What Should I Buy at H-Mart or another Asian Market?

[Anonymous]

I am a very novice cook, but would like to go in and browse.

[Anonymous]

Shrimp!! My local Lotte and Super-H (aka H-Mart) in Fairfax have fresh shrimp at great prices (better than I've seen anywhere else). I do prefer Super-H over Lotte, but Lotte is closer to me.

The other day we bought some shrimp at Lotte and took over to grandparents (who coincidentally also bought shrimp at (I believe Harris Teeter?). Anyway, the Lotte shrimp looked and tasted much fresher.

Also, they tend to have much better prices on their fruit/vegetables.

As far as cooking, I don't cook either - so can't give any advice there, sorry

[Anonymous]

They have the cheapest produce. For starters:
Fruits
Vegetables
Herbs
Exotic fruits and vegetables
Fresh shiitake & Inoki mushrooms
Short grain rice (sushi rice)
Sweet rice ("sticky rice")
Tofu
Green tea
Nori (seaweed for sushi)
Wasabi (powder-very long self life)
wonton skin for dumplings (freezer)
rice paper for spring rolls
Udon noodle kit with various fish cakes (freezer)
Kamaboku fish cakes (freezer)
rice vermicelli (noodles)
Pad thai noodles
Soba buckwheat noodles
Green tea noodles
NucNam (Vietnamese anchovie sauce)
Miren (Japanese rice wine for cooking)
Soy sauce
Hot sauce
Miso paste (soups/ salad)
Miso soup powder
Mochi-red bean filled rice cakes (refrigerator)

For those more adventurous:
Meat & Fish Dept
Deli -kim chee, spicy raw oysters, spicy calimari, grilled fish
Anything you've never heard of.

[Anonymous]

agree with pp's. produce is a great price... and some of it is exotic but some of it is not.

if you've never tried an asian pear from an asian grocery store before (the size of a baby's head) you really must...

seafood always is pretty fresh.

you might find a good amount of non asians in there so don't feel that this is some weird pioneering excursion into a foreign land (if i'm inferring the tone correctly from your post).

you can find a lot of the same stuff from your regular grocery store, plus some interesting new stuff.

[Anonymous]

where are these two stores mentioned above? I have some specific things I am looking for but until recently have managed to find everything needed at more traditional grocery stores.

[Anonymous]

there are multiple locations in md and va. where do you live?

[Anonymous]

http://www.hmart.com/company_new/shop_main.asp

[Anonymous]

h mart is not the only chain however. there are lotte stores, grand mart, korean korner... all along the same lines.

[Anonymous]

I usually buy greens when I go to the asian groceries -- they have such a large variety of wonderful greens that you can't find in a regular supermarket -- fresh and cheap! Herbs/green onions/garlic/ginger are also dirt cheap at the asian groceries. I tend to buy produce that looks best and has the best price rather than go in with a set idea of what I want to purchase.

You can frequently find great fish and shrimp also, but since I try not to buy much farmed fish and shrimp, the selections can not be as great as you would assume. Yes much of the shrimp is fresh and cheap, but much of it is also farmed in asia.

[Anonymous]

I usually go to H Mart to buy radicchio, fennel, and endive. They sell them at great prices. Also, I like to get Thai basil there. Make sure to get some coconut milk and some panang curry paste. Yum.

[Anonymous]

Aside from lower prices for produce, you simply can't buy decent soy sauce at Giant, Safeway, WF or TJs, the flavor is just weird. For about 1/4 the price (on a per ounce basis), watch for WJS aka Wan Ja Shang soy sauce. Other things I always buy:

tofu
bean sprouts
bubble tea
rice wine (mix with ginger, sugar and aforementioned soy sauce for terriyaki marinade)
sesame seeds
fresh ginger root
scallions

[Anonymous]

try the pre-marinated short ribs (we like "la style"), they are delicious on the bbq or broiled in the oven.

we also indulge in korean fried chicken (in the hot, take-out section) - the extra crunchy salty kind, and the sweet sticky kind - as well as the korean sushi.

mochi ice cream in the freezer section.
fresh asian noodles, fresh kimchi, schriacha sauce, frozen dumplings and red-bean buns, dried udon noodles, top brand soy sauce / hoisin sauce / marinades, great meat selection (cheap pork shoulder, short ribs, flank steak, whole chickens & ducks)....

right now, pomelos are in season!

i could go on & on & on...

[Anonymous]

The ONLY time I ever shopped at an H Mart, my DD had an allergic reaction to the soy sauce I bought (it had some funky flavor enhancers in it). GO figure.

Maybe I should make sure I'm stocked with epi-pens and try again. it sounds like I'd find some yummy stuff. (I'm kidding about the epi-pens in case someone thinks I'd endanger my child --obviously, I'd read the labels).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The ONLY time I ever shopped at an H Mart, my DD had an allergic reaction to the soy sauce I bought (it had some funky flavor enhancers in it). GO figure.

Maybe I should make sure I'm stocked with epi-pens and try again. it sounds like I'd find some yummy stuff. (I'm kidding about the epi-pens in case someone thinks I'd endanger my child --obviously, I'd read the labels).

Wow, bad luck! We buy kikkoman from Hmart. No reaction, so far.

[Anonymous]

frozen edamame -- we steam it in the microwave with a little water

frozen unagi -- defrosts in the microwave in just 3 minutes. I think many restaurants just defrost the pre-made frozen unagi

sashimi grade salmon -- $15.99/lb at the Wheaton H-mart. They didn't have it at the Gaithersbirg H mart last week when we checked. We usually have a half pound per person, so it's $8 PP for a huge meal of sashimi.