Holiday Table Scenes Change... Charyesang Prepared in Just One Hour

Grilled Fish in Microwave
Hotel Special Holiday Table Delivery
'No Gas No Pan' Trend
Blowing Away Holiday Syndrome

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Hye-seon] Park Mo (41), an office worker living in Seoul, will visit his father's house in Yesan-gun, Chungnam alone for Chuseok following Seollal. His wife and son decided to stay at their home in Seoul. On the 8th, Hong said, "My parents declared that they would simplify the ancestral rites this Chuseok," adding, "Instead of homemade holiday dishes, I plan to buy a simple ancestral rite table setting from a hotel and purchase ready-to-eat meals for each meal to bring along."

Ancestor’s Table Prepared by Hotel Chef

With the prolonged COVID-19 situation leading to 'contactless holidays,' the use of ready-to-eat meals for Chuseok holiday table settings is increasing. Foods like songpyeon, jeon, three-colored seasoned vegetables, galbijjim, japchae, which used to take all day in the kitchen, now take less than an hour using home meal replacements (HMR). Food companies including CJ CheilJedang are also offering ready-to-eat meals for ancestral rites. You just choose according to your preference from options like rice cakes, jeon, galbijjim, beef radish soup, and japchae.

Hotels have also started offering ancestral rite table settings. Lotte Hotel Seoul’s family set includes abalone, premium galbijjim, four types of assorted jeon (20 pieces), and songpyeon (25 pieces), provided via drive-thru service. The Grand InterContinental Seoul Parnas in Samseong-dong also delivers a ‘Chef’s Special Ancestral Table’ made with domestic ingredients right to your doorstep.

‘No Gas, No Pan’ Trend

Recently, ready-to-eat products that require neither a hot gas flame nor an oil-filled frying pan, called ‘No Gas, No Pan’ meals, have gained attention. On Market Kurly, sales of no-heat ready meals increased by 55% compared to the same period last year during July and August. Sales of cutlets and other fried foods cooked with an air fryer rose by 365%. Lunch boxes that only need to be heated in a microwave increased by 67%.

Meat and fish dishes, essential for holidays, have also eliminated complicated cooking processes. LF Foods introduced Kraze BBQ pork ribs that can be cooked in a microwave. Just thaw and heat in the microwave. LF Food’s ‘Mono Kitchen’ ‘Premium Beef Tataki’ is ready by slightly thawing and slicing into bite-sized pieces. It uses Australian clean beef round and comes with a special yuzu soy sauce and fresh wasabi so it can be enjoyed immediately without any extra preparation.

CJ CheilJedang’s ‘Bibigo Boneless Grilled Fish’ only requires tearing the packaging slightly and microwaving for one minute. There is also the premium instant rice ‘Hetbahn Sotban,’ which recreates the taste of rice cooked in a traditional cauldron. Hetbahn Sotban is a product that demonstrates the premium potential of instant rice by including grains or whole ingredients.

A food industry official said, "While ready meals used to grow mainly among single-person households, after COVID-19 they have evolved into a more premium and specialized form that replaces home-cooked meals," adding, "Ready meals are a hero item that can eliminate the ‘holiday cooking syndrome’ of housewives because even ‘Yorinik (cooking + child),’ who are inexperienced cooks, can easily prepare meals."

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