How did Michelle's relationship to Korean food change during her mother's illness and after her death? Why was she so drawn to cooking, and to the YouTube chef Maangchi?

How did Michelle's relationship to Korean food change during her mother's illness and after her death? Why was she so drawn to cooking, and to the YouTube chef Maangchi?

Michelle really embraced the Korean food culture as a way to tether herself to her mom, her heritage and as a source of comfort. It was all about connection.

I think she threw herself into the food of her country to become closer to her mom with an abstract sort of feeling that she would be carrying her mother’s legacy on by doing so

I think she was trying to make up for lost time....when she was acting like a spoiled teenager. But quite frankly I got really tired of reading about all the food! It just went on way too long.

I loved that she drew close to the one thing they shared. She mentioned early in the book that they traveled the world through food and connected through exotic dishes and tastes. It makes sense that she would cling to the tastes of her mother's home and try to resurrect that connection through the one thing they both loved. The book made me so hungry and greatly increased my shopping list for my next trip to H Mart.

After Chongmi's death, Michelle sought to reconnect with her mother by learning to cook the dishes she knew her mother loved, all the while hoping that her version of these dishes would live up to her mother's high expectations. The chef Maangchi was the epitome of Korean chefs and the one from whom she expected to receive the utmost skill in her attempts to recreate her mother's passion for food.

It seemed she was somewhat about Korean food, until her mother got sick. It was then that she wanted to learn the history, shop at the H Mart, cook and embrace her heritage. I got the feeling she was a bit embarrassed about her heritage at the beginning of the book.

She got into the cooking aspect in regards to the Korean aspect. I agree that she almost got too into it

Korean food was a way to keep her mother alive and a way to remember her after her death

I agree, that Korean food was a way to keep feeling an ongoing connection with her mother.

She did seem to stay connected to her mom through Korean cooking and food.

I think Michelle ratcheted up her Korean cooking and eating after her mother died. Like others I think this was a way to stay connected to her mother but also a way to express herself as an Asian-American woman.

Michelle's Korean identity lay within her mother, and after her death, cooking the food her mother loved was a way to keep the memories and her identity alive.

I agree with everybody - she connected with her mother by learning the Korean dishes. I am Greek and Hungarian, but don't speak either language. A big plate of (Hungarian) Chicken Paprikash, the way my mom used to make it, really connects me to my mother and my heritage.

Michelle used Korean food as a way to hold tightly to her mother, even after her death. The nostalgia she described with the entire process of purchasing food, reading recipes, the actual cooking and enjoying the finished product were such a beautiful way for her to carry her mother with her.

She kept the memories of her mom and heritage alive by cooking the foods that they enjoyed.