Korean cooking with Cooper 

Anthony Bourdain cooks Korean food for Anderson Cooper

Anthony Bourdain cooks Korean food for Anderson Cooper 04:59

Anthony Bourdain teaches Anderson Cooper a Korean recipe

Budae-jiigae is a stew made with all sorts of canned meat, including Spam

Korea\'s buddae-jjigae -- or "army stew" as it\'s often called -- dates back to the scarce years of the Korean War when local cooks had to get inventive with U.S. Army rations.

While jiigae can refer to any variety of stews, this particular version just happens to feature a variety of canned, precooked meat, most notably SPAM in all its glazed and gelatinous glory.

"It\'s, in fact, a classic example of necessity being the mother of deliciousness," Anthony Bourdain says of the dish during the premiere episode of "Parts Unknown" on Sunday, April 26, at 9 p.m. ET/PT.

The host of CNN\'s "Parts Unknown" recently stopped by Anderson Cooper\'s kitchen to cook up the spicy and funky stew, and talk about his 24 intoxicating hours in the country\'s capital of Seoul.

So, it\'s probably a good thing budda-jiigae is also a storied hangover cure.

1½ cups tong baechu kimchi, or traditional fermented cabbage (can be found in a well-stocked supermarket or Korean specialty store)

8 oz. sliced Korean rice cakes (can be found in a well-stocked supermarket or Korean specialty store)

2 tablespoons gochujang, or hot pepper paste (can be found in a well-stocked supermarket or Korean specialty store)

3 tablespoons gochukaru, or hot pepper flakes (can be found in a well-stocked supermarket or Korean specialty store)

3 tablespoons cheongju, or a clear rice wine similar to sake

3 cups anchovy kelp broth (recipe below)

4 large dried anchovies, heads and guts removed, wrapped in cheesecloth

1 5x3" sheet of dried, edible kelp or kombu (can be found in a well-stocked supermarket or Korean specialty store)

1. Place the ingredients for the anchovy broth in a pot and simmer for 20-30 minutes until the flavors are fully infused. Strain and set aside.

2. Place the Spam, kimchi, rice cakes, onions, garlic, hot dogs and ground pork in small separate piles in the bottom of a shallow pot.

Anthony Bourdain meets with his friend and colleague Nari Kye at Garak Market in Seoul, South Korea. The eating stalls at the fish market are just the way Tony and Nari like it: full of wet floors, shouting servers, self-service soju and still wriggling seafood.

In the shadow of Seoul\'s space-age skyscrapers is the Gwangjang Market, a sprawling mini-city of food stalls that hasn\'t changed much since the 1950s. Here, Tony finds some of the best street food.

Numerous varieties of kimchi, a dish of spicy fermented cabbage, are widely available in the street stalls and throughout Korea.

Tony befriends a group of businessmen for some Korean barbecue at Mapo Jeong Daepo. Most restaurants also offer a variety of banchan, or free small dishes, with the meal.

Tony joins in on the Korean Internet craze, mok-bang, where video bloggers live-stream themselves eating while chatting with their online followers. Choi Ji-hwan is one of many mok-bang celebrities.

Choi and Tony livestream how to make budae-jjigae, a soup that includes Spam, sausages, baked beans, chili paste and kimchi. The "army stew" became popular during the Korean War when food supplies were low.

Mmm, canned meat: Korean cooks got inventive with the ingredients given to them by the American armed forces.

3. Add the soy, gochujang, gochukaru and cheongju to the pot and slowly pour the anchovy kelp broth in. Put the baked beans on top and add the water. Place pot over high heat and bring contents to a steady simmer.

4. Cook for 5-10 minutes, then add the ramen noodles. Ladle broth over the noodles to help them break apart. Continue to cook for 2-3 minutes until noodles are just about cooked through, but definitely still chewy. Serve with steamed rice or enjoy on its own.

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