Tender potatoes and Spam come together in a spicy, rich stew perfect to serve with rice.

Gamja Jjageuli - Spicy Potato and Spam Stew

Serves 4 - 5

This recipe is a slight modification of an original recipe by Chef Baek Jung Won. It is a simple one-pot meal where everything gets placed in the pot and is cooked within 25 minutes. In my opinon, the secret to this dish is the doenjang. It lends a wonderful depth the the stew that would be hard to replicate without it.

Ingredients

340g (12 oz can) Spam

Seasoning Sauce

5 T soy sauce

3 T gochujang

2.5 T gochugaru

2 T doenjang

1.5 T mirin

1 T sugar

0.75 t ground black pepper

0.50 t kosher salt

0.25 t ground ginger

Stew

750ml (3.5 c) water

454g (1 lb) potatoes, cut into 0.50 in cubes

300g (1 large) onion, sliced 0.25 in thick with the grain

6 garlic cloves, minced

3 cheongyang or serrano chilis, sliced

1 non-spicy red chili, sliced - optional

3 scallions, sliced

Recipe Know-how

1.      Remove the Spam from the can and place on a plate.

• Using the back of a spoon, crush the Spam. Set aside.

I suggest crushing the Spam as mentioned. In his recipe, Chef Baek crushes the Spam in a disposable plastic bag. In my own tests, I have found that the stew tastes better and has a better texture when crushed. Cubing the Spam for this recipe does not taste as good.

2.      In a medium pot combine the seasoning sauce ingredients.

• Add the stew ingredients and Spam to the pot and bring to a boil.

• Boil 10 minutes covered.

• Reduce heat, uncover, simmer 10 - 15 minutes more or until slightly reduced and the potatoes are cooked through.

3.      Serve over rice with cheese gyeran mari.