H Mart Hacks: How to Make the Most of the Korean Superstore Chain
An ode to H Mart, which is having a moment
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H Mart was my saving grace during this year of Covid-19 because while the grocery store literally across the street had massive lines 24/7, I could breeze into H Mart, like any Asian restaurant at this time, and it would be almost empty except for fellow Asians, all excellently masked. I could be in and out in 15 minutes, a Dr. Fauci-approved amount of time for indoor contact, grateful that for a change I could make racism work for me. Whilst my fellow New Yorkers were Hunger Games-style brawling for that last single roll of toilet paper, I could pick up bales of normal or Hello Kitty toilet paper at any time.
Now that things are opening up again, and between Parasite’s Oscar win, the popularity of the Korean American film, Minari (which you can buy at H Mart by the way), and the volumes and volumes of K-dramas that were consumed over the quarantine, now Korean culture, and by extension, H Mart, is cool. There’s even a great new memoir by Michelle Zauner, the musician also known as Japanese Breakfast, called Crying in H Mart, which is an uber-specific, yet universal look at how food and memories of it tie us to our loved ones.
For the newbie, however, shopping at a Korean market can be intimidating because you don’t know what the items are, especially if the labels are in Korean and/or incompletely translated (what are “fish pencils” anyway?), and the people who work there can be brusque and may not speak English. But don’t let that stop you from the glories and bargains.
Food
The produce area of an H Mart is like walking into a Chopped basket. Beautiful piles of dragon fruit, Asian pears, the correct kind of cabbage you need for kimchi, persimmons.
I found a beautiful rare citrus, a Buddha’s hand. They are a beautiful fruit that’s almost all rind. You can chop them up and candy…
