Korean Army Base Stew at Pocha 32 in Koreatown!

I looooove Korean food, and I thought I knew quite a bit about the cuisine until my girlfriend introduced me to a magical stew that almost sounded just way too good to be true!  Looking at the Wiki, the Korean Army Base stew supposedly came about during the Korean war, where food was scarce and Koreans used up US armed forces surplus such as Spam, hot dogs, and yup even cheese, as components in a traditional Korean spicy stew.

I was told that Pocha 32 has an excellent version of the dish so I was excited to try it!  Their version does include hot dogs, Spam, and cheese plus both ramen and bowtie pasta, rice cakes, kimchee, tofu, beef, some greens, mushrooms, plus other goodies!  This sounds like a crazy mix of ingredients but not only does it oddly work well together, it actually tasted REALLY good and perfect to have with drinks. All of this is served together in a sizzling pot over a Sterno that keeps the food cooking as you eat it.  

Ok, here it a pic of the awesome stew ...who knew drunk food could come in soup/stew form!  You can actually see the Spam and bowtie pasta in there.

If you're ever in Korea town in NYC and want something different from the usual Korean BBQ places stop by Pocha 32 and get this dish!

15 W 32nd St
2nd Fl
(between 5th Ave & Broadway)
New York, NY 10001
(212) 279-1876