ahjummarecipes

Budae Jigae or “Army Base Stew” originated in the 1950s after the Korean War ended. Food was scarce after the war, and Koreans would take surplus foods from the American military bases and put it in a stew, hence its name. The stew comprises of processed meats like spam, hotdogs, ham, sometimes baked beans and sliced cheese! I love that this dish originated from such an interesting piece of Korean history! Needless to say, this stew is delicious and usually served in restaura

Spicy Pickled Cucumbers (Cucumber Kimchi), is one of my favorite “banchan”, or side dishes. Crunchy, fresh, and spicy, this dish is ready to eat as soon as you are done making it. You can let it ferment for a few days in the fridge if you wish for more of a “kimchi” taste. This recipe calls for Kirby, or pickling, cucumbers. Try to choose firm, uniform, straight cucumbers. Avoid the largest cucumbers in the batch, as those tend to have the most seeds and are not as crisp. Qui

Bulgogi literally means “fire meat”, and is a popular Korean BBQ dish. Everyone makes it slightly different, but the universally common ingredients are thinly sliced rib eye, soy sauce, sugar, garlic, and sesame oil. At Korean restaurants, people commonly will gather around an indoor grill to cook it, then eat it right off the grill. When it’s cooked, it can go in a variety of dishes including bibimbap, kimbap, and fried rice (bokumbap). It can also be made into large batches

Galbi Jjim is generally served during special occasions. You will not see this on a menu at a Korean restaurant because this dish requires hours of slow cooking. It is made with a mother’s love because it is usually the main dish of the meal, and takes hours to prepare! Galbi Jjim may seem daunting at first, but If you follow this basic recipe, you can start this in the afternoon, and be done by dinnertime. TIP: I, personally, like to cook this dish in a Dutch Oven or Brais

Kimchi Jjigae is a classic comfort food. Koreans will make this rich, hearty stew when their kimchi in the fridge has become too sour to eat as a banchan (side dish). Never throw out old kimchi! You can make a multitude of delicious recipes from old kimchi. The taste of this stew is very dependent on the taste of the old kimchi (all kimchi tastes a little different and ferment to a different taste). For this reason, your kimchi jjigae will taste slightly different every