H Mart drops its first cookbook

By the Editorial Team · Wednesday, October 21, 2026

H Mart has published its first cookbook, featuring 75 Korean recipes along with ingredient guides and cooking techniques curated by Stacey Kwon, daughter of the founder. This release supports the chain’s mission to educate home cooks about Korean cuisine and complements its expansion as a key player in popularizing Korean food culture across the U.S.

H Mart, the largest Asian supermarket chain in the United States, has launched its first cookbook, marking a new chapter for the New York-based company as it continues to ride the wave of growing global interest in Korean cuisine and culture, known as hallyu or the Korean Wave.

Released earlier this month, “H Mart The Cookbook: Essential Ingredients, Techniques, and Korean Recipes” features 75 recipes alongside detailed ingredient guides, cooking techniques, historical context, photographs, and illustrations. The book offers readers instruction on preparing traditional Korean dishes such as kimchi, various banchan including cucumber salad and pickled perilla leaves, and beoseot jeongol, a mushroom hot pot with origins tracing back to Korea’s Joseon dynasty.

The author, Stacey Kwon, who is the daughter of H Mart’s founder and president Il Yeon Kwon, collaborated with food writers and recipe developers to create a resource designed to help home cooks navigate aisles stocked with staples like soy sauces, cooking oils, instant noodles, meats, and seafood. The cookbook aims not only to share recipes but also to introduce readers to the rich culinary heritage and staple ingredients made widely accessible through H Mart’s stores.

H Mart currently operates 138 locations across the U.S., reflecting significant expansion since its founding in 1982 when Il Yeon Kwon, a South Korean immigrant, opened a small market in Woodside, Queens, aimed at serving the Korean diaspora. The store’s original name, Han Ah Reum, means “an armful” in Korean, symbolizing the abundance of ingredients it offered to a community seeking authentic Korean pantry staples.

In the cookbook’s introduction, Stacey Kwon reflects on her personal connection to the family business, noting that while most children spent their youth playing outdoors, she spent hers immersed in H Mart’s environment.

The cookbook is available for purchase at various retail outlets, including Brookline Booksmith in Brookline, Porter Square Books in Cambridge, Barnes and Noble, Amazon, and other bookstores, with prices ranging from $40 to $50.

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