H Mart: The Cookbook

The first cookbook from the cult-status Asian grocery store chain is a visual celebration with Korean recipes, ingredient spotlights, cultural deep dives, how-tos, and more.

When the first H Mart opened in 1982, it was just a humble grocery store in Queens, carrying the most basic of Korean ingredients. In the 43 years since then, the tiny shop has grown into America’s largest Asian supermarket chain. And for the nearly 20 million Asian Americans living across the country, H Mart has become more than a simple grocery store. It’s a place of community, a joyous connection to their culture and heritage. Cooking with H Mart is here to bring that joy home. This gorgeous, oversized cookbook and guidebook contains everything a person could ever want to know about H Mart: From its history and profiles to ingredient spotlights and how-tos.

The highlight of the book is the 75 home-cook friendly recipes that make the most of H Mart’s ingredients. There are classic Korean dishes, like Spicy Cucumber Salad (Oi Muchim), Braised Beef Short Ribs (Galbi Jjim), and Stir-Fried Sweet Potato Noodles (Japchae) as well as unique twists using contemporary flavors. Pizza-Stuffed Fish-Shaped Waffles (Pizza Bunggeobbang) rethinks a popular Korean street food by swapping out the traditional red bean paste with pizza toppings. And Cheesy Kimchi Fried Rice (Cheese Buldak Kimchi Bokkeumbap) combines hot sauce, spicy kimchi, and mozzarella to make a truly addictive comfort meal.

Overflowing with brilliantly colored photography and illustrations, charts, and infographics, Cooking with H Mart will help any reader make the most of their next grocery run.

• “The story of Korean cuisine in America has its origins in the revolutionary grocery chain we all know and love as H Mart. Now we can hold in our hands a compendium of original recipes and essential information that shows why this cuisine has become an American phenomenon.”
  Edward Lee, James Beard Award–winning author of Buttermilk Graffiti and Bourbon Land
• “I’m genuinely in awe of this cookbook. It’s fresh, playful, and clever, offering an engaging and entertaining introduction to Korean food through the shared perspectives of Korean Americans. Every page is packed with information without feeling overwhelming, making it a book you’ll want to read just as much as you’ll want to cook from it.”
  Sarah Ahn, James Beard Award–winning author of Umma
• “This book isn’t just a catalog of timeless Korean recipes from one of the leading authorities in Korean cuisine. It is also a map written for everyone—one that takes you back to your own family’s kitchen and to the safe contours of home.”
  Joanne Lee Molinaro, James Beard Award–winning author of The Korean Vegan and The Korean Vegan: Homemade
• “K-pop opened the world’s ears to Korean music, and its true fans rarely stop at the song—they study the artist, the lyrics, the meaning underneath. Korean cuisine deserves that same curiosity. H Mart opened the door to Korean food in America, stocking the ingredients that make it possible, and now this cookbook goes further—teaching the logic behind the dishes, the techniques, the history in each recipe, so anyone who tasted something they love can finally cook it with real understanding and make it their own.”
  Lee Soo-man, founder of SM Entertainment