29-05-2025
Viral Korean Cookbook UMMA Resonates With Millions
In case you needed some good news today, people are crying over a cookbook making #2 on the New York Times Best Sellers list, and yes, it deserves all the praise.
Well, I should preface that UMMA isn't an ordinary cookbook: it's a mother-daughter passion project of over 100 Korean recipes, but it's also so much more than that.
In October 2024, Sarah Soojin Ahn explained the story behind her work on UMMA in a viral TikTok with over a million views: "For a little over a year, my mom has been working on one of the best gifts I think she could ever give me," she said. "I felt so lucky to work alongside her and write the stories for everything she had given me for our new cookbook, UMMA."
"I couldn't be more proud of my mom and the work we produced together to bring you guys the best of the best Korean recipes that taste like Umma's home," she continued. "And the stories of a very ordinary life that understands the difference between living and surviving, the quiet sacrifices made for family, and the beauty of the bond between mother and daughter are all heavily present through its storytelling."
Sarah's story was incredibly moving, and based on the comments, thousands of people shed tears.
After it was officially published in April 2025, it didn't take long for UMMA to take off. On April 10, Sarah posted a TikTok in which she and her mother found out their book made #2 on the New York Times Best Sellers list, and the video garnered almost 500k views.
In the video, Sarah and her mother are greeted with flowers and champagne by their editor, who congratulates them on their success with UMMA.
"This moment belongs to all of us, not just my family," the caption of the video reads. "It's a celebration of our community. Of people who see the beauty in everyday life, who honor the richness of the ordinary, and who carry so much warmth and heart. The fact that this book resonated the way it has is because of you, and we'll never stop being grateful for that."
Everyone in the comments cheered and expressed how much of an impact UMMA made on them. "I have this book sitting in my kitchen," one person wrote. "My mother is Korean and 77 years old and cannot remember her recipes anymore so I'm so excited to start cooking for her."
To learn more about the project, I asked Sarah about her experience working on the cookbook. (All I have to say is brace yourself for more tears.)
"I know the book is called UMMA, which means mom in Korean, but through working so closely and intimately with her, I feel like I got to know Nam Soon (my mom's name), the person she was before she ever became UMMA," Sarah told Tasty. "In some ways, it felt like I was befriending the child version of my mom. It was both heartwarming and heartbreaking to hear her stories, imagining them like I was right there beside her, relating to her innocence, her youth, and the kind of blissful hope she once carried."
"Learning the majority of her recipes was incredibly rewarding," she continued. "I still remember the moment we finished developing the last both just smiled at each other in silence. It felt like a quiet, shared victory."
She went on to say, "The most challenging part? Teaching her how to use measuring spoons. Cooks from her generation cook by feel, by taste, and with love (known as sonmat), usually by the handful, so that was quite an adjustment for her. "
Sarah also shared how positive the response to UMMA has been. "What's meant the most is hearing how seen and loved people feel," she said. "This book isn't just for passionate cooks (though the recipes definitely scratch that itch if that's you) — it's also a celebration of the working class, of the struggles and sacrifices so many families face trying to make it in America, especially as immigrants. I always say: it's the richness in the ordinary."
"It's a tribute to how food carries us through hard times and rejoices in those moments, and to the kind of motherly love that's both universal and deeply rooted in Korean and Asian culture, especially because that's how love is so often shown," she added."I've received overwhelming messages of gratitude from people who grew up like me, from the working class, from Korean and Asian adoptees, and from those who've lost their mothers. That connection has been the most humbling and meaningful part. My mom wants to one day host a Mother's Day lunch for all these people."
When she found out UMMA made #2 on the New York Times Best Sellers list, Sarah was shocked. "I couldn't believe it," she said. "Everything is so digital now. You don't physically see books flying off shelves the way you might've in the past, especially since most people ordered [the book] online, and my entire community lives on social media. So hearing we made the list felt surreal at wait, is this really happening?"
"But then I saw the outpouring of love and celebration from everyone, and that's when it hit me," she continued. "I felt the support — it felt physically present. I'm just so incredibly grateful for everyone who believed in us and this book, forever. When I shared the news with my dad after I came home from the book tour, his eyes lit up with glee. It was special."
To conclude our interview, Sarah reflected on how writing UMMA deepened her relationship to Korean culture. "I've always been proud to be Korean, but writing UMMA helped me connect to my roots on a much deeper level, especially when it comes to understanding my halmeoni (grandma) and beyond," she said.
"I began to grasp how much they endured so that people like me could live freely today. For example," she added, "white rice, a food we might take for granted sometimes, used to be a rare luxury. Just one generation ago, it wasn't something easily accessed, and people had to go through a lot just to put it on the table. They had to stretch out this supply of white rice by integrating multigrains into it, a now popular, healthy dish that was once eaten for survival."
"Stories like that made me realize how humble and resilient Korean cuisine really is," she continued. "Our food carries the weight of survival and hardship. There's so much soul to this cuisine."
Want to try your hand at making delicious Korean dishes while you wait for your copy of UMMA to arrive? Download the Tasty app to browse all of our favorite recipes — no subscription required.
