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Where to find Korean malt syrup or "mool yut" in Boston

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I just happened to come across this great looking Korean chicken recipe on chow, but have never heard of Korean malt syrup. Anyone know where I could find this in Boston or Brookline?


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  1. Not Boston or Brookline... not open yet... but chances are the H-Mart due to open (soon?) in Burlington will have it. Think of it ... a 51,000 square foot Korean supermarket....

    1. Naw, you'll have to go to Reliable Market in Somerville for now...

      5 Replies
      1. re: galleygirl

        Yes, reliable definitely has it, in big pet bottles. The label is probably just called "cooking syrup" or something like that-- in korean, it's 물엿. It doesn't have a particular flavor other than sweet and thin (good for distributing a subtle sweetness in things), I imagine you could probably use light corn syrup as a substitute.

        You'll probably also find it at Mirim on harvard in allston, or at lotte on mass ave in cambridge. I'm not 100% sure, though, since I usually buy it at Reliable.

        1. re: another_adam

          Oh, good call, sometimes I forget about Mirim...Plus, probably John's Market in Allston, as well.

          1. re: another_adam

            I actually just searched online for a substitute and came across a posting saying that most beer/wine hobby store which sells brewing supplies will carry it. I guess this sort of makes sense.

            1. re: NahantNative

              Modern Homebrew in Cambridge will have plenty of liquid malt extract - or dried malt extract for that matter. Be sure to ask for unhopped extract.

              1. re: NahantNative

                I'm not familiar with malt products for beer/wine, but if they actually have a malty flavor, they probably won't be quite right for the syrup. I think it really is just like a very light corn syrup- no flavor at all, just sweet. It's called 'malt syrup' in Korean, but it's usually just referred to as 'corn syrup' in English.

          2. I like to use Aji-Mirin (sweet rice seasoning, which has a little alcohol that cooks right off), instead. Should be perfectly acceptable as a substitute, according to my Korean mother.