Budae Jjigae

Budae jjigae has a datable origin: it appeared when surplus American military tins — sausage, ham, beans — reached Korean kitchens and met kimchi and gochujang. The dish has never tried to disguise that history, and it is still made the same blunt way. It arrives in a wide pot on a portable burner set in the middle of the table.

Let the broth come up to a proper boil before adding the instant noodles, or they disintegrate rather than cook. Everyone eats from the shared pot with a bowl of rice on the side, and more broth is topped up as the level drops. The noodles go first; everything else keeps simmering while you eat.