My favorite H Mart products

Hard-to-find products

I love my local H Mart. There’s an entire aisle completely dedicated to noodles. An aisle of sauces. A seaweed aisle!

With the increasing popularity of Asian food in the US, there is definitely more selection of Asian products in traditional grocery stores and online, which is amazing! But there are still enormous benefits to visiting your local Asian grocery store:

There are so many products at an Asian grocery store that are really tricky —or even impossible— to find elsewhere!

So to level up your Asian cooking, I highly recommend making a visit to your local Asian grocery store.

But what if you’ve never been? How will you know what to get? I admit—even I’m sometimes intimidated by all the options in an Asian grocery store. So I’ve put together a list of my favorite products that I depend on. I’m posting them here with photos so you can see the brands I prefer, along with their ingredient labels. I’ll also continue to update this post with more products! We’re only just beginning!

Important note: I have not contacted any of these companies to ask about shared lines or facilities with top allergens. Please use as much caution as you normally would with these products.

Japanese curry

This is a classic Japanese brand of bold, warmly spiced curry. They come in different spice levels: mild, medium-hot, hot. Our family prefers medium-hot because it has just the slightest kick. These come in roux blocks and all you have to do is cook vegetables and protein in liquid, then add your curry blocks. I once accidentally bought the sauce packs (pre-made sauce instead of solid roux blocks, also from S&B). The pre-made sauce is much easier to prepare but it’s definitely lacking in flavor. The roux blocks are worth it!

Katsu sauce

This is the typical dipping sauce for katsu. It’s reminiscent of barbecue sauce. Perfect with allergy-friendly chicken katsu.

Miso paste

Miso paste is a veritable umami bomb and can add so much depth of flavor with very little effort. I use miso paste in my noodle soups and glaze for salmon. Hikari Miso makes many different types of miso. White and yellow have a more mellow flavor and red has a bolder, more complex flavor. You’ll find these in the refrigerated section.

Noodles: “knife cut”

These hearty noodles have a neutral flavor and are a bit on the wide side (a bit wider than linguine). This is the type of noodle I use most often with my homemade chicken stock, jjajang-myun. These will be in the dried noodle aisle.

Noodles: soba

Soba noodles have a beautiful earthy flavor thanks to buckwheat flour. The balance between buckwheat flour and all purpose flour needs to be just right, and this brand has achieved a great ratio.

Noodles: somen

Somen noodles are thin (almost like angel hair pasta) and cook up ultra fast. These go well with any soup as the flavor is very neutral. I also use this noodle to make noodle salads with a sesame dressing.

Noodles: udon

These will be found in a freezer case. There are several brands, and I like the texture and thickness of these best. Udon noodles are thick, slippery and chewy. They can be used in an udon noodle soup or stir fried with a delicious sauce.

Rice cakes

Rice cakes (or dduk) is found in the refrigerated section. In my store, it’s under a giant sign labeled “rice cakes.” Make sure your rice cakes package is vacuum sealed or else it may not be fresh. Keep them fresh in your refrigerator in a container filled with water. Or freeze them for a few months. Defrost them in a container full of water overnight before using. Perfect for ddukbokki or just pan-frying with a sesame-salt sauce.

Shio Koji

Shio Koji adds an amazing neutral fermented flavor to any dish, especially marinated meat. It also helps to tenderize meat. In my H Mart, these are found next to the miso pastes.

Tofu (firm, soft, silken)

Tofu can come in many different textures. These will be found in a refrigerated case. Store these in the refrigerator. For opened packages of tofu, store remaining tofu submerged in water in a container for up to a week. Change water everyday. Firm tofu is perfect for pan-fried tofu with a savory dipping sauce.

My favorite H Mart products

Hard-to-find products