Jungang Station butcher in Ansan: a week of side dishes, Morakmorak

Why I bought a week of side dishes at a butcher shop in one go

Coming home from work, the hardest question is always what's for dinner, right? Especially for dual-income couples or people living alone, shopping and cooking every day is not easy. So I tend to buy plenty of dishes that work as side dishes in one trip and keep them in the fridge or freezer.

How is Morakmorak Home & Cook different from a regular butcher?

Morakmorak Home & Cook (모락모락홈앤쿡) is a butcher shop on the basement level of Star Plaza in Ansan, and you can buy not only raw meat but also marinated meat, yukhoe, tteokgalbi (grilled short rib patties) and galbitang (short rib soup) all in one place. I visited this time thinking it was just a butcher, but once I got there it was a little different from an ordinary one.

Fresh meat, plus a wide range of marinated meat, yukhoe, tteokgalbi and galbitang, all in one spot, so it was a great place to solve the side dish problem in one go. What caught my eye from the entrance was the variety of marinated meat on display.

The showcase had soy jeyuk and gochujang jeyuk, of course, but also marinated galbi and yukhoe, a really wide range. Lots of items can go straight onto the grill without making your own marinade, which I thought would be a lifesaver on busy days.

How much is the Morak signature yukhoe? ₩9,900 per pack

Morakmorak's Morak signature yukhoe was ₩9,900 per pack, and the label said it uses domestic beef. This was the first thing that caught my eye. The price wasn't a burden, and the domestic beef label made me trust it even more.

I figured just adding sesame oil and an egg yolk at home would make it a perfectly good drinking snack or meal.

Marinated galbi for camping and family gatherings

Looking around the showcase a bit more, the marinated galbi at Morakmorak looked really tempting too.

It didn't look drowned in sauce; the meat itself was thick and looked delicious just to look at. It seemed great to take to a camping trip or family gathering, and at home you could cook it easily with just a frying pan or an air fryer.

Soy jeyuk vs gochujang jeyuk, ₩8,900 per geun

Both the soy jeyuk and the gochujang jeyuk at Morakmorak were ₩8,900 per geun (about 600 g). This was the item I was most interested in this time. The price was fine and the portion looked generous, perfect for several meals. The soy one seemed good for eating with kids, and the gochujang one just right for people who like it spicy.

Normally making jeyuk takes quite a while, from trimming the meat to the marinade, but with a ready-made product you only have to stir-fry it, which sounded really convenient. At one side of the showcase there was also marinated dakgalbi (spicy chicken stir-fry).

Chuncheon-style marinated dakgalbi, 2 geun set

Maybe because it's Chuncheon style, the Morakmorak dakgalbi looked appetizing from the color of the sauce, and the 2 geun set seemed plenty for a family. Making fried rice with it on the weekend would be a really filling meal.

What kind of product is the Morakmorak galbitang?

The most impressive product in the fridge was the Morakmorak galbitang. According to the sign, the broth is made from the mixed bones of a whole hanwoo (Korean beef) cow, loaded with ribs and brisket shank.

The phrase about winning on the amount of meat rather than seasoning is there for a reason. Looking at the packaged galbitang, it really was full of meat, and I thought it would be easy to just heat up at home.

On busy days like these, a single soup makes a meal so much more filling, right? Keeping a few packs in the freezer would be really handy on days you can't be bothered to cook.

Meaty pork ribs for barbecue and ribs

The refrigerated shelves at Morakmorak also sold pork ribs, and with so much meat on them they looked good for barbecue or making ribs. If you go camping often, buying them in advance and bringing them along would probably be very satisfying.

Were the displays and price tags easy to shop from?

Looking around Morakmorak, what struck me was the sheer variety of meat. From raw meat to marinated meat, yukhoe, galbitang and tteokgalbi, you can buy everything at once, so there's no need to run around to several shops. Above all, the displays were tidy and the price tags for each product were well organized, so it was easy to pick what I needed.

Receipt review event: extra hanwoo sagol gomtang

At the time of my visit, Morakmorak was also running a Naver receipt review event. They said you get extra hanwoo sagol gomtang (beef bone soup) if you write a receipt review, so if you're interested, you might want to join in.

My week of side dishes planned around Morakmorak

Shopping at Morakmorak this time, my first thought was, "With this much, I don't have to worry about side dishes for a week."

• Weeknight dinners: soy and gochujang jeyuk
• Weekend drinking snack: Morak signature yukhoe
• Busy-day meal: galbitang

Prepared like this, I wouldn't need to go shopping again for a while. If prepping side dishes is a hassle for you, or you've been looking for tasty marinated meat, it's worth a visit.