Backpacking Friendly KOREAN ARMY STEW, Budae Jigae
Long days on the trail should always be rewarded with a good, hot meal. Especially those days where it has been the perfect hiking temperature —you know, those not to hot, not too sweaty, blue sky days. But as soon as the sun starts dipping, it gets a bit chilly. Nothing hits that chilly spot harder than a noodle soup, and not many noodle soups touch the inner soul as like budae jjigae, Korean army stew.
This recipe is nowhere near as good as a properly prepared one, but it’s perfect for those one or two night backpacking trips where you don’t have to scrutinize your pack weight and can splurge on the food.
Let’s get the obvious out of the way first: This isn’t a meal you take with you when thru hiking the PCT, but rather, it’s meal you plan for when you take those easy one or two night trips into the backcountry. Almost all the ingredients are shelf stable so there’s no worry about any kind of spoiling.
Yes, there are two slices of American cheese thats needed as well, but if you believe that the super processed, plastic ass cheese will spoil in 2 days, then you’ve never seen the hiker that had 27 McDonald’s McDoubles over the course of 90 miles on the PCT. Fake-ass food is still calories if you can look past that fact. Enjoy life!
And yes, you can go with other cheeses that won’t melt in your backpack on a warm day. But if you want to enjoy the almost real deal budae jjigae next to an alpine lake in the Sierras, two slices of American cheese is a requirement.
INGREDIENTS:
Serves 2, or one really hungry thru-hiker
1 bag of ramen noodles
1 small can of kim chi
1/2 tin of spam or 4 hot dogs
1/2 Tbsp korean chili powder
1 tsp soy sauce (3 if not using ramen seasoning packets)
3 garlic coves (more if you love garlic and want to ward away vampires)
1 slice of American cheese, or 1 Tbsp of powdered cheddar
4-6 dried mushrooms
3 cups of water
(optional) 2 tbsp of sesame oil, or olive oil, for added calories
DIRECTIONS:
Remove spam from the can, cut in half and slice into about 1/8th” slices. Save the other half spam for breakfast, or another meal. Finely dice the garlic cloves.
Place spam, dried mushrooms, garlic, can of kim chi (add juices if you want extra acidity), 1 tbsp of soy sauce, 1/2 Tbsp of Korean chili powder in with 3 cups of water and bring to a boil. Continue to simmer for 5 minutes.
Remove ramen noodles from the packet and add all the included seasoning into the broth mixture. Stir, then add in the noodles and 1 slice of American cheese.
Cover, bring back up to a boil, turn off, and let it sit for 5 minutes or until the noodles are cooked. Stir until the cheese is incorporated into the broth. Add in more soy sauce if more salt is needed.
Bulgogi, traditionally enjoyed with rice or as lettuce wraps, is to Koreans what phở is to the Vietnamese, matzo ball soup to the Jewish, the taco is to the Mexicans, and spaghetti and meatballs are to Italian-Americans. It’s the single Korean dish that has transcended far beyond its humble, and also some royal roots. Everyone has their own rendition of this sweet and savory meat dish, there’s no single “this is it” recipe. It’s even been popularized by Korean-American chef and restaurateur, Roy Choi, when he opened up the Kogi BBQ Taco truck in Los Angeles where he combined the City of Angel’s two favorite foods, Mexican and Korean, together into a taco. And now, you too can enjoy this unique blend of cultures at camp.