The 14 Best Asian Foods At Costco Customers Swear By

The beauty of Costco's selection is that you can find a wide variety of specialty products, knowing that they have been vetted with the warehouse giant's commitment to excellence front and center. From must-buy food court finds, like the famous $1.50 hot dog combination, to fast food favorites remade by the brand's in-house Kirkland Signature line, like the Chick-fil-A nugget dupe, which has garnered an almost cult following, Costco customers know that they're in for quality products when they shop at the popular chain.

Though products rotate in and out of availability regularly, and not all products are available at all locations due to regional demand, there are certain brands and types of food items that are fairly consistent at Costco, including some Asian food products. You can purchase pantry staples, like rice and soy sauce, in bulk and stock up on protein finds, like high-quality meats and seafood. And, while you're there, try out some of the best Asian foods, both imported and ones made here in the United States, that customers swear by.

Items highlighted in this article were selected through a combination of customer reviews directly on the Costco website, discussions on the r/Costco subreddit, and the author's personal experience having previously tried many of the products as a long-time Costco customer. 

If you've ever tried shrimp chips, you know that they can be a somewhat polarizing snack food. They're airy and crispy thanks to tapioca flour, but, while the tantalizing texture may draw fans in, depending on the brand, the seafood flavor can be overwhelming. SoKusa's version available at Costco, which is made with wild shrimp, is light on the seafood flavor and mostly focused on the garlic and butter. They're a little sweet with a hint of shrimp flavor, but think of the taste as more like dipping a piece of bread into the butter left over from a scampi dish than biting directly into a piece of the delectable crustacean. 

With an average 4.7 out of 5 stars and a whopping 1,879 reviews on Costco's website, customers can't get enough of the highly addictive snack. One review compared the chips to Vietnamese bánh phồng tôm, or prawn crackers, praising the flavor and noting the convenience of not having to make them from scratch. Several others noted that while the taste of garlic is present, it's not potent and is enhanced by the soft butter flavor.

Costco carries items like soy sauce, which you can use to make Asian-style marinades, as well as pre-seasoned items like teriyaki stir-fry noodles and chicken meatballs, that give you the flavor without needing to mix a marinade from scratch. Then there's Mr. Yoshida's Marinade & Cooking sauce, a clever halfway point that gives you big flavor while letting you steer the ship as far as ingredients go.

The main ingredient in the marinade is soy sauce, so you'll get the salty, umami kick that's expected in a lot of Asian dishes, with sugar and high-fructose corn syrup giving it a sweet balance. Garlic and spices give it extra flavor, but the true star is mirin, a sweet and savory cooking wine that's ubiquitous in Japanese cuisine. It's used to make sushi rice, and you can typically find it in teriyaki and ponzu sauces. It can also bring loads of umami flavor to a classic fried rice recipe.

Costco customers give Mr. Yoshida's, which the brand suggests can be used for beef, pork, chicken, fish, and vegetables, an average 4.8 out of 5 stars on over 100 reviews. They spoke highly of its use as a marinade, with some additionally sharing that they like it as a dipping sauce. "It is authentic, reminding me of my Japanese mother's cooking," said one recent five-star review.

Another Costco fan favorite with an average 4.8 out 5 stars based on customer reviews, Kam Yen Jan Chinese Style Sausage is a must-try item according to those who have tasted the product. Fans suggest cutting the links into small pieces and pan frying until the ends are crispy or cooking the sausage in sticky white rice so the flavor infuses the grains. Others propose it as an addition to ramen or fried rice."These sausages are authentic; just like I had when I lived in Taiwan many years ago," said one five star review.

The pork sausages in beef collagen casings are seasoned with sugar, soy sauce, salt, and grain alcohol and need to be cooked well before serving. Several Costco reviewers noted that the sausage links can be a bit greasy, and the nutrition facts confirm that, with each 190-calorie link clocking in at 14 grams of fat and 3 grams of saturated fat. While to customers' points, the fat can be drained before eating, if sodium is a concern, fair warning that each link contains 600 milligrams, or around 25% of the suggested daily value.

Sweet wheat cookies filled with a delicious chocolate creme are the name of the game with Meiji's Hello Panda snack, which are as adorable on the outside as they are tasty on the inside. Hello Panda snacks come in a variety of flavors, including strawberry and vanilla, but, as many Costco shoppers know, the warehouse giant doesn't typically offer every variety of a line, instead focusing on one or two of the most popular. For Hello Panda, that appears to be chocolate, which customers said have a "perfectly crunchy exterior with a creamy chocolate center."

The 4.8 out of 5 star average reviews on the Costco website also praised the convenience of the packaging, sharing that each box comes with individually portioned bags of the sweet treats, with some teasing that one bag is the perfect size for small children, but that "if you're an adult and wanting a snack, I'd grab 3 or 4." Several more pointed out that the portions are enough to satisfy a sweet tooth craving without overdoing it.

Over 400 Costco reviewers have chimed in on the Costco brand roasted seaweed offering, giving it an average of 4.7 out of 5 stars for good reason. The 10-pack of individual portions of sesame-flavored, roasted seaweed are as tasty as they are versatile, giving customers a quick an easy snack or a simple way to up their cooking game.

The seaweed is crispy and perfectly seasoned, said fans of the Korean import that is made with only a handful of ingredients: Organic seaweed, organic sunflower oil, organic sesame oil, sea salt, and organic rosemary extract, for freshness. As one reviewer pointed out, the product can be used as a snack, as an addition to main courses, or as a base for Japanese dishes.

Several reviewers praised the amount of seaweed per pack, stating "there are probably about 25 pieces per pack, which most people are not going to eat all at once," and sharing that the size of the servings is more generous than similar products found at supermarkets. From serving it to their children and grandchildren to snacking on them personally, Costco customers seem to really love the seaweed offering. "I actually eat these as a chip replacement and it does not spike my glucose levels," said one enthusiastic five-star review.

Costco customers can get a 10-pack of individual boxes of Pocky, thin cookie sticks dipped in a sweet cream, and based on the over 120 reviews averaging at 4.7 out of 5 stars for the chocolate version, they're a major hit. You can get both strawberry and chocolate-flavored Pocky at Costco, with customers praising their flavor and dip to cookie ratio, calling them light and easily portable. Several reviews note that the chocolate Pocky melted together in transit when ordered online, so fair warning that if you value eating the Pocky as single sticks and not as one mega Pocky, it may be a warehouse-only purchase for you.

Pocky originated in Japan in 1966 with a chocolate flavor before expanding to an almond flavor in 1971, later introducing strawberry in 1976. Pocky officially made its way to the United States in 2003, and, since as early as 2011, the popular Japanese candy has been available at larger supermarket chains.

Butter is a longtime cooking staple around the world, but in parts of South Asia, ghee is preferred. A cooking fat that originated in India thousands of years ago, ghee is similar to clarified butter, but because it's heated for a longer time, it has a nuttier flavor that imparts a stronger taste to food. It also has an added benefit: Because of how it's made, not only is it shelf-stable, it has a higher smoke point than butter. 

Costco offers its own version of organic ghee from its in-house brand, Kirkland Signature, and fans love it, taking to Reddit to sing its praises. From saying they love the flavor and comparing it to homemade ghee, to explaining that because of its high smoke point, it can be used to sauté foods and add buttery flavor without worrying about it burning, Reddit users are all about the Costco product. Some suggested using it to season popcorn, claiming that "milk solids in butter can make the popcorn soggy sooner but ghee leaves the popcorn tasting fresh and delicious longer," while others shared that they use it at the end of cooking to impart a buttery flavor to their food.

If you can't decide between a sweet treat, like cookies, or a crispy snack, like potato chips, this next product is likely right up your alley. Tropical Fields organic crispy coconut rolls are crunchy and flaky, giving you the satisfying texture of chips, with the slight sweetness of coconut.

They're gluten-free and dairy-free, and at 140 calories per one-cup serving, fans on Reddit called the coconut rolls the most guilt-free snack they purchase at the warehouse giant. Apart from salt, every ingredient in the snack food, from coconut milk to tapioca flour, is organic, and Redditors suggested pairing them with chocolate chips or crumbling them over vanilla ice cream. Others teased that they never should have purchased the addicting product, joking that "the bag disappeared so damn fast."

An 11-ounce bag can be purchased directly from Costco warehouses, but not online, so availability may be limited depending on your store's ordering practices. That being said, 9.3-ounce bags are available on Amazon, and Dollar Tree carries 2.1-ounce bags, so you can still try the snack even if your local Costco doesn't have it available.

Crispy, crunchy, sweet heat with umami is what you get from this snack food available at Costco, prompting fans on Reddit to call 180 Snacks premium Korean sweet and spicy puffs the greatest snack they've had in their lives.

The chicken drumstick-shaped puffs are made with rice and potato flour, with seasoning inspired by yangnyeom seasoning, which typically refers to a sweet and spicy flavor in Korean cuisine. The puffs are crispy and airy at first bite, with a flavorful punch that builds into a lasting heat the more you snack. There's a definite kick, but if you're used to eating Korean food, it's a very tolerable level of spice.

One Reddit user compared them to Chinese food, writing, "Think spicy General Tso with extra MSG," with others teasing that they hate them because they can't stop themselves from eating the snack food. "I live alone and am not allowed to buy these anymore! I eat the whole bag immediately," said another Redditor about the 10.58-ounce bags available at the warehouse chain.

Instant ramen can be a great timesaver in the kitchen, and these noodles can easily be upgraded with simple pantry and refrigerator staples. But, if you'd rather not deal with the sodium bomb that comes with most instant ramen packages or you're following a gluten-free diet, Costco offers an alternative that lets you take the lead on seasoning your ramen while avoiding wheat products.

Lotus Foods organic millet & brown rice ramen is available at Costco in a 12-pack, and with over 550 reviews with an average 4.6 stars out of 5 on Costco's website, it's very popular with shoppers. The ramen comes in dried noodle cakes that are ready to eat after just a few minutes in boiling water. One five-star review said they eat the ramen every day, with others sharing that they love the product's macronutrients, from the 8 grams of protein per serving to its lack of sugar. "I am diabetic and bought this since I am avoiding eating pasta. So far it does not spike my blood sugar," said another five-star review.

Bibigo is a fan-favorite brand at Costco, from cooked sticky rice bowls and mini wontons to steamed and soup dumplings. The brand's products are easy to make, typically just requiring a microwave to heat and eat in minutes. The brand's Sobaba Crunchy Glazed Chicken requires a tiny bit more effort, but customers say it's worth it for both the texture and the flavor. The battered white meat chicken bites come in a sweet and savory Korean-style glaze and can be cooked in the oven in 20 minutes, or if you have an air fryer at your disposal, you can cut the cooking time in half and have them ready to go in just 10 minutes.

Reddit users say the chicken is great when made in an air fryer, coming out "extremely crispy, and the breading is not overly thick." Though the chicken comes in a glaze made with sugar, soy sauce, sake, honey, and a variety of spices, including seaweed extract, Redditors are quick to note that while tasty, it's not a saucy product, and suggest pairing it with a sauce of your choice. "I could see serving them over rice with veggies and a sauce," said one Redditor, with another saying they plan to use it to make mandarin orange chicken.

Fast lunches are on the way with this product from Nongshim, as it only takes a few minutes to make in a microwave or with boiling water to prepare. The udon noodle soup bowl is one of several Nongshim products available at Costco, including one of a few kinds of soup bowls, and with 4.6 out of 5 average stars on Costco's website and over 750 reviews, it's a smash with customers.

Wheat flour noodles, a soy-based sauce, dried flakes of green onion, seaweed, and red chili pepper are covered in water and placed in the microwave for four minutes, or, alternately, you can pour boiling water over the mixture, cover with a lid, and in four minutes your udon bowl is ready to go. Customers say that it compares to restaurant quality soup, and some suggest adding fresh toppings to the "fluffy" noodles, sharing that they see the product as an "excellent example" of what instant soup can be when done correctly. One review noted that the flavor is "good if you like fish sauce," prompting another customer to defend the flavor, writing, "this product has anchovy, fish cake, cuttlefish, tuna, and maybe even more seafood product. No wonder it tastes as intended."

Pork soup dumplings that promise restaurant quality? It sounds like a lofty goal, but 547 reviews on Costco's website give Mila's Pork Xiao Long Bao Soup Dumplings an average 4.3 out of 5 stars, with one five-star review going as far as to compare them to the highly popular Din Tai Fung restaurant version. Another five-star reviewer said that after spending a significant amount of time in China, these dumplings are the best they have "found in the states," with more praising the flavor and authenticity.

The packaging very specifically notes that the soup dumplings should not be heated in a microwave or thawed in a freezer, and instead need to be prepared from frozen in a steamer basket, like this one from the Joyce Chen brand, which can complicate things a bit for the average home cook if they don't have the right equipment. Another common complaint among reviews was the product thawing out when delivered, or clumping together in transit, but it should be noted that the soup dumplings are available directly in some warehouses, eliminating shipping woes.

If you ask Reddit users, Bachan's Japanese barbecue sauce is phenomenal, but don't let the name fool you, as it is not a barbecue sauce in the traditional American usage. It's simultaneously sweet and savory, and packs a big punch in terms of flavor, making it perfect for marinades and stir fries, but fair warning that it's more of a drizzle sauce than a dipping sauce. Made with ingredients like soy sauce, cane sugar, mirin, tomato paste, ginger, green onion, garlic, and sesame oil, the sauce is close to teriyaki, but with a thicker consistency and a heavier salt profile.

Reddit users say it pairs well with salmon, chicken, and vegetables, but note that it's very salty, so some mix it with mayonnaise, sriracha, honey, hoisin sauce, or use it to make a peanut sauce. Redditors also use it as a grilling glaze on ribs, to make fried rice, or toss chicken nuggets in it for a flavorful twist on a freezer favorite.