For a Korean Feast
H Mart, 8103 Lee Highway, Falls Church, 703-573-6300; www.hmart.com
Korean bulgogi
My first visit to the Merrifield outpost of the H Mart Korean grocery store chain felt like the moment when Dorothy lands in Oz and her black-and-white world turns Technicolor. Aside from the plethora of real-deal Asian ingredients and wondrous, well-priced produce, meat and seafood, the market sells a treasure trove of prepared and frozen foods that are easily reheated at home. Among them: fried dumplings filled with squash; steamed bao buns filled with pork, tofu, leeks and glass noodles; crispy-fried chicken wings seasoned with garlic, onion and sesame seeds; stir-fried vermicelli with beef, wood-ear mushrooms, carrots, peppers and Chinese broccoli; and a hearty Korean soup of spicy red-chili beef broth, shredded flank steak, radishes, scallions and sesame oil.
Love Korean barbecue? H Mart makes at-home bulgogi a breeze with pre-marinated strips of thinly sliced, boneless short ribs that are ready for a quick grilling or sautéing. Serve this flavor-packed beef with steamed rice and your pick of the market’s wide selection of packaged banchan (cold side dishes), such as seaweed salad, radish kimchi and fish cakes.
The store is also home to a small, food-court-style restaurant with counter seating and takeout (open 11:30 a.m.-7:30 p.m.; cash only). Specialties include bokumbap (fried rice with shrimp), bulgogi dubbap (rice bowl with sautéed marinated beef), yukgaejang (spicy beef, vegetable and noodle soup), pajeon (seafood pancake) and mulnengmyun (a cold buckwheat-noodle-and-broth soup with hard-boiled egg).