING YOUR STEW

• Heat a medium-sized pot over medium heat, mine was around 20-cm or 8-inches in diameter.

• I like to quickly sauté the kimchi first. I used my homemade vegan kimchi (recipe here) before I add in the rest of the ingredients.
• Afterwards, add in the sauce base mix.

• Assemble the mushrooms, tofu, luncheon meat, sliced sausage around the pot.
• Pour in the vegetable broth and top with the green onions. Cover the pot and leave the jjigae to come to a boil. Once it boils, allow the mushrooms to cook down. Taste the soup and feel free to season with salt, to taste, if needed.

• If using noodles, add in the noodles or until ready to enjoy and then cook until chewy.
• Budae jjigae is meant to be served hot-pot style so if you have a portable gas range, you can prepare everything then serve this at the dining table and cook it while you're enjoying!

SERVE AND ENJOY WHILE IT COOKS

Budae Jjigae is meant to be enjoyed bubbling hot so enjoy it immediately!

Budae jjigae is actually meant to be served hot-pot style so if you have a portable gas range, you can prepare everything then serve this at the dining table and cook it while you're enjoying!

Get a generous amount of the noodles, tofu, mushroom, processed meats. You can enjoy this with a side of more vegan kimchi.

You'll find the full recipe below.

OTHER KOREAN VEGAN RECIPES YOU MIGHT ENJOY:

• "Beef" Bulgogi Bowls
• Spicy “Pork” Stir-Fry
• Vegan Kimchi
• Korean Beansprout Salad
• Bibim Guksu (Korean Mixed Noodles)
• Sundubu Jjigae (Korean Soft Tofu Stew)
• Kimchi Noodle Soup with Dumplings
• Kimchi Noodle Stir-Fry
• Jjajangmyeon
• Kimchi Pancakes or Kimchi Jeon
• Pajeon (Korean Scallion Pancakes)

If you try out this recipe, I’d appreciate if you leave a rating or simply click on the stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ on my recipe card!

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