Korean cooking with a mom’s touch

Kimchi grilled cheese sandwich Assorted pickles (modeum jangajji) Honey-garlic chicken OC residents’ cookbook and videos inflect tradition with American sensibility

Nam Soon Ahn ran a noodle restaurant for years. Courtesy of Kritsada Panichgul

A sweet and savory kimchi grilled cheese sandwich combines elements of Korean and American cuisine. courtesy of Kritsada Panichgul

The recipe for assorted pickles was inspired by an item that Nam Soon Ahn would buy at a Korean mom and pop eatery. courtesy of Kritsada Panichgul

Honey-garlic chicken drumsticks blend sweet and spicy flavors, evoking a 2014 South Korean fad food, Honey Butter Chips. courtesy of Kritsada Panichgul

Mother and daughter Nam Soon Ahn and Sarah Ahn wrote cookbook “Umma.” Photo by Curt Norris

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By Cathy Thomas | Correspondent

The bonds between mother and daughter can be tightly bound with love and admiration. The newly released cookbook “Umma: A Korean Mom’s Kitchen Wisdom and 100 Family Recipes,” by Sarah Ahn and her mother, Nam Soon Ahn, captures the flavors, traditions and stories of multigenerational cooking. It is also a testament to their devotion to one another. The title, “Umma,” translates from Korean as “mom.”

Residents of Orange County, Sarah and Nam Soon started cooking together regularly soon after Sarah graduated from college in 2018. It was a rewarding outlet as she juggled a full-time job in tech and public health.

Nam Soon was born in Incheon, South Korea, and immigrated to the United States in 1993. She opened a noodle restaurant where she cooked for well over a decade.

For Sarah, experiencing her mother’s love through her cooking taught her recipes that reflect the heart of Korean home cooking. In the process she created her website, Ahnest Kitchen, and made videos that showcased her mother cooking while she narrates. They became social media stars. Many of Sarah’s videos have gone viral, often with over 10 million views on Tik Tok and Instagram. The videos resonate with viewers, and grocery stores often sell out of featured ingredients after they air.

Asked about the best part of writing the book, Sarah said what stands out is how part of her mother is always going to be with her. Writing her mother’s stories was emotionally heady for her; she learned about her mom before she was her mom. She had a close-up look at cultural differences, realizing the hardships her mother faced. And she became more aware of the blessings and privileges in her life.

The recipes in “Umma” are framed by mother-daughter conversations that are funny, profound and backed by the recipe testing power of America’s Test Kitchen, where Sarah works as social media manager.

I was overjoyed when they agreed to join me in my kitchen to prepare the kimchi-spiked grilled cheese sandwich that is featured in their book.

I’ve been cooking for decades, yet I’ve never cut a sandwich in half with scissors. Yet this is how Sarah and Nam Soon prepare this sandwich. Amazing. The sandwich is flavor-balanced to perfection — spicy, sweet and umami. It brings together the “rich gooey goodness of melted Muenster cheese and the spicy, tangy flavors of kimchi.” Although they used their from-scratch version of cabbage kimchi for the video, they grant readers the OK to use store-bought. My advice is to watch their video that shows Nam Soon making kimchi. It is a delight.

Yield: 1 sandwich

INGREDIENTS

2 tablespoons salted butter, divided use

1/2 cup well-fermented cabbage kimchi, finely chopped

2 teaspoons sugar, plus extra for sprinkling

1/2 teaspoon fish sauce

1/2 teaspoon gochugaru; see cook’s note

1/4 teaspoon Dasida beef stock powder

2 (1/2-inch thick) slices sourdough bread

3 slices Muenster cheese, halved

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1/2 teaspoon onion powder

1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

2 green onions, finely chopped

Cook’s note: Gochugaru, meaning “chile powder” in Korean, is vibrant red, dried powder or flakes, often made from sun-dried Korean red peppers, and is a key ingredient in dishes such as kimchi and gochujang. It’s sold in Asian markets and online. Dasida beef stock powder is sold in Korean markets or online.

DIRECTIONS

1. Melt 1/2 teaspoon butter in a nonstick, 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat. Add the kimchi and cook, stirring occasionally, until heated through and it begins to sizzle. Stir in the sugar, fish sauce, gochugaru and Dasida powder and cook until the liquid has just evaporated, about 1 minute. (Don’t let the kimchi dry out.) Transfer the seasoned kimchi to a small plate and set aside. Wipe the skillet clean with paper towels.

2. Melt half of the remaining butter in the skillet over medium-high heat. Add the bread slices and swirl them around to coat with butter on the first side; transfer the bread to a separate plate. Repeat melting the remaining butter and coating the second sides of bread slices. Continue to toast the bread on the second sides until just golden brown and crisp, about 1 minute.

3. Reduce the heat to low and flip the bread slices. Arrange the cheese evenly on top of the bread slices, then sprinkle with the garlic powder, onion powder and pepper. Sprinkle one slice of bread with onions, then neatly arrange the seasoned kimchi on top. Place the second slice of bread over the kimchi, cheese side down. Using a spatula, gently press down on the sandwich to help seal it. Cover and cook until the cheese is fully melted, about 2 minutes, flipping the sandwich halfway through cooking. Transfer to a wire rack and sprinkle with sugar on both sides to taste. Garnish sandwich with any green onions that fell out into the skillet. Slice and serve.

Source: “Umma,” by Sarah Ahn and Nam Soon Ahn (America’s Test Kitchen)

Many years ago, when Nam Soon was driving home from her restaurant, she often would stop at a Korean mom and pop eatery where she would purchase dumplings that were accompanied by a small container of assorted pickles. Everybody adored those pickles. Nam Soon created her own version, a tastier rendition that brought rave reviews.

Yield: 8 cups

INGREDIENTS

1 1/4 cups water

1 1/4 cups distilled white vinegar

1 1/4 cups soy sauce

1 1/4 cups granulated sugar

1 pound Korean radishes, sliced 1/8-inch thick, slices cut into rough 1-inch pieces; see cook’s note

1 large yellow onion, halved, cut into 1-inch pieces, layers separated

6 jalapeño chiles, stemmed and sliced into 1/4-inch thick rounds

Cook’s note: Korean radishes are white and somewhat similar to daikon but are shorter and rounder and often have a radiant green tint near the top. Try to select medium-size ones. You don’t need to peel them; cut away any blemishes or discolorations.

DIRECTIONS

1. Combine the water, vinegar, soy sauce and sugar in a large saucepan. Bring to a boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Remove the saucepan from the heat and let the brine cool for about 5 minutes. (It should still be hot when you pour it over the vegetables.)

2. Toss the radishes, onion and jalapenos together in a bowl, then transfer to a 3-quart storage container. Pour the brine over the vegetables and cool to room temperature, about 2 hours. Enjoy immediately or cover tightly and refrigerate. (Refrigerate up to 3 months.)

Source: “Umma,” by Sarah Ahn and Nam Soon Ahn (America’s Test Kitchen)

Sarah wrote about the popularity of a snack, Honey Butter Chips, that became a food craze in South Korea in 2014. “These drumsticks, sweetened with honey, spiced with plenty of garlic, and finished with a dollop of butter, remind me so much of those chips,” she wrote in an introduction to the recipe. “They’re sweet and savory with a satisfying richness in every bite.”

Yield: 4 to 6 servings

INGREDIENTS

3 pounds chicken drumsticks, trimmed

2 1/2 cups milk

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

1 teaspoon fine salt, divided use

1 teaspoon black pepper, divided use

1/4 cup honey

2 tablespoons soy sauce

2 tablespoons distilled white vinegar

2 tablespoons granulated sugar

6 tablespoons finely chopped garlic

2 1/2 tablespoons salted butter

DIRECTIONS

1. Rinse and drain chicken, then transfer to a large bowl or container. Add milk and toss to coat. Arrange the chicken in an even layer, making sure all is submerged in the milk. Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour.

2. Drain and thoroughly rinse chicken until the water runs clear. Clean and dry the bowl. Using a sharp knife, make 4 to 6 slashes in each drumstick (each slash should reach the bone). Pat the chicken dry with paper towels and transfer to the bowl.

3. Add the oil, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper and toss to coat chicken. Cover and refrigerate 1 hour or up to overnight.

4. Whisk the honey, soy sauce, vinegar, sugar and remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper together in a small bowl; set the sauce aside.

5. Toss the chicken again to coat in the oil that has settled in the bowl. Working with 1 drumstick at a time, stretch the skin to evenly cover the meat, then arrange skin side down in a 12-inch nonstick skillet. Drizzle any remaining oil left in the bowl over the chicken. Cook over medium-high heat, turning the chicken occasionally, until spotty golden brown, about 10 minutes.

6. Reduce heat to medium, cover and continue to cook, turning the chicken occasionally, until it registers at least 185 degrees, about 20 minutes.

7. Spoon the garlic into the spaces between the drumsticks where the oil is pooled. Cook, spreading the garlic into the skillet with the back of a spoon, until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Gently toss the chicken until evenly coated with the garlic. Add the sauce, stirring in any browned bits in the skillet. Increase the heat to medium-high and cook, continuously coating and basting the chicken in the sauce, until sauce has thickened, about 2 minutes. Stir in the butter until the sauce has thickened into a glaze, about 30 seconds. Serve.

Source: “Umma,” by Sarah Ahn and Nam Soon Ahn (America’s Test Kitchen)