Khin's Kitchen

Yu Mon Khin, Founder

United Kingdom

2023

Khin’s Kitchen is spreading the joy of Asian home cooking

After posting pictures of her meals online, friends urged Yu Mon to start her own blog. Three years later, Khin’s Kitchen is the go-to blog for readers seeking Asian home cooking recipes.

Family meals — no recipe required

Cooking had always been Yu Mon Khin’s favorite hobby. Nothing made her happier than getting in the kitchen and cooking the diverse range of cuisines she grew up eating. Born to a Chinese-Burmese father and an Indian-Burmese mother, Yu Mon cooked alongside her mother and grandmother, creating delicious meals from her diverse mix of cultures.

“I’ve always liked sharing pictures of the dishes I cook,” says Yu Mon. “So when I posted some of my home-cooked meals to social media, some family friends reached out to me asking if I could write up recipes for the dishes and send them over. That was when I got the idea to start blogging.”

But there was one problem: Yu Mon didn’t really follow recipes. A lot of her cooking involved adding a teaspoon here and there by instinct. So after talking it over with some of her friends, she realized it would be best to post videos where she wouldn’t have to write out exact measurements and ingredients.

With some help from her husband, Khin set up her website in April 2020 — and with that, Khin’s Kitchen was open for business. The mission was simple: Use photos and videos to share how to make quick and easy Asian home cooking recipes.

From passion project to business

Yu Mon and her husband quickly realized there was an audience for Asian home cooking. Posting about their blog on social media and YouTube enabled them to reach more viewers each day. Along the way, Yu Mon realized there was already a whole ecosystem of bloggers out there who could serve as useful models.

“This community of senior food bloggers set the example for me, giving the writing tips and insider information I needed to turn my simple Wordpress blog into a business,” explains Yu Mon. “At first I didn’t know how to make money from the blog — but then I discovered AdSense.”

Yu Mon first applied for AdSense through her YouTube account to monetize her videos. And she soon learned she could apply that same ad-supported model to her blog. When she finally reached the threshold to qualify for Mediavine, a Google Certified Publishing Partner, Yu Mon and her husband had the ad partner they needed to drive revenue from their growing site.

This revenue couldn’t come at a better time: with the birth of their son, the extra revenue would free up Yu Mon and her husband’s time, allowing them to spend less time at their 9 to 5 jobs.

A family affair

Just three years after launching their blog, Khin’s Kitchen sees nearly a million viewers each month through Google search and social media. The steady income from AdSense has allowed her husband to join her at home — giving them the ability to work full-time on the blog.

“At first, I was the only one who got to work on the blog full-time, but this year my husband has been able to join me as well,” explains Yu Mon. “Our lifestyles are so flexible now. We can spend time with our son during the day — then put him to bed at night and spend some time editing the blog. We’re our own bosses now and aren’t juggling a bunch of balls in the air.”

The revenue from ads also means the Khin’s Kitchen could soon expand beyond just Yu Mon and her husband. “While it’s just the two of us cooking together now, we’d love to hire someone to help with video editing and more of the back-end duties so that we can post more recipes — and not have to worry so much about the technical aspects of running the blog.”

“The income from ads has allowed me to be more ambitious about the blog’s future.”

From Khin’s family to yours

Profitable or not, Yu Mon would spend her time cooking. “I love doing this. I don’t just love the business part. I love trying new recipes and connecting with the community.” But revenue from ads has made it possible for Yu Mon to dedicate herself full-time to the blog.

“The income from ads has allowed me to be more ambitious about the blog’s future,” says Yu Mon. “We can work on this full time and dream up new delicious dishes. I can visit restaurants for inspiration and bring back fine dining to my readers' homes.” And while her blog has mostly been focused on savory dishes, she wants to use her full-time efforts to bring the world of Asian baking to her readers.

But the ambitions don’t stop there. “My ultimate goal is to use the blog as a launchpad to publish a cookbook, then launch my own line of cookware. Seeing my products in a store someday is a major dream of mine.”

It might not be too ambitious. Yu Mon says that one of the most common requests she gets from readers is a cookbook. “They want to be able to give my recipes to family members around the holidays. I know it’s only a matter of time before the Khin’s Kitchen cookbook is on bookshelves in people’s homes. I can’t wait.”

About the Publisher

Yu Mon Khin is a recipe developer, blogger, and photographer behind Khin's Kitchen blog. She, along with her husband, Min created this blog in 2020. Her website is a dedication to all the readers who love delightful Asian home cooking recipes.