Budae Jjigae - Brilliance with SPAM and Beans in Uijeongbu
Fast Facts
Name: Jeong Soon Ok Budae Jjigae
Food: Odeng Tang Budae Jjigae
Cost: $9 or 9000W
How to get there:
Exit 1 of Jungang Station of the Uijeongbu U line, walk straight down the Budae Jjigae road until you get to the crossroads. On your right.
War, Exile and Alan Alda
Uijeongbu City. To Koreans a kind of Siberia. An exile for those who have struggled to succeed in Seoul. To the outside world, it may be known as the setting if M*A*S*H, the US military comedy series. Owing to its geographical situation, Uijeongbu was a significant base for allied forces for the decades following the Korean war.
When the Korean public school system gave me a posting in Uijeongbu, it was very hard to hear any positive words words from any Koreans. It was very hard to find any non military westerners to offer too much insight too. I wasn't sure what I was getting myself into. One thing that I kept hearing about, was that Uijeongbu was the home of the Budae Jjigae. The birth place of one of my favorite foods on this planet.
However, being made up of former military personnel and the Seoul working class has had significant blessings for Uijeongbu. Necessity fosters creativity. Make do with what you have.
The people of Uijeongbu, often looked down on by their country-mates actually had more to make do with. The proximity to the US bases meant access to such exotic (wait for the explanation) foods as spam and baked beans. Now, to me nor most of my friends from Western countries, would SPAM nor baked beans be considered anything near exotic. You might, even see these things as poverty food. You definitely would not find these ingredients on a menu in any Michelin starred establishment. You probably would struggle to see these items available in a back alley greasy spoon sort of place. You may be tempted to judge the people of Korea. But don't! In a war ravaged country that had previously been invaded and pillaged for centuries, meat was not easy to come by in 50's Korea. Even if you were to find some, it would probably cost a fair chunk of change. So when the US military bought SPAM to the peninsular, you bet it is was snapped up! Especially by a people as meat loving as the Koreans!
Making Something Special
It took some work to shoe horn these ingredients into regular Korean cuisine. If you have ever had the privilege to feast on a Bibimbap (mixed rice with vegetables), a guksu (a noodle dish) or had Korean barbeque, you would know that salty, canned ham nor beans mixed with tomato sauce and industrial waste don't exactly fit easily into the recipes. The SPAM, and beans, were, after much experimentation, added to something called Odeng Tang. This is a soup that is made with unnatural looking fish cakes. I happen to enjoy Odeng and the salty broth that they produce when boiled. There is nothing better on a cold winter night in Korea where temperatures can drop as low as -25C. It is a real heart warming, morale boosting, delicious nectar that is often served in tents late a night. Very useful while waiting for a bus having consumed a healthy amount of beer or soju.
Boiling the SPAM with the Odeng Tang worked well and enhanced the broth. But the soup wasn't red yet. Korean meals tend to be red. The meal is also lacking a vegetable. You know what else is red, and could be considered a vegetable? Baked beans! This was a great chance to get those cans out of the cupboards. Throw in some Kimchi, because this is is Korea after all, and you almost have a buddagechiggae.
About the same time in the kitchens and factories of Korea's old foe, Japan, another instant food was becoming a sensation. Dehydrated Ramen (dried cup noodles). Ramen is as an important and respected facet of Japanese cuisine as Sushi is. Ramen, in its original, handmade form, is Japanese cuisine at its finest. Making the noodles was a problem. For working households, still busy rebuilding Japan after WW2, the labor and time intensive work of making noodles at home was becoming increasingly impossible. Step forward the inventors of the instant noodle. A great addition to any soup! And you've guessed it. A great addition to a Budae Jjigae too!
Over time more ingredients were added to the Budae Jjigae and nowadays you will find ground pork, sausage, dumpling, cheese and even bacon added to this king of comfort foods. As you know, it is a scientific fact that bacon improves any meal by 63.25% and cheese can enhance a meal by as much as 54.39%. But joking aside, YOU KNOW that the Budae Jjigae has got better with time!
Budae Jjigae was a resounding success. Proof that if you know what to do with it, SPAM can be delicious! You know what the problem with SPAM is? Snobbery! Just because you got a pay rise, it doesn't men that a food gets any less delicious. In the west, most of us look down on SPAM without having ever really tried it. If we have, we haven't been creative with it. We just think that if you're buying your meat in tins then something must be going wrong in your life.
The SPAM and Beans City
A testament to the success of this experiment is the Buddaechiggae district in central Uijeongbu. Tourists will come from all over the country to sample the real recipe for this stunning soup. Budae Jjigae has spread all over Korea with every neighborhood boasting some place that can avail you of this magnificent concoction. The late Anthony Bourdain proclaimed Budae Jjigae as the best hangover food in the world. Watch: Bourdain shows Anderson Cooper how to make Budae Jjigae
A key perk of the home that I bought earlier this year, is that it is within walking distance of the Budae Jjigae district. I have now sampled many of these venues. As with every traditional food district in Korea, multiple restaurants lay claim to being the first ever Budae Jjigae restaurant. Some of these claims seem wildly spurious as the joint seems to have only been open for about 3 or 4 years. Everybody has their own story that they believe. This is a very passionate discussion in these parts. A discussion that can see people storm away from the dinner table. I have decided not to pick a side in this debate, instead choosing to think about my favorite establishment regardless of its back story.
The Place To Go - Jeong Soon Ok Budae Jjigae
Soon Ok has owned this establishment since the 1970's. She still works there on a day to day basis. She still greets customers with the biggest smile in town. Within moments of arriving, you just get a good feeling about this place. You feel welcome. Very welcome. The smell is very alluring. You can pick out all of that boiled pig based goodness. You can smell that fantastic heart warming broth of the odeng tang. You can also smell her unique Kimchi. And then you see that Kimchi, it's bright yellow, not the usual red. Soon Ok makes her kimchi with Jasmine flowers instead the usual spice that usually gives Kimchi it's red hue. And you know what? It's pretty damn good. Some guys were coming to this place just to eat this kimchi. One man even proclaimed it the best Kimchi in town!
The soup arrives in its hotpot and it doesn't disappoint. It is absolutely loaded with pig meat. Of course there is SPAM. There's bacon, sausages and copious amounts of ground pork too. The broth is as good as it smells but there is something else. More added goodness. Soon Ok says that these are Odeng Mandu. Dumplings made of fish cake instead of pastry, stuffed with more pig meat. Absolute joy! These things are special and add to the already amazing Budae Jjigae.
A Bright Future
Things have changed a lot. Korea is no longer a war ravaged third world country that eats to live. It is now a developed and prosperous country that lives to eat. Koreans take great pride in their food, rightfully so. The fact that Budae Jjigae has managed to not only survive to this day but become a celebrated national dish shows its quality credentials. Even with greater family finances and improved access to foreign ingredients, Budae Jjigae is still seen as a right old treat across this country.As for Uijeongbu, it has moved on too. The US military bases have long since closed. The city is finally starting to pull itself up and is starting to see itself with a bright future. It's image is picking up. A vibrant hiphop scene is developing. Construction is apace to modernize the city and realtors are tipping it as the next big thing in Korea. With the army gone, a new debate has started to gain traction. The army may have bought the SPAM and beans but it was the people of Uijeongbu that made this great recipe. The name Budae Jjigae translates as Army Base Stew and doesn't necessarily credit the great innovation made in the town's kitchens. It also has connotations of a dark past for the town. It is proposed that we now refer to the soup as UijeongbuJjigae. Uijeongbu Stew. I don't see why not. This town deserves more credit than it gets.
After 4 months living in Uijeongbu, I am glad that I made the move. This town might not be Seoul but it has a soul. The people are nice and the food is great. As with any city with soul, the outcome is usually good soul food. If food is anything to go by, Budae Jjigae shows that Uijeongbu has a hell of a lot of soul. Who would have thought you could achieve so much with SPAM and baked beans?
