When You Miss Home-Cooked Meals, "Ultra-Simple Squid and Radish Soup"... "Plump Squid Stands Out" [Tried and Tasted]

Cheongjeongwon Homings “Ultra-Simple Broth Dish – Squid and Radish Soup”
Simple to prepare—just boil from frozen, perfect as a single-serving soup

As reliance on dining out and food delivery continues, there inevitably comes a moment when one longs for a home-cooked meal. With the rise in dual-income households and single-person households, preparing home-cooked dishes that require ingredients like vegetables, seafood, or meat—which aren't always easy to prep—can feel burdensome. Moreover, with high inflation, buying all necessary ingredients has become a financial challenge. In response to this demand, food companies are rapidly expanding their product lines in the Home Meal Replacement (HMR) market.

The “Ultra-Simple Broth Dish” Ojing-eo Mu-guk (Squid and Radish Soup) from Daesang’s Cheongjeongwon Homings, launched last month, is a convenient meal designed for such consumers. As this menu item is now rarely found even at restaurants, it truly evokes the feeling of authentic home-style cooking. The company enhances the umami by using seafood broth with squid and radish, first blanching the squid in boiling water to remove any fishy taste, and then adding green onion and red chili pepper.

After coming home from work on a weekday evening and craving a healthy home-cooked meal, I took out this product. The cooking method was simple: I removed the frozen product from the freezer, placed it in a pot without defrosting, and added 300 ml of water as described in the instructions. Within three minutes of boiling, the kitchen quickly filled with the aroma of squid. Following the instructions, I boiled it for an additional three minutes after the water came to a boil, then served it at the table.

The portion prepared filled a single-serving soup bowl—perfect as a soup to accompany a meal with side dishes. The portion size was just right for a light meal. The salty broth had a kick from the red chili pepper, though not overwhelmingly so. For those who prefer a spicier flavor, adding some Cheongyang chili pepper would likely be sufficient.

The finished product contained up to 10 pieces of plump squid. While it wasn’t overflowing with squid, each piece was large, filling the mouth, and tender without any tough parts. A family member sensitive to the fishy taste typical of seafood noted that neither the soup nor the squid itself tasted or smelled fishy. The radish was soft and easily crumbled in the mouth, rather than being firm and crunchy.

The “Ultra-Simple Broth Dish Squid and Radish Soup” is sold at 7,480 won per pack. While this may seem somewhat pricey compared to conventional soups served with side dishes, it’s worth noting that there’s no need to buy and prep the squid and radish yourself—just heat and serve.

This product is exclusively available at Emart both online and offline. Daesang recently announced that Cheongjeongwon Homings, their HMR brand, surpassed 1 million cumulative sales of the “Ultra-Simple Broth Dish” line as of August 5, marking the brand’s first anniversary. Currently, there are 12 different broth dish products including Squid and Radish Soup and 5 different “Ultra-Simple Stir-Fried Dishes” on offer.

Meanwhile, the domestic HMR market is rapidly growing, driven by the increase in dual-income households, single-person households, and the prolonged period of high inflation. According to the Korea Rural Economic Institute, the size of the domestic HMR market grew from 3.4 trillion won in 2017 to over 6 trillion won in 2023, and last year approached 7 trillion won.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.