Kurly Expands Its Chef-Driven Food Collection with Udon Kaden's U.S. Retail Launch

• Udon Kaden's two signature dishes — Signature Udon and Chilled Udon — launch in the U.S.
• Available at H Mart, Jagalchi, Mega Mart and other retail partners, and online at Kurlyglobal.com
• Chef Jung Ho Young will host in-store tastings at four California stores on August 22–23

LOS ANGELES, Aug. 22, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Kurly, the premium Korean food company bringing the country's most-loved foods to American consumers, announced the U.S. launch of two frozen udon dishes from Udon Kaden, the beloved Seoul noodle house of chef Jung Ho Young. The launch expands Kurly's line of chef-restaurant frozen meals in the American market.

The two products recreate the flavors of Kaden's best-known menu items for the home kitchen: Signature Udon, a warm bowl built on a clear, deeply savory dashi, and Chilled Udon, its cold, no-broth counterpart.

Jung is one of Korea's most recognizable Japanese-cuisine chefs, familiar to audiences from Netflix's "Culinary Class Wars" Season 2 and the long-running "Chef & My Fridge." After earning his footing in Japanese restaurants in Korea, he trained at the Tsuji Culinary Institute in Osaka, then returned to open the izakaya Kaden and, later, Udon Kaden. He has spent more than 20 years cooking Japanese food.

Udon Kaden built its reputation on two things: noodles with a taut, bouncy bite, and a broth of kombu, anchovy and smoked mackerel flakes. The restaurant has drawn steady lines in Seoul for nearly a decade, and today operates locations in Seoul's Yeonhui-dong neighborhood and on Jeju Island.

Signature Udon pairs fresh-frozen udon noodles with a broth modeled on the restaurant's dashi, finished with bonito flakes. The noodles boil in 8 to 9 minutes while the broth heats separately in 1 to 2 — assemble, and the bowl is done. Chilled Udon takes the opposite path: a concentrated dashi-rich sauce, grated radish and toppings poured over cold noodles, trading the comfort of hot soup for a chewier bite and a denser hit of umami.

Both dishes arrive with a track record. In Korea, where the products launched first on Kurly's marketplace, Signature Udon (sold there as Original Udon) has drawn nearly 20,000 customer reviews, and the Udon Kaden line's combined product page has accumulated more than 50,000.

The launch extends a playbook Kurly has refined in Korea since 2017: working directly with chefs and restaurants to turn their signature menus into frozen meals. Kurly USA previously introduced Mokran, the Chinese-cuisine brand of chef Lee Yeon Bok, and is broadening the lineup with Udon Kaden and Yun Seoul, from chef Kim Do Yun.

To mark the launch, Chef Jung will host in-store tastings across California on August 22–23 — in Southern California at H Mart Buena Park and H Mart Irvine NorthPark, and in Northern California at Jagalchi in Daly City and Mega Mart in East Palo Alto.

"Udon Kaden is a defining example of what we do: a chef's recipe and a restaurant's identity, thoughtfully recreated as a frozen meal," said Ryan Chung, Head of Global Business at Kurly. "Starting with Asian grocery retailers, we will keep widening the places where American consumers can bring Korea's chefs and restaurant brands into their everyday cooking."

Signature Udon and Chilled Udon are available at H Mart and other participating retailers, and online at Kurlyglobal.com. Online delivery areas and stock may vary by address and time of order.

About Kurly

Kurly is a premium Korean food company that discovers and introduces the country's most trusted food brands, beloved restaurants, and chef collaborations. On its marketplace in Korea, Kurly pioneered the category of restaurant meals recreated for the home freezer, working with chefs and restaurants since 2017 to bring their signature menus into home kitchens — including Mokran by chef Lee Yeon Bok, which has sold more than 7 million units, Udon Kaden by chef Jung Ho Young, and Yun Seoul by chef Kim Do Yun. Kurly USA brings a curated selection of these proven products to the American market, alongside Korean beauty and lifestyle goods — from Mokran's jjajangmyeon and jjamppong to Yun Seoul's perilla-oil noodles.

SOURCE Kurly