Meet the Craveable Asian Food Brand Launched by Daughters of Refugees
If you hang around here at Kitchn, you’ve no doubt heard us talking about Omsom, a meteorically growing Asian food brand. Kitchn editors are big Omsom fans — we cannot get enough of their meal starter or saucy noodle kits — and they’ve gained a huge following on social media, thanks to shoutouts from big-name media, like Today and Vogue.
Omsom was founded by Kim and Vanessa Pham, first-generation sisters whose Vietnamese-American heritage provides inspiration and drive for the recipes and ingredients offered in Omsom’s line of products. What are those products, you ask? Omsom excels in sauces; just tear open a packet of their punchy flavor boosters, add it to your protein or veg or even Omsom’s noodles, and cook away. The sauces cover a diverse ground, with Southeast and East Asian flavors (think: Lemongrass BBQ, Thai Larb, and Korean Spicy Bulgogi).
Like many of our favorite small startup food brands, Omsom is a company with big heart. “There’s no such thing as a typical day at Omsom,” says Kim. Sometimes, she hunkers down at the brand’s Brooklyn headquarters, tackling emails. Other days, she’s creating Reels and filming content for social media. As if that wasn’t enough, she also spends time developing new recipes in the kitchen. It’s that small-business scrappiness that makes Omsom so special. Customers know that they’re not just ordering a dinner helper; they’re becoming part of a bright, funny, and raucous-in-the-best-way family.
In fact, that’s the origin of the brand’s name. Omsom means noisy, rambunctious, or riotous. Vanessa and Kim admit that it was most frequently used by their own parents to scold them in the back of the car. (Anyone with siblings will surely find this relatable!)
Like any family, though, Omsom is the product of collaboration. Kim and Vanessa work with a variety of Asian American chefs across the country to translate big flavors to their convenient tear-and-cook packages. That’s what I personally love about Omsom — being a customer means opening myself up to many more culinary traditions than I would encounter in my typical dinner routine.
Once you try Omsom, there’s a very high chance you’re going to want more of it. And great news about that: The brand offers a discounted-price subscription service. You can even customize it to pick the flavors that you vibe with most, and set your frequency (one, two, or three months).
Cooking with Omsom really is as easy as saucing up your fresh ingredients and simmering away, but in case you need a little more inspiration, the brand offers a ton of recipes, all for free on their blog. Can’t wait to get started? Order today and receive your goods in a flash; Omsom will even ship the same day in some metropolitan areas.
Shop: Omsom