"Wash Away Holiday Fatigue with Three-Minute Cooking"... Food Industry Unleashes a Wave of Convenience Meals After the Holiday Break

[Financial News] The food industry is focusing on convenience meals that can reduce the burden of cooking after the Chuseok holiday. Companies are rolling out a range of products that can be prepared easily without additional ingredients, from hearty soups such as jjamppong and kimchi stew to dishes that capture the flavor of charcoal grilling.
According to industry sources on the 28th, NoodleLovers, a company specializing in noodles and sauces, is introducing two frozen noodle meal kits: 'Meat Jjamppong' and 'Seafood Jjamppong.' Each pack contains noodles, sauce and toppings, allowing the meal to be prepared in about three minutes without any additional ingredients.
Meat Jjamppong features a spicy, rich broth with a smoky aroma, six types of vegetables and pork, enhancing the texture of the toppings. Seafood Jjamppong combines pork and chicken stock with seafood such as webfoot octopus, shrimp and squid, along with fresh vegetables including onions, napa cabbage and chives, for a deep and rich flavor.
Daesang's Chung Jung One has launched 'Thick-Cut Korean Pork Kimchi Stew,' a frozen soup dish from its convenience meal brand HOME:INGS, made with aged kimchi and Korean pork.
The dish features a rich beef-bone broth, aged kimchi made from 100% Korean agricultural products and generously cut Korean pork shoulder for a deep flavor. It is flash-frozen immediately after production to minimize the loss of juices from the pork while preserving its crisp texture. Preparation is also simplified: after thawing, it can be boiled in a pot or heated in boiling water while still in the bag.
Charcoal-grilled dishes featuring spicy seasoning and a smoky aroma are also attracting attention. Moguchon's 'Charcoal-Grilled Spicy Gopchang' and 'Charcoal-Grilled Boneless Chicken Feet' are convenience meal products coated in a spicy signature sauce and grilled directly over charcoal.
Charcoal-Grilled Spicy Gopchang combines the chewy texture characteristic of gopchang with spicy seasoning and a smoky aroma. Charcoal-Grilled Boneless Chicken Feet are easier to eat because the bones have been removed, while retaining the distinctive chewy bite of chicken feet.
An industry official said, "After the holiday break, more consumers are looking for products that offer cooking convenience as they return to daily life, while also seeking to bring variety to their tables with dishes different from their usual menus. Recently, a wider range of restaurant-quality Chinese-style jjamppong and soup dishes have been launched, expanding the selection of convenience meals that can provide a complete meal without additional ingredient preparation."


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