GF Shopping in NY - H-Mart

Living in NY means having asian groceries, on average, in every other block; in some neighborhoods you'll see 3-4 of them in one block, and in others you'll have to walk a couple blocks before seeing one, but they are very common. H-mart stands out as a recognizable chain that offers a good selection of Korean and Japanese products, household items, and even some skincare. Before I continue, I'd like to clarify that I am in no way affiliated with H-mart, the post is not sponsored, I've purchased all products that i mention myself, and all opinions are my own. I always liked Asian cuisine, but shopping in average asian grocery might be infuriating for a celiac. At times, it feels like non-GF soy sauce is the main ingredient of each and every frozen meal, sauce and condiment, and you can forget about dumplings and ramen. However, there are certain products that I can purchase in asian groceries. 

Gluten-free shopping in H-Mart in NYC; this is what I picked up yesterday.

Today I'm going to talk about H-mart (website here) in general - their stores offer fairly similar selections at all locations that I ever visited. My personal favorite is H-Mart in Koreatown on East 32d street between Broadway and 5th avenue, the location is most convenient for me; I do like stores in Flushing, Queens, but they require a separate trip. I think H-Mart is starting to catch up on gluten-free trend; it seems that the number of products that are clearly marked as GF grows exponentially every year. I've noticed that I go to H-mart more and more often, and I tend to purchase similar items most of the time; let me show you what I picked up yesterday.

First thing that comes to my mind when someone mentions Korean cuisine is kimchi and fried chicken wings. Unfortunately, I can't eat korean double fried wings anymore unless they're homemade. There are a few places in Koreatown that we used to go to all the time, but we had to give up on them when I got diagnosed; they're all adding regular soy sauce to their wings during the cooking process. On the bright side, I can find gluten-free kimchi easily. My favorite kimchi store is in Flushing, but H-Mart has a nice GF kimchi that I like. It comes in different sizes, usually I pick up the biggest jar I can carry on subway.

All asian groceries have good produce sections; H-Mart tends to carry produce that used in korean and japanese cuisine. They always have nice, fresh ginger, and they they have good selection of peppers. They also have a great selection of spices, but this time I did not pick up any; however, K-Mart is a place to go for korean red pepper; it does not have any fillers, so it's safe for me.

Gluten-free shopping in H-Mart in NYC; this is what I picked up yesterday.

They tend to have a better selection of rice and konnyaku noodles than chinese groceries in my part of Brooklyn, so I always pick up something; this time I got Shirakiku konnyaku noodles that are gluten and calories free, and some brown rice cakes instead of regular white rice ones. 

Seaweed section is also one of my favorites in H-Mart stores; they have both seaweed for soups, like the one I picked up, and seaweed snacks, called layers, that I also buy on regular basis. Snacks come in single-layer packs, and H-Mart sells them in multi-packs. Unlike some of japanese nori, layers never seem to have any soy sauce in their ingredient list, and they flavored with sesame or olive oil; I just stocked up on them or I would've picked up some in H-Mart.

Most of the time I pick up some tofu - H-Mart has great selection of it and generally I like the brands that they carry better than standard, cheaper tofu that's common to chinese groceries in general; also they have gluten-free miso. I prefer to go to Sunrise mart for miso, they seem to have bigger selection of gluten-free miso compared to other places, but if I'm out of it and I don't have time for a separate trip, I can always find a good GF miso in H-Mart.