Where to Buy Chinese Ingredients in New York [纽约的中国超市]
1. Look in your go-to grocery stores first… you’d be surprised.
These stores usually stock the key ingredients to get started, like ginger, scallion, soy sauce, star anise, etc.
Morton Williams
Westside Market
The Food Emporium
Whole Foods
2. Online delivery
This is my personal go-to. It has the most complete collection of ingredients I can find, free delivery for any orders over $35, and you can get it as soon as the day after tomorrow. I’ve been ordering from them every other week since I discovered them last summer. I frequently buy the dried five spice tofu, eel, and the not over-priced bok choy from their site. I also use it to buy fruits, eggs, and regular meats & veggies too. Use my referral link to get $20 off your first order.
Walmart has a pretty great assortment of Asian condiments.
The condiments on there tends to be a bit overpriced, but you know you can find anything on Amazon.
3. Search for Asian grocery stores near you
H Mart is a Korean grocery store, but it sells the common Chinese sauces, less conventional cuts of meat, and Asian vegetables.
If you have a car and live in NJ, it is worth the drive to one of the 99 Ranch Market locations. It is a one stop shop for Chinese and Asian grocery.
4. Grocery stores in Chinatown on Canal St or in Flushing, Queens
The reason why I put this last is that even though these stores have very complete offerings, the food items (especially condiments) are sometimes not labelled properly in English, so the shopping experience can be difficult to navigate for the first time. However, if you are looking for an authentic experience, go for it!
GW Supermarket (Flushing)
Kam Man Food (Manhattan’s Chinatown)
A plethora of other markets and grocery stores
A final note
Some authentic Chinese ingredients ARE tough to find outside of Asia, even for someone like me, who have been doing this for almost a decade. If you can’t find an ingredient, you can find substitutes for it, leave it out (if it’s not one of the key flavor components), or try another dish that is cooked in a similar style.
Or, you can let me know by commenting below, and I’d be happy to help you find the ingredients you’re looking for.
Disclaimer: unless specified, none of the links are sponsored.
