How These Asian American Entrepreneurs Are Redefining the Millennial Pantry
Like many during the COVID-19 pandemic, I found myself taking up new hobbies—especially in the kitchen, where I tried my hand at traditional Vietnamese recipes that I wouldn’t have dreamt of attempting before. (I’m not the only one: working from home and with more flexibility than ever, one in six Americans took up a new pastime and 36 percent of respondents said they found themselves cooking.)
Yet, as the world reopens—and with the always-on WFH culture still going strong—my schedule is somehow more packed than it was before the pandemic. On the hunt for time-saving ingredients, I’ve relied heavily on Omsom, a company specializing in convenient, shelf-stable “meal starters” for classic Asian dishes curated by seminal Asian American chefs and restaurateurs like Nicole Ponseca, chef Deuki Hong, and chefs Chat and Ohm Suansilphong of Fish Cheeks. Just buy your meat and veggies, add Omsom, cook, and serve. Since launching in 2020, they’ve sold out a whopping seven times, shipped to all 50 states, and partnered with Disney for the release of the Southeast Asian-inspired animated film Raya and the Last Dragon.