Korean Army Base Stew from Red Pig

On my first visit to Korea, one of my local colleagues introduced me to budae jjigae, a stew with a bit of a sad history. It was created in the aftermath of the Korean War when there was little food to go around. Locals ended up scrounging up whatever excess food was being discarded by the US Army, which included things like hot dogs and Spam. Combine it with some instant noodles, tofu, and the usual Korean spices, and Army Base Stew was born.

Today this dish lives on, although of course as a properly prepared dish now. I noticed it on Red Pig's menu the other night, so we came on down here and got a small-sized one for two people. It's been nearly ten years since the last (and only) time I had this dish, so I really can't make too much of a comparison. But it pretty much tasted like it looked, even if the sliced hot dogs inside were a bit of a bore. I did like the rich taste of the soup though.