The Best Korean Products at Trader Joe’s

As a mother of two, Korean-American recipe developer and food blogger Alice Choi (@Hipfoodiemom1) is adept at creating delicious meals while keeping home cooking accessible. Her recipes include Korean dishes, pastas, easy weeknight meals, desserts, and everything in between.

It’s this versatility that has drawn Choi’s audience of over 700,000 followers on Tiktokwho follow along as she shares her own recipes, tries viral food trends, and reviews grocery products from major supermarkets. Part of Choi’s content is focused on trying all of the Korean products available at Trader Joe’s so she can guide her followers to what is (or isn’t) worth buying at the popular grocery store.

The recipe developer tells Food & Wine that she’s an advocate for cooking Korean dishes at home or visiting Korean restaurants Depending on where you live, you might have access to Asian or Korean grocery stores that carry a wider array of products and groceries from smaller producers that are difficult to find at most American grocery chains.

If these options aren’t available to you, Choi notes that Korean dishes and ingredients from Trader Joe’s “are great for convenience and if you’re strapped for time and are craving Korean food.”

Choi says she loves seeing these items available at Trader Joe’s stores, “now that Korean food is gaining more popularity” in the U.S. That being said, not every Korean item at this supermarket is worth putting in your shopping cart. Luckily for anyone navigating the aisles of Trader Joe’s, the recipe developer and content creator shared with us the Korean foods you should snag from this grocery chain (and the ones you should skip), ranging from frozen, ready-to-eat dishes to a widely popular pantry staple.

The Korean items you should buy from Trader Joe’s

Jumeokbap

Trader Joe’s Jumeokbap is made by a supplier based in South Korea, and each bag comes with three frozen rice balls. The microwavable rice balls are flavored with plant-based bulgogi, vegetables like cabbage and carrots, and a sweet, tangy sauce. While jumeokbap are usually round, the version from Trader Joe’s is triangular.

Choi appreciates that they’re individually wrapped. “I would buy these again just for the convenience. I’d love to see a meat/beef version,” she says, adding that her daughter also loved the Korean rice balls. “Overall, these were great! Add some kimchi on top, and you have a little meal!”

Tteok book ki

Trader Joe’s version of these gloriously chewy rice cakes simmered in a gochujang-based sauce is also sourced from a supplier in South Korea. Choi says that the Tteok book ki sauce is the perfect balance of sweet and spicy and that the product is “super simple to make and surprisingly good.”

She recommends enjoying this classic Korean dish with fresh scallions and hard-boiled eggs, proclaiming, “I would definitely recommend this product to anyone who wants a quick tteokbokki fix. So good!”

Japchae

Glass noodles made from sweet potato starch are tossed with vegetables in this stir-fried dish. According to Choi, “I thought the japchae noodles were surprisingly good. If you’re looking for something quick and easy, try it!”

The Trader Joe’s Japchae is a product of South Korea and includes onions, spinach, carrots, green bell peppers, and red bell peppers. It’s coated in a sweet and savory sauce made with sesame oil and brown sugar.

Korean Japchae Fried Rice

“If you like japchae and fried rice, this one is worth trying,” says Choi. In this frozen meal, which is a product of South Korea, both white rice and sweet potato glass noodles are mixed with shiitake mushrooms, cabbage, green and red bell peppers, carrots, onions, spinach, and garlic, all tossed with soy sauce and sesame oil.

Choi was pleasantly surprised by the quality of Trader Joe’s Japchae Fried Riceas she explains, “After removing the frozen fried rice from the bag, I was completely ready to dislike this product, but it was good!” She found that the mix of rice and glass noodles “had a great texture, and the fried rice was really flavorful.”

Korean Beef Bulgogi

While it’s not the same quality as homemade bulgogi — or what one would get at a Korean restaurant — Trader Joe’s Beef Bulgogi is “pretty darn close,” according to Choi. The dish is made with thinly shaved beef and, in Trader Joe’s rendition, marinated with soy sauce, mirin, sesame oil, onion, garlic, pear and apple puree, pineapple juice, and black pepper.

“Considering all you do is pan-fry it in some oil, the Trader Joe’s Beef Bulgogi was tasty. No added seasoning needed.” She observes that extra sauce was the only thing missing, noting that “If they included a frozen or vacuum-sealed packet of bulgogi sauce, that would be a game changer in my opinion.”

Sweet Cinnamon Filled Korean Pancakes (Hotteok)

Choi is a big fan of the Sweet Cinnamon Filled Korean Pancakesor hotteok, from Trader Joe’s, which feature a golden brown, flaky exterior and are filled with a cinnamon-sugar mixture. The food creator tells Food & Wine that her parents owned a Korean grocery store throughout most of her childhood, and Choi fondly remembers going to their store and picking out a frozen hotteok to snack on.

“These sweet pancakes are a childhood favorite of mine, and these were so good! They are just like the ones I had as a kid,” she says. The Sweet Cinnamon Filled Korean Pancakes sold at Trader Joe’s are a product of South Korea.

Korean Style Beef Short Ribs (Galbi)

These Korean Style Beef Short Ribs are coated in a marinade of soy sauce, brown sugar, rice wine, sesame oil, garlic, lemon juice, and black pepper. Choi says, “I enjoyed the beef short ribs; they are on the sweeter side, which I like, so if you don’t like your galbi sweet, skip this one.” When preparing the short ribs, Choi recommends grilling them, but she says that “otherwise, pan frying works!” After topping the beef short ribs with scallions and sesame seeds, she pairs them with white rice and kimchi.

The Korean products you should skip at Trader Joe’s

Kimbap

Trader Joe’s Kimbap is made with seasoned rice, fried tofu, braised burdock, stir-fried carrot, pickled radish, spinach, and seaweed. Choi details that, “Making kimbap is easy, but it does take a lot of time to make all the ingredients, so I can see why people would want an easy microwavable option.” However, as she observes, “Because you microwave it, the kimbap is warm, and the rice texture isn’t ideal.” She suggests buying this Korean staple from a Korean market instead, as most stores will “sell fresh kimbap in the ready-made food section.”

Gochujang paste

As a staple in Korean cooking, a gochujang (fermented red chile paste) with the right balance of spicy, savory, and sweet notes is essential. For Choi, the Gochujang paste from Trader Joe’s is too salty. Considering the wide array of excellent gochujang brands out there, she recommends skipping this one, saying, “In my opinion, it’s easy enough to go to a Korean market or buy a good Korean brand like CJ Haechandle or Chung Jung One from Amazon.”

Korean Beefless Bulgogi

While Choi enjoys the Korean Beef Bulgogi from Trader Joe’s, the store’s meat-free version didn’t impress the food blogger. “Although I can appreciate making a plant-based version of this, bulgogi really needs to be made with beef,” she emphasizes. According to Choi, the Beefless Bulgogi was too gummy, but she does mention that “I know a lot of vegans out there really love this product.”

Choi encourages everyone to try cooking Korean dishes at home from scratch in conjunction with supporting Korean restaurants and grocery stores. But if these options aren’t accessible to you often or you simply want to try something new the next time you’re making a Trader Joe’s run, this recipe developer’s picks will ensure you’re trying the best Korean food that the store has to offer.