[Convenience Store Adventure] Healthy Ready Meals... Jindo Green Onions 'Heavily' Included

Pork Neck Grilled Set Meal with Plenty of Green Onions
Hot Dog, a Perfect Harmony of Sweet and Salty
Kimbap Disappointing in Taste and Composition

A product that breaks the prejudice that convenience store ready meals are unhealthy has been released. It is CU’s ‘Jindo Green Onion Ready Meal Series,’ which captures both taste and nutrition by generously including green onions. Jindo, Jeollanam-do, accounts for 30% of the nation’s green onion production, and the seasonal green onions harvested throughout the winter are famous for their excellent taste and aroma.

Jindo Green Onion Pork Neck Set Menu.
Photo by Im Chunhan

The Jindo Green Onion Pork Neck Roast Set was filled with green onions at first glance as soon as the plastic was opened. The meat and side dishes were separated into individual trays, showing thoughtful consideration to prevent mixing. After microwaving the lunchbox for 2 minutes, a full set meal was ready. The thickly sliced marinated pork neck was grilled with 9 to 10 pieces, and there were 4 roasted garlic cloves. The meat had a sweet soy sauce marinade, a good chewy texture, and no fishy smell. Mixing the crunchy green onions with sauce and eating them together created a great combination. Radish pickles and dried radish strips were also included as side dishes, allowing for a variety of flavors.

The Jindo Green Onion Hot Dog has sausage, green onions, mayonnaise sauce, and chopped bacon on top of the bun. At first glance, one might wonder, “Does this really go together?” Existing convenience store hot dogs often look meager and are not frequently purchased, but this product looked hearty with plenty of green onions. After microwaving for 40 seconds, the bun became soft. Taking a bite, the crunchy texture of the green onions was interesting, and the taste was satisfying. Notably, there was no spicy flavor from the green onions, and their sweetness was maximized. This combined with the salty sausage created a perfect ‘sweet and salty’ harmony.

The Jindo Green Onion Bulgogi Gimbap contains soy sauce bulgogi, green onions, carrots, ham, and pickled radish. Judging by the ratio of ingredients inside the gimbap, bulgogi and green onions make up about half, but the taste and aroma of the green onions were insufficient. While there was a lot of meat, it did not feel significantly different from the bulgogi gimbap already available. The Jindo Green Onion Bulgogi Triangle Gimbap preserved the unique aroma and texture of green onions. However, since the rice was not seasoned, eating the end part tasted like plain rice wrapped in seaweed, which was not very enjoyable.