Every time I post a recipe, I get some version of the same message.
“This looks great, but I don’t have an Asian market anywhere near me.”
And I get it. If you live in Los Angeles or northern New Jersey, an H Mart is a fifteen-minute drive. If you live in most of the rest of the country, the nearest one is two hours away, or it doesn’t exist, and the “international aisle” at your regular grocery store is four kinds of soy sauce and a jar of curry paste.
For a long time my honest answer was “substitute what you can, and stock up when you travel.” That’s not a great answer.
The better one is Weee! — and I want to walk you through it properly, because it’s genuinely changed what I can tell readers to cook.
What Weee! actually is
Weee! is the largest online Asian supermarket in the U.S. It’s not a marketplace of third-party sellers and it’s not Amazon. It’s a real grocery operation with its own warehouses, and it ships across all 48 contiguous states.
In most major metro areas you get next-day local delivery. Everywhere else, they ship coast to coast. The catalog covers Chinese, Korean, Japanese, Vietnamese, Filipino, Indian, and other Asian groceries — fresh produce, pantry staples, snacks, and frozen items.
The part that surprised me most is the fresh and frozen side. I assumed shelf-stable only. But frozen items arrive packed with dry ice and still frozen, and the produce holds up better than I expected. I’ve had napa cabbage, Korean pears, perilla leaves, and frozen dumplings all show up in good shape.
There’s no subscription required, which I appreciate. You’re not signing up for anything. EBT/SNAP is also accepted in eligible regions, which matters and doesn’t get mentioned enough.
The offers, in plain English
This is the part worth understanding before you place a first order, because the new-customer window is generous and it expires.
Free delivery on your first 5 orders. New shoppers get free delivery on their first five orders through the site or the app. This is the big one. Delivery fees are what usually make online grocery not worth it, and for five orders they’re simply gone.
$20 off your first two orders. New shoppers also get $20 off their first two purchases. Stacked with free delivery, your first order can be a genuinely good deal.
$20 for referring a friend. Weee! runs a Refer Friends, Get $20 program. If you have a friend who also can’t find gochujang locally — and you probably do — this pays for itself quickly in both directions.
And then there’s the ongoing stuff. This is what keeps me on the app rather than ordering once and forgetting. Weee! runs sales constantly — weekly specials, first-order discounts, and low order minimums, plus anniversary sales, holiday promotions, flash deals on the “Deals” and “Top charts” tabs, and points you earn when friends shop through your shared link.
My practical advice: check the Deals tab before you build your cart, not after. Korean staples rotate through it often, and there’s no reason to pay full price for a tub of gochujang the week it’s discounted.
What I’d put in a first order
If you’re starting from an empty Korean pantry, this is the list. Everything here keeps for months, and it unlocks most of what I publish on this site.
The five that matter most
1. Gochujang (고추장) — Korean fermented chili paste The single most Korean thing in the pantry. Sweet, savory, spicy, funky. Buy a tub of Sunchang or CJ Haechandle. It lasts a year in the fridge and it’s in everything from bibimbap to stews to marinades. There is no real substitute — sriracha is not it.
2. Gochugaru (고춧가루) — Korean chili flakes Coarse, bright red, more fragrant than hot. Buy the coarse grind for kimchi and stews. Do not substitute crushed red pepper; it’s a completely different heat and it will make your food taste like pizza.
3. Doenjang (된장) — fermented soybean paste The smell I grew up in. Deeper and saltier than Japanese miso, and the base of doenjang jjigae. If you’ve only had miso, this will be a revelation.
4. Toasted sesame oil You can get this at any American grocery store, but it’s meaningfully cheaper here and the Korean brands (Ottogi, Beksul) are more aromatic. Buy a small bottle — it goes rancid, so size down rather than up.
5. Soy sauce Korean soy sauce (jin ganjang) for general cooking. If you already have a Japanese soy sauce you like, that’s fine to start with — this is the most forgiving swap on the list.
Worth adding while delivery is free
- Potato starch — for crispy pajeon (see [my seafood pancake recipe])
- Buchimgaru — Korean pancake mix, if you’d rather not mix your own
- Anchovy stock packets — teabag-style, the single biggest flavor upgrade for the least effort
- Saeujeot (salted shrimp) — small jar, refrigerated, seasons soups and egg dishes beautifully
- Dried anchovies and dried kelp (dashima) — the foundation of Korean broth
- Roasted seaweed (gim) — buy more than you think
- Perilla leaves (kkaennip) — fresh, and almost impossible to find otherwise
- Frozen mandu — Bibigo is the reliable default
And the things that are just fun
The snack and frozen aisles are, honestly, the reason I open the app when I don’t need anything. Korean ice cream bars, Japanese sandwich bread, Chinese frozen buns, bakery items you’d otherwise fly for. Budget accordingly.
Honest notes before you order
Check your ZIP code first. Delivery speed and minimums vary a lot by region. Many areas qualify for next-day delivery, but shipping costs and minimums differ by region — enter your ZIP before you get attached to a cart.
Order fresh produce and shelf-stable separately if you’re far from a hub. If you’re in a shipping (not local delivery) region, your fresh items travel further. I’d lean into pantry staples and frozen for a first order and test the produce on a second one.
The app has ads. It’s a busier interface than Instacart. Use the search bar and the category tabs rather than browsing the homepage, and you’ll move faster.
Don’t panic-buy the whole list. Five free deliveries means you can spread this out. Order the five essentials first, cook something with them, then decide what you actually reach for.
The bottom line
Not having an Asian market near you used to mean Korean cooking was mostly off the table, or a series of compromises that didn’t quite taste right. That’s just not true anymore. A tub of gochujang and a bag of gochugaru show up at your door in a couple of days, and suddenly the whole cuisine opens up.
If you’ve been reading these recipes and quietly filing them under someday — this is how someday starts.
Frequently asked questions
Does Weee! deliver to my state? They ship to all 48 contiguous states. Local next-day delivery is limited to major metros; everywhere else is standard shipping. Enter your ZIP on the site to see which applies to you.
Is it cheaper than H Mart? Roughly comparable on staples, sometimes cheaper on sale items, occasionally more on fresh produce. If you have an H Mart nearby, go to H Mart. This is for everyone who doesn’t.
Do I need a membership? No. There’s no subscription and no membership fee.
Does frozen food actually arrive frozen? Yes — frozen orders ship with dry ice and insulation. I’ve had good results, though I’d avoid scheduling a frozen order right before a heat wave if you’re in a shipping region.
What if something arrives damaged? There’s a freshness guarantee and you can request a refund through the app.
What’s the one thing I should order first? Gochujang. Everything else can wait a week.
Ordered something good? Show me. @season.of.seoul
