Umma: A Korean Mom's Kitchen Wisdom and 100 Family Recipes
About this product
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. Read more
Editor's Take
Amazon-style review signals and book-community feedback are strongly positive for Umma: A Korean Mom's Kitchen Wisdom and 100 Family Recipes. Goodreads shows overwhelmingly favorable community reviews, with most ratings in the 4- and 5-star range, and readers praising the cookbook as authentic, well-written, and rich in Korean-American family stories. Reddit discussion also reflects interest in the book as an affordable and appealing Korean cookbook purchase. Review blogs describe it as a standout choice for people interested in Korean cooking, with repeated praise for its photography, cultural context, and home-style recipes.
Across the sources found, the main themes are: authentic family recipes, clear instructions, thoughtful storytelling, and strong cultural value. No major recurring complaints stood out in the available results.
- Goodreads reviewers say it is a stellar Korean cookbook with authentic recipes and meaningful family history.
- Reddit users note it is appealing and reasonably priced.
- Review blogs say it is highly recommended for Korean food, culture, and gift-giving.
- YouTube search results found real videos about the book, including author-related interviews and features, but not separate independent review videos in the returned results.
Price History
Specifications
| Cuisine | Asian |
Product Details
| Publisher | America's Test Kitchen |
| Publication date | April 1, 2025 |
| Language | English |
| Print length | 384 pages |
| ISBN-10 | 1954210566 |
| ISBN-13 | 978-1954210561 |
| Item Weight | 3.19 pounds |
| Dimensions | 8.38 x 1.16 x 10.25 inches |
| Best Sellers Rank | #1,275 in Books ( See Top 100 in Books ) #1 in Korean Cooking, Food & Wine #8 in Gastronomy Essays (Books) |
| Customer Reviews | 4.8 4.8 out of 5 stars (1,391) |