Korean Grocery List

Here's a rundown of what I usually always pick up each week:

  • Moo (daikon radish)
  • kong namool (bean sprouts)
  • 1 bunch of spinach (actually I'll pick this up at Ralphs because they have it precut already and it saves an extra step)
  • tofu (normally I get 2 packs)
  • Korean peppers
  • Korean squash
  • potatoes
  • onions
  • green onions (which I chop all at once and store in a container to use for the week)
  • 1 Asian pear (sometimes more if I feel like eating one)
  • Sang chu (red leaf lettuce)
  • 1 pack of udon (if I'm out)
  • 1 frozen Octopus package (if I'm out because you can keep it in the freezer forever)
  • 1 steamed hairtail (also because it can be stored in the freezer forever)
  • sam gyup sal (pork belly - I bring it home and saran wrap 3-4 pieces each to make it easier for defrosting when I make kimchi jjigae)
  • shitake and enoki mushrooms
  • sometimes oyster mushrooms
  • beef - I rotate buying boolgogi, galbi, chi-mat sal (for gooks), and any other type of meat I need
  • chicken drummettes - for some reason only the K-market sells ONLY the drum part of the chicken wing, so I always grab a package and leave it in our freezer
  • dak myun (which can be stored forever also)
  • mi yuk (if I don't already have it)
  • ginger (if I already don't have some stored in the freezer)

I usually already have at home:

  • dwen jang (soy bean paste)
  • red pepper paste
  • red pepper powder
  • soy sauce
  • minced garlic (I mince up a HUGE amount and freeze them in ziploc bags)
  • gook ganjang
  • fish sauce
  • sugar
  • salt
  • pepper
  • rice wine
  • corn syrup

If you have all of the items mentioned above, there's a LOT of things you can make. If I cook at least 4 -5 times in a week, I can use up whatever I bought that week. But USUALLY I cook 2 or 3 times a week, which means a lot of the vegetables end up in the trash (much to the dismay of the MR). Depending on whether I buy meat or not my weekly Korean grocery bill is anywhere from $60-120. Then I have to go to Ralphs to buy American products too. *sigh* It seems we work to eat. =P