Hi tOdd:
Greetings from Seoul! Hey,
here's an ethnic dish for you -- all the way from Korea. This one is
called Bu-dae-ji-gae. While popular hereabouts in the Republic, it is
relatively unknown in the U.S. --except among the Korean-American
community. Ironically, this Korean owes its origins to Americans, as its
genesis began during the Korean War, when locals first had contact
with U.S. troops -- or more specifically, their trash from the mess
halls.
So to make a long story
short, back in 1950-53, when everybody in Korea was either starving
or trying to avoid getting shot at, the locals noticed that
those well-fed and somewhat wasteful young G.I.'s down the road were
throwin' away some perfectly good trash (it seemed at the
time) out the back of their mess tents.
So, us resourceful Koreans,
in the first recorded act of 'dumpster diving' on the Penisnsula, started
'recycling' some of that good U.S. Army grub e.g, G.I. spam, eggs,
noodles, etc., brought it home, and made a stew out of it, which turned
out to be pretty nutritious and whatall when combined with local
spices, vegetables and kimchi (the staple food around here
(breakfast lunch and dinner!).
Anyways, 50 years later, the
recipe still survives, -- a'la unforgettable name to boot. ("Boodaejigae"
translates to "military stew" in English.) Since the war's
ending in 1953, the soup has gone on to be a
mainstay of Korean cuisine, having been served up countless numbers of
times in innumerable forms to successive -- yet somewhat more
affluent generations.
Even today, it is still
served today throughout Korea in the better restaurants --sans
garbage. It's so easy to make and tasty to boot, it has become a
perennial favorite in the "Land of the Morning Calm", not
only because it's a great pick-me-up after waking up with a
hangover, but for an older generation of Koreans, it causes them to
wax nostalgic.
For example, every time my
60something parents eat "boodaejigae", usually the next
sentence out of their mouths between the slurping is: "Back when I
was 13-years-old fleeing Seoul on foot on the way to the Pusan
Perimeter with the North Koreans on our heels...."
So here it goes -- "Boodaejigae"
or Military Stew.
(Recommendation: This
dish is at its best when served while watching M.A.S.H. reruns.)
Korean-War Style Boodaejigae
(Serves 2)
2 packs of Shin Ramyon
(or any spicy style instant ramen noodles)
1 can of SPAM®
(sliced)
1
egg
2-3
oz. of Kimchi (can be purchased in the produce section of any major
supermarket)
Any
of the following vegetables:
green
onions (1 or 2 stalks, chopped in thirds);
onions
(peeled and separated -- to taste);
boiled
potatoes (sliced);
peppers
(hot) preferrably sliced.
Now
bring everything to a nice par boil, allowing all the juices to
intermingle with each other, and serve hot. (You can also add rice or
chicken stock to taste.)
Happy
eating!
From,
Hyun
Kim
Seoul,
Korea
10
July 2003