Top 16+ Things I Only Buy at My Local Asian Grocery Store
Snacks
I’m a fiend for senbei, Japanese rice crackers, and make sure to grab a couple of my favorite kinds. At the top of my list are nori maki arare, crunchy rice crackers about the size and shape of my pinkie finger basted in soy sauce and wrapped in crisp seasoned nori. I always buy a couple of bags of kaki no tane (also known as kaki-pi), crescent-shaped rice crackers meant to resemble persimmon seeds (‘kaki’ is Japanese for persimmon) seasoned with soy sauce and chili. I also love Calbee Shrimp Chips, and if I spot any international potato chips from China or Taiwan, I snap those up, too.
Herbs
Nothing makes me more irritated than those little .75-ounce plastic packages of fresh herbs at the grocery store — the cost for just a smidge of herbage is ridiculous, and the excessive packaging feels wasteful. To avoid going full Hulk at the Publix, I save herb shopping for Hometown, where the year-round selection of fresh herbs includes everything you might find at a big brand grocery store, as well as harder-to-find options like tarragon, Thai basil, shiso, curry leaf, lime leaf, and rau ram. All are sold in generous bundles and at an accessible price point. Clearly, these are herbs meant for cooks who plan to use a lot of them.
Daikon
These mild-flavored radishes are delicious in miso soup, and are also great in a number of salads and quick pickles. I’ve yet to see them at my local Publix, but Hometown stocks massive specimens (a foot or more in length) for about a dollar per pound.
