Spam is still used in budae jjigae.
Budae jjigae, which literally means Army Base Stew, is a thick Korean soup made with meats once found on US Army bases in Korea. This soup was invented during the Korean War when meat was scarce in Korea. The meats used in this soup were distributed by US Army bases and include spam, hot dogs, and other common canned meats. There are many different recipes for this type of soup, and since this dish was essentially cobbled together based on available ingredients, they can all be considered equally valid.
Budae jjigae usually features instant noodles.
During the Korean War, food shortages were a big problem. This dish was invented to combat this problem and combines American and Korean flavors. After the war, this type of soup remained popular, and meats such as spam, hot dogs, and meatballs continue to be used, although there is no longer a shortage of meat.
A common way of making jjigae budae incorporates instant noodles, corned beef, and a wide variety of vegetables. All the ingredients are usually cooked together in a large pot, rather than preparing the ramen according to package directions. It’s important to make sure all ingredients are cooked through when making this soup, but this isn’t usually a problem because canned meats can usually be eaten cold. Most recipes take less than an hour to prepare, although some may require more preparation or more ingredients than others.
Budae Jjigae was first cooked with meats that could be found on US military bases in South Korea.
Some variations of budae jjigae include other ingredients that should have been available on military bases at the time. For example, budae jjigae may include baked beans or cheese as a topping. This flavor combination is less popular outside of Korea, but can still be found in some restaurants. Restaurants that serve this dish are not limited to the ingredients available at the time budae jjigae was invented, but the type of meat used is generally considered a defining characteristic and is therefore upheld.
The stigma of war associated with this dish is usually an injury, which is why some people choose to refer to this dish as Uijeongbu jjigae. This identifies the region of Korea most famously associated with this type of soup, rather than military bases. The use of this name is not popular, although it has been adopted by some restaurants, sometimes in the form of Uijeongbu budae jjigae. If you don’t successfully rename this dish, it’s unlikely to lose its association with the Korean War, since the term “army base” is included in the name.