The journey into Korean cuisine will take the avid foodie on a true flavor trip, from traditional dishes to innovative takes on American staples. Bulgogi is a dish that lets garlic, the stalwart workhorse of Korean seasoning, take center stage. But the food tourist is just as likely to encounter Korean fried chicken, popularized after the advent of KFCs in South Korea in the ‘70s. This huge variation shows one of the main characteristics in Korean cuisine: it combines tradition and innovation.
This mix of tried-and-true and cutting-edge cuisine is highlighted in budae jjigae, army base stew. Budae jjigae features gochujang and kimchi. Gochujang, red chili paste, is a mainstay of Korean cooking. Gochujang has flourished in Korea due to geography and climate that made for the perfect storm of fermentation conditions. Kimchi, a mix of fermented cabbage and spices, is also a major component of Korean cooking. It adds heat and depth to any number of dishes.
But in budae jjigae, these two uber-traditional Korean ingredients are joined by a strange outlier: spam. During the Korean War, when other meats were unavailable, savvy cooks replaced it with spam, easily sourced from military surplus. Now, budae jjigae has a place at the table just as bibimbap or kimchi-fried rice does, illustrating the true innovative spirit of Korean cuisine.
This innovative spirit allows for the amazing traditional cuisine of Korea to continue into the modern era while leaving room for experimentation with cuisine that any entrepreneurial gourmand would envy.
