I Went to a Korean Grocery Store to Get a Vegan Snack Haul — Here’s What I Picked Up

When I was growing up, my absolute favorite aisle of the Korean grocery store was the gwajah (cookie/snack) aisle. Packed with an assortment of colorful bags and boxes of both sweet and savory goodness, this section of the market offered a comfortable little diversion for me and my brother as my mom attended to the serious job of grocery shopping. Always, my mother permitted at least a couple of items into the cart — shrimp chips, maybe a box of choco-pie, and, of course, a small box of Pocky Sticks.

Since going vegan, the snack aisle has become a bit more of a challenge for me. The other day, though, I was waiting for a friend to meet me at my local Korean grocery store and decided to spend the time tracking down vegan options in the still-glittering snack aisle. While shrimp chips and Pocky Sticks are no longer in the cards for me, I found several bags of other Korean-style chips that looked tantalizing enough to make it into my own cart. 

And then, I wandered over to the bakery section, where I drooled over the morning’s delivery of fresh, Korean-style rice cakes and mochi, which, to my delight, were not only totally vegan but also gluten free. Into my cart they went. And then finally, on my way out, I couldn’t stop myself from snagging some vegan soon-ramyun, which never fails to remind me of my father, how he slurps his noodles to such mouthwatering perfection every Sunday morning.

Just as I was getting ready to place my haul on the conveyor belt, I spied a small mountain of Korean sweet potatoes in the corner of the produce section, their gorgeous burgundy skin practically hollering at me. I grabbed a few of those. (I love sticking them in the air fryer for 30 minutes; they come out absolutely perfectly golden.) Finally, my cart quite a bit heavier, I greeted the friendly clerk at the cash register.

Ultimately, I ended up with a lot of snack options. I thought of my grandmother, who was a stickler for moderation. We were allowed one small snack after school and before dinner. And while there’s something beautifully irreverent about eating right out of the bag, to this day I prefer plating my snacks or serving them (to myself) in a small bowl — just like my grandmother used to.

Later that day, I decided to start my snacking session with a few pieces of mochi, because they are tender and sweet, just like my grandmother could be (when she wasn’t berating me for not brushing my teeth). And I realize that however much I “gave up” when I went vegan, there’s more than enough — always — to bring me back home in that snack aisle. For further proof, I even made my own vegan version of Pocky Sticks.

What would go in your own Snack Capsule? Tell us in the comments below.