Vegan Budae Jjigae (비건 부대찌개) or Vegan Korean Army Base Stew is a veganized version of a popular Korean hot pot dish, typically made by combining Korean flavours such as gochujang, gochugaru, and kimchi, with American ingredients such as American Spam, baked beans and sausages.

This Korean-fusion dish was invented as a means of survival, after the Korean war (1950-1953), when food was scarce. Koreans found a way to use certain canned and processed foods, which were left over by the U.S. military and weren’t widely available in Korea at the time. Scraps of foods such as Spam, hot dogs, baked beans and American style cheese were found at the U.S. army bases and were combined with traditional Korean flavours such as kimchi and gochujang to create a filling and comforting meal during a time of hunger and poverty. Now this dish is a popular comfort meal and enjoyed all around Korea, and even other parts of the world.

To make this recipe vegan, all we have to do is use a plant-based broth (such as kelp broth or low sodium vegetable broth), vegan kimchi, Vegan Spam (store-bought or homemade, or omit!), vegan hot dogs or sausages and vegan cheese (optional). All the other ingredients are vegan-friendly already!

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Recipe for Vegan Budae Jjigae

This is an easy Korean meal to make and the beauty is that you can customize it according to your preferences! You’ll need a variety of ingredients for the stew such as vegan kimchi, gochujang, gochugaru, a variety of vegetables, and some tofu, instant noodles, vegan hot dogs, and vegan Spam (optional).

This is a one pot dish where you can simply throw everything into one big pot and allow everything to boil. The result is a hearty, spicy, savoury and comforting dish that you can enjoy on it’s own or preferably, with a bowl of rice! This is the perfect dish to serve at the centre of your table and share with your family or friends.

Why You’ll Love this Vegan Budae Jjigae

100% vegan friendly
Can be made gluten-free!
Spicy, savoury, and comforting
Easily customizable & shareable with big groups

Ingredients

Low sodium vegetable broth or kelp broth (see instructions)

Cabbage

Onion

Enoki mushrooms

King oyster mushrooms

Vegan hot dogs

Vegan spam (optional)

Korean rice cakes (tteok)

Soft tofu

Fermented vegan kimchi

Baked beans

Instant ramen noodles

Vegan cheddar cheese

Green onions

Gochugaru (Korean red pepper flakes)

Sugar

Soy sauce

Gochujang (Korean red pepper paste)

Garlic

To make this recipe gluten-free, use gluten-free versions of vegan hot dogs and vegan spam, plus gluten-free soy sauce (such as liquid aminos or coconut aminos) and gluten-free gochujang.

If you don’t have Vegan Spam, you can make your own by following my recipe here! Or you can simply omit and add more vegan hot dogs or vegan sausages, if you desire.

This dish is very customizable so feel free to pick and choose the various ingredients that go into it!

How To Make Budae Jjigae Vegan

To prepare your broth, either use store-bought low sodium vegetable broth or make your own kelp broth by boiling 6 cups of water with around 20g of dried kelp sheets or pieces. Once the mixture comes to a boil, simmer for around 20-30 minutes and once done, remove the kelp.

Meanwhile, prepare all other ingredients and mix together all sauce ingredients in a bowl until well-combined.

In a large shallow pot, place a bed of the chopped cabbage and sliced onions at the bottom, then carefully place the enoki mushrooms, king oyster mushrooms, vegan hot dogs, Vegan Spam, Korean rice cakes, and soft tofu around the pot.

In the centre, place vegan kimchi, baked beans and the sauce.

Pour the broth into the pot and bring the mixture to a boil.

Once it boils, turn the heat to a medium-low, cover and softly boil for 5 minutes.

After 5 minutes, add the green onions, ramen noodles and top with a slice of vegan cheddar cheese (optional). Cover and cook on medium-low for another 5 minutes or until the ramen noodles are cooked.

This dish is best served right away with a bowl of rice! It is great for sharing around the table, hot pot style.