CU 4900 Budae Bokkeum Lunch Box Review [Korean Food]

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Budae jjigae, the sausage-and-ham stew born in postwar Korea, keeps finding new formats, and the latest is a convenience store lunch box. CU has just added Budae Bokkeum Jeongsik to its Pbick single-dish line, which carries on from the chain’s earlier one-item trays. As Pbick gets tidied up, more of these single-dish boxes keep appearing. I reviewed the kimchi pork version not long ago, and this stir-fried take is a first for the range. I like budae bokkeum quite a lot, so expectations were high. Let’s see how it turned out.

Table of Contents

📋 At a Glance

Product: 4900 Budae Bokkeum Jeongsik
Store: CU (Pbick single-dish line)
Price: 4,900 won (roughly $3.60 USD)
Weight: 338g
Calories: 654Kcal (sodium at 55% of the daily value)
Main components: budae bokkeum with sausage, pressed ham, green onion, onion and kimchi, plus egg roll and rice
Heating: remove the lid, then 1 minute 30 seconds in a 1,000W microwave
Verdict: ★4.0 — reads like a ham and sausage kimchi stir-fry, and the rice disappears fast.

Price and Positioning of This Budae Bokkeum

Recently I covered an Emart24 tray made with the Ttangs Budae Jjigae brand, and it captured that restaurant’s flavor well enough that I remember enjoying it. So expectations were already set for this one. CU has of course released full budae bokkeum meal sets before, though this looks like its first single-dish version. (There was a semi-cooked ready meal, but that was a true “budae bokkeum” with no rice at all.) As for the price, the 4900 in the name says it: 4,900 won.

Spicy and sharp budae bokkeum characteristics

Weight, Calories and Heating Time

Total net weight is 338g with 654Kcal, and sodium sits at 55% of the daily value. Given how much ham goes into a budae dish, I assumed the calorie count would run higher, yet relative to the portion it doesn’t feel excessive. Sodium also came in lower than expected. Heating takes 1 minute 30 seconds in a 1,000W microwave. Remember to take the lid off before you start.

Budae jjigae reinterpreted in stir-fried form

Introducing the ultra-low-price lunch box campaign

What’s in the Tray

Let’s check the layout. Being a single-dish box, there isn’t much that stands out about the composition. Much like the kimchi pork version before it, you get the main stir-fry plus one simple side.

Budae bokkeum meal as a dependable lunch

The visible ingredients are sausage, pressed ham, green onion and onion. On the label they’re listed only as pressed ham 1 and pressed ham 2. One contains chicken and the other is made from pork alone. From the outside there’s no way to tell which is which. Square pressed ham, the kind usually sold as smoked ham, tends to carry more chicken. I’ll find out when I taste it.

Sales information for CU stores nationwide

The sauce has been laid on fairly thick. Looking at it, some kimchi appears to be in there too, and the label lists seasoned meat as well. It isn’t in big chunks, though I could spot some in ground form. The side dish is a single slice of rolled omelette cut in half. That part is identical to the kimchi pork box.

Features of an excellent value lunch box

Side dish composition of the budae bokkeum meal

Since kimchi is already mixed into the stir-fry, they probably decided a separate portion of stir-fried kimchi wasn’t needed. As with the kimchi pork box, however good it tastes, a single-dish tray can start to feel repetitive partway through. I’m curious whether this one does the same. The portion is certainly substantial for a single dish.

Recommendation review of the budae bokkeum menu

Taste Test: How Does It Actually Eat?

Let’s get to it. Before pairing anything with rice, I tried a piece of the square pressed ham on its own. Just as suspected, this is the one with chicken in it. There’s a slightly dry, crumbly quality to it.

Ingredient details of the budae bokkeum meal

Even so, there’s enough pork fat in the ham that it eats perfectly well. Once fully heated it softens up, and it pairs surprisingly nicely with the sauce. Besides, unless a budae dish uses Spam, square ham mostly tastes about the same anyway.

The addictive seasoning of budae bokkeum

Next I tried the round sausage, which has a bit of snap and a satisfying chew. The sauce leans less sweet and more spicy, with a distinct kimchi note running through it. Where the Emart24 version I reviewed earlier preserved the Ttangs Budae Jjigae character, this one is built much closer to an actual stir-fry, landing near a sausage and kimchi bokkeum.

Recommending the budae bokkeum meal on value

Anticipation for the CU budae bokkeum meal

Whenever the flavor started to feel repetitive, a bite of the plain rolled omelette hit the spot. It’s seasoned just enough, so even as a processed item it’s far better than having nothing there at all.

Introducing the sausage in the budae bokkeum

How Well Does It Go with the Rice?

This one pairs well with rice, so the spoonfuls go down easily. Nobody is going to argue with that combination. However, the portion is large, and while the baseline satisfaction is good, the same flavor keeps repeating and does start to wear a little. What I found myself wanting was a bowl of savory doenjang soup or a clear seaweed soup alongside. Eat your way through one and you’ll know exactly what I mean.

Review of the generously topped budae bokkeum

Sharing an appetizing photo of the budae bokkeum

Final Verdict

Overall this eats well as something close to a ham and sausage kimchi stir-fry. It can wear on you slightly, so it suits anyone who never tires of that flavor profile. If that’s you, the sauce has enough going on that mixing everything straight into the rice works too. The value is strong as well, which makes it an easy pick when you want a quick, simple meal. Visitors to Korea will find it in any CU branch, with a microwave right there in the store.

Background on the CU Pbick lunch box brand that this item belongs to is covered in this (Korean source) Electronic Times report on the CU Pbick lunch box brand.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q. What is budae bokkeum, exactly?

Think of it as budae jjigae without the broth. The same sausage, pressed ham and kimchi get stir-fried in a thick sauce instead of simmered in soup, which is why this tray reads closer to a sausage and kimchi bokkeum.

Q. How much does the CU 4900 Budae Bokkeum cost?

It costs 4,900 won, which is exactly what the 4900 in the name refers to. For 338g and 654Kcal, the portion is generous for that money.

Q. Is it very spicy?

Moderately so, with the heat coming mostly from kimchi rather than raw chili. The sauce is less sweet than you might expect and carries a clear tangy edge. A bite of the rolled omelette cools things down whenever it builds up.

Q. How does it compare with the Emart24 Ttangs version?

The Emart24 tray preserved the character of the Ttangs Budae Jjigae restaurant sauce. This CU box, by contrast, is built as a genuine stir-fry, so the kimchi tang leads and the stew-like aftertaste is largely gone.

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