Roy Choi’s Mother’s Mommy Sauce Lets You Enjoy Authentic Korean Cuisine

By Ann Binlot March 19, 2016

roy chois mothers mommy sauce lets you enjoy authentic korean cuisine home slider slide 4 — Image used with permission by copyright holder

We all know that mommy cooks best. Some of our best childhood memories are formed around meals, and often times, that means mommy’s cooking. Celebrity chef Roy Choi’s mother Youn-Jin Choi certain had an influence on his future. His fondest memories are of making dumplings with his mother in their Los Angeles restaurant. His mom’s kimchi was so known that she packaged it and sold it locally. The younger Choi would eventually become a chef with his own restaurants and cooking shows, but his mom’s influence always stayed with him.

Roy Choi’s mom has a funny story: “My son is so famous and I asked him to sell this sauce in his business and he never did anything because he said it’s not his sauce, so I had to go out and sell my own sauce because he never listens,” says Youn-Jin Choi. Ever the enterprising mom, that’s exactly what she did, and now she has a line of sauces called Mommy Sauce. The elder Choi has turned all our favorite Korean flavors into a line of sauces with the following flavors: Kimchee, Bulgogi, Spicy Bulgogi, Magic and Fish-Soy Base.

“I love to cook and my house is always filled with people and food. I decided to make these sauces so that I could pass on my recipes and flavors to my children and grandchildren,” says Youn-Jin. “My kids and grandkids love these sauces so much they said that I had to share my flavors with the world! Each of these sauces is different but feel free to experiment with them — there is no wrong way to use them.”

Now we can all have a taste of Roy Choi’s mother’s cooking by using these sauces to make homemade kimchi, chicken stew, Mapo Tofu or Beef Bulgogi. Best of all, we can experiment and come up with dishes for our own families.

For more information, visit mommysauce.com.

Editors' Recommendations

Chef Roy Choi Discusses the New Season of Broken Bread

Former Digital Trends Contributor

Ann Binlot is a New York-based freelance writer who contributes to publications like The Economist, Wallpaper*, Monocle…

Food & Drink

The ultimate guide to Lebanese cuisine, a rich and distinct food culture

After you read this, you'll be excited to cook this cuisine at home

Middle Eastern, Arabic, or Mediterranean dinner table with grilled lamb kebab, chicken skewers with roasted vegetables and appetizers variety serving on rustic outdoor table

The food culture of Lebanon is rich and resonant, reflecting both its Mediterranean setting and deep anthropological history.
Even those who have never trekked to Beirut — let alone their local Middle Eastern eatery — are likely familiar with a few of the staples. Lebanon, once a major part of the Ottoman Empire, is the birthplace of earthy dishes like baba ganoush and sweet treats such as baklava.

With its admiration for seasonality and a mix of breads and produce almost always accompanied by beverages, Lebanese cuisine is like the Italy of the Arab world. Whether you're munching at a cafe in Tripoli or just thumbing though a good cookbook at home, this kind of food is not only delicious and distinctive, but it welcomes an unhurried pace over the duration of many, many enjoyable courses.
The history of Lebanese cuisine

Food & Drink

6 easy camping cocktails to shake your post-hike thirst

Bring all these ingredients to quench your thirst in the wild

Outdoorsman's Hot Toddy

So you're camped out in your best tent for too long? Or wearily panting atop the summit of a fourteener? Perfect! Time for some easy cocktails to make everything better. Yes, that's right, when you've got the 4-1-1 behind these easy-to-make, tasty adult libations, you can enjoy a fine drink on a mountain, at the campsite, or when you're home and don't feel like cutting lemon twists or adding sugar to the rim of your cocktail glass.

The secret to making great camp cocktails is the same trick to achieving military victory: Keep it simple. There's no camp-friendly version of the Long Island iced tea, but that doesn't mean you have to stick with cheap whiskey when roughing it.

Food & Drink

23 easy cocktail recipes you can make at home

Check out this curated list of classic cocktail recipes to master in your own bar

Bartender making a whiskey highball

A cocktail doesn't have to be a complicated thing. In fact, many of the best classic cocktails involve just a few ingredients. These, my friends, are the cocktails you should know how to make, as they're simple to pull off and taste superb.

Maximalist cocktails with as many ingredients as there are stars in the sky are great, but better left to the pros. We like to make the ones that don't require a whole lot of special equipment (outside of a good cocktail shaker) or that take too much of your precious time. These are cocktails that tend to let your favorite spirit shine, whether it's good rye whiskey or a favorite gin.