Gamja Jjageuli - Korean Potato & Spam Stew!
Gamja Jjageuli is a spicy, hearty stew – that’s perfect for days when you’re low on fresh produce.
All you need are pantry items: 2 potatoes, 1 onion and a can of Spam.
Today, we’re using SPAM.
But you can substitute with a can of tuna (remember to squeeze the water/oil out first).
Or use chunks of minced pork (just squeeze and mold into small balls).
All three of these options contains oil – which adds flavor to the spicy stew.
Now, the term Jjageuli refers to Korean stews that are reduced down with potato.
As it boils away, the starch from the potatoes turns the broth thicker and “stewy”.Until the consistency is somewhere between a stew and curry.
The best part about Jjjageuli is scooping it with a big spoon and spreading it over a bowl of fresh rice.
You can also fry-up an egg on the side – if you want a banchan!
Cooking Notes for Jjageuli
For the spicy marinade, we’ll use some Korean fish sauce for umami.
Use either Korean Tuna Fish Sauce or Anchovy Fish Sauce.
Tuna Fish Sauce is slightly less pungent that Anchovy Fish Sauce but it delivers the same depth of flavor and umami – works especially well for stews!
(Purchase a bottle here if you’d like - it tastes great for Korean food!)
After boiling the stew for 7 minutes – let it rest for 15 minutes.
This 15 minutes of resting allows the starch from the potatoes to thicken up the broth.
Afterwards, bring the stew back up to a boil – and let it simmer away for 3 more minutes.
Now, this is a dish you want to serve with rice – too flavorful to eat straight!
That’s it ya’ll. If you try making Jjageuli at home, tag us on IG (and give us feedback).
We love seeing pics of your dishes- it give us a boost in energy!
(P.s. If you’re cooking alone, don’t get bored. Consider listening to our latest podcast episode while you cook!)
-Daniel Out 🕺
Ingredients
- 200 grams of Spam
- 1 whole Onion
- 2 Medium-Sized Potatoes (each, size of your palm)
- 1 Mild Red Chili Pepper (optional)
- 1 Spicy Cheongyang Chili Pepper (Or ½ Jalapeno Pepper) (optional)
- 1 Stalk of Spring Onion (length of your forearm)
Anchovy Kelp Broth
- 2 Cups Anchovy Kelp Broth (500 ml)
Spicy Marinade Paste
- 2 Tablespoons Gochugaru Flakes
- ¾ Tablespoon Sugar
- 1 Tablespoon Minced Garlic
- 2 Tablespoons Soy Sauce
- 1 Tablespoon Korean Fish Sauce (Use Tuna or Anchovy Fish Sauce) (or any fish sauce)
- 1 Tablespoon Gochujang Paste
- ½ Tablespoon Doenjang Paste
Instructions
Prep Spam & Fresh Ingredients
- Open a can of spam. Measure out roughly 200 grams worth. Then place the spam into a plastic bag and crumble it gently into smaller chunks.
- Cut 1 whole onion into smaller chunks. Then dice 2 potatoes into similar sized chunks as well.
- Slice chili peppers into small pieces. Also dice the stalk of spring onion. (We'll add these two ingredients at the end.)
Make Anchovy-Kelp Broth
- Place in 3 cups of water into a pot. Drop-in an anchovy-kelp broth bag . Bring it up to a boil and set a timer for 15 minutes. Note: We'll use 2 cups of broth (500 ml).
Make Spicy Marinade
- Take out a mixing bowl and stir together: Gochugaru Flakes (2 Tablespoons), Sugar (¾ Tablespoon), Minced Garlic (1 Tablespoon), Soy Sauce (2 Tablespoons), Korean Anchovy Fish Sauce or Tuna Fish Sauce (1 Tablespoon), Gochujang Paste (1 Tablespoon) & Doenjang Paste (½ Tablespoon).
Make Jjageuli
- Take out a large pot. Place it on a medium-high heat - then drizzle in some oil. Once its hot, place the spam chunks in.
- Let the spam cook so it can start to sear on one side.
- Once it does, add in the potatoes and onion chunks - give it a careful mix. Stir-fry it around for a few minutes until the onions start to turn sweat.
- Now add in the Anchovy-Kelp Broth (2 Cups - 500ml).
- Next, add-in all of the Spicy Marinade Paste.
- Bring it up to a boil on high heat. Once the pot starts to boil, set a timer for 7 minutes.
- After 7 minutes, turn off the heat. Let the pot rest for 15 minutes. (This is an important step - the starch from the potato chunks will thicken up the broth into a stew.)
- After 15 minutes of resting - place the pot back onto a high heat. Place the chili pepper & spring onion slices in. Now, let it boil away for a final 3-5 minutes.
- Serve it hot - alongside a bowl of hot rice!
Gina says
So I recently decided to stop buying meat but I have meat in my freezer and pantry and I don't want to waste it. I have been looking for ways to use up some of my pandemic spam supply and I was so happy to see your YouTube video for this stew. I have made this a few times now and absolutely love it. It is perfect as is but I sometimes add other things depending on what's in my fridge. My favorite additions are mushrooms and tofu. Thank you for the great recipes. Every recipe I've tried turned out delicious.