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Think of a dish which pretty much has everything that you want in food. In other words, if you have to choose a last meal and there is only going to be one dish served, what would it be? I know mine. It's a Korean dish called Budae Jigae.
If you have never heard of it, you need help. It is the best. Let me tell you the story behind the dish first. Budae Jigae means "army stew" and the name came about because of the Korean War. Meat was scarce and grateful South Koreans lapped up the spam given to them by the American soldiers. They threw the spam into a spicy hotpot with kimchi as its soup base, and Budae Jigae was born!
Today, a lot more than spam is added into the stew. There are sausages, ham, salami and even instant noodles. Why do I like it? Because it is spicy, sour, warm, and it has instant noodles and spam! What's there not to like? It's just awesome. It's luncheon meat spicy noodles. The PERFECT dish.
Many people asked me after I blogged about Dear Leader's babes what is the difference between South and North Korean dishes. I think the best answer is Budae Jigae. It is the one dish that the North definitely does not serve - not surprising if you think about how the dish came about.
Anyway, since I arrived in Beijing, I have been desperately trying to find a restaurant that serves it and does it well. Hit a couple of places, but no luck. One night recently, I decided to try Suraon, which has been getting good reviews. It is clearly a restaurant with one of the prettiest exterior designs. Check out this mini Water Cube lookalike.
The interior was surprisingly boring, with most of the space carved out into plenty of private dining rooms. But once I saw Budae Jigae listed on the menu, I didn't give a shit if they had shit painted on the walls. I have found my perfect dish in Beijing!
There were other dishes and the steamed egg, I must say, was soft and fluffy, quite delicious. But frankly, I didn't care much about the other dishes or the myriad of complementary side dishes. Budae Jigae, Budae Jigae!
In some other restaurants where I have had this dish, they usually just cook the food right at the table, somewhat like a steamboat except that all the cooking is done for you. But at Suraon (10-8456-8008), they cooked it by the side and was going to serve it into bowls when I stopped the waitress and asked her to just bring the entire pot to the table. I prefer to see my favourite dish bubbling along as I attacked the spam and ramen.
It was, of course, lovely. Spicy, sour and with instant noodles. I can die happy now. How much was it? I have no idea. Money is not an issue when you are talking about your last meal.
If you have never heard of it, you need help. It is the best. Let me tell you the story behind the dish first. Budae Jigae means "army stew" and the name came about because of the Korean War. Meat was scarce and grateful South Koreans lapped up the spam given to them by the American soldiers. They threw the spam into a spicy hotpot with kimchi as its soup base, and Budae Jigae was born!
Today, a lot more than spam is added into the stew. There are sausages, ham, salami and even instant noodles. Why do I like it? Because it is spicy, sour, warm, and it has instant noodles and spam! What's there not to like? It's just awesome. It's luncheon meat spicy noodles. The PERFECT dish.
Many people asked me after I blogged about Dear Leader's babes what is the difference between South and North Korean dishes. I think the best answer is Budae Jigae. It is the one dish that the North definitely does not serve - not surprising if you think about how the dish came about.
Anyway, since I arrived in Beijing, I have been desperately trying to find a restaurant that serves it and does it well. Hit a couple of places, but no luck. One night recently, I decided to try Suraon, which has been getting good reviews. It is clearly a restaurant with one of the prettiest exterior designs. Check out this mini Water Cube lookalike.
The interior was surprisingly boring, with most of the space carved out into plenty of private dining rooms. But once I saw Budae Jigae listed on the menu, I didn't give a shit if they had shit painted on the walls. I have found my perfect dish in Beijing!
There were other dishes and the steamed egg, I must say, was soft and fluffy, quite delicious. But frankly, I didn't care much about the other dishes or the myriad of complementary side dishes. Budae Jigae, Budae Jigae!
In some other restaurants where I have had this dish, they usually just cook the food right at the table, somewhat like a steamboat except that all the cooking is done for you. But at Suraon (10-8456-8008), they cooked it by the side and was going to serve it into bowls when I stopped the waitress and asked her to just bring the entire pot to the table. I prefer to see my favourite dish bubbling along as I attacked the spam and ramen.
It was, of course, lovely. Spicy, sour and with instant noodles. I can die happy now. How much was it? I have no idea. Money is not an issue when you are talking about your last meal.
6 comments:
Hahaha. I think I've seen this dish on the Korean equivalent of Japan Hour. Me liketh Korean instant noodles, they are the best.
Just out of curiosity, do you know where budae jigae is served in Singapore?
There's a Korean food court at The Place, I remember it had pretty decent samgaetang (ginseng chicken soup) at a price that you can't find in Sg.
You asked the right man! I searched high and low for Budae Jigae in Spore and failed for years. Then just by pure chance, I found it in a restaurant off Upper Bukit Timah.
You know the row of eateries opposite Beauty World? Next to Boon Tong Kee, there is a Korean restaurant. They serve Budae Jigae even though they don't label it as such on the menu. But you should be able to identify it easy enough.
The Budae Jigae is not bad. Not the best, but not bad. You can ask for extra instant noodles!
okay I think I know exactly which eatery you are referring to :) Have passed by before. Okay, maybe budae jigae will join maggi mee goreng up there on my list of sinful suppertime pleasures.
Speaking of Maggi Mee Goreng, the Muslim restaurant at one end of that row of eateries serves a really yummy plate. :) Damn shiok for supper!
As much as I do not want to eat Spam or any form of processed meat, I must admit that your Budae Jigae post has actually made me crave some..think its the fact that its spicey and with noodles....this would be perfect on a cold night....
I had it once on a cold, windy night in Sydney. It was fantastic.
If you have it in Korea, they will throw in some rice at the end of the meal, mix it up with what's left of your spicy soup (which is usually a thick gravy by then). The end product is this unbelievably fragrant kimchi-flavoured fried rice. Can die.
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