Umma - A Korean Mom's Kitchen Wisdom and 100 Family Recipes

James Beard Award winner * New York Times bestseller

Learn Korean cooking alongside social media star Sarah Ahn as her umma passes down 100+ family recipes and decades' worth of kitchen wisdom.

Sarah Ahn’s viral food videos of her and her mom have captivated millions of viewers with their behind-the-scenes look at Korean cooking and multigenerational home life. This collaboration is now a must-have cookbook blending the emotional intimacy of Crying in H Mart with practical culinary advice from Nam Soon’s lifetime of kitchen experience. The recipes are framed by mother-daughter conversations that are funny, profound, and universally relatable—plus all the food is backed by the recipe-testing power of America’s Test Kitchen.

Thorough ingredient guide: Walk through a Korean grocery store with a Korean umma for in-depth guidance on what pantry ingredients and fresh produce and protein to buy. Recipes both traditional and contemporary: Learn to make everything from simple banchan, a variety of kimchi, and foundational stews to an assortment of yasik (midnight snacks) and inventive desserts. Kitchen wisdom from mother to daughter: Shared confidences open a window onto a level of family intimacy rarely seen in cookbooks.
The Ahns understand that when generations come together in the kitchen, so much is shared: not only food, but also knowledge, advice, family history, and love.