Chill Crisp Wrapped & Gift Ideas for Chinese(ish) Food Lovers

Thank you for reading this newsletter!

About a year and a half ago, I quit my job as a food editor, unsure if I’d stay in the food industry. At the time, I didn’t see many opportunities in Germany, but I decided to try my luck on social media. After a coffee date with my friend Devan (check out her great newsletter Darn Good) last summer, I registered on Substack and posted my first newsletter about making Mapo Tofu. It was sent to about 10 subscribers, solely my friends and family.

This small project has grown steadily, and today, a little over 2,000 people are reading it. I used to blog in Chinese, but I never had much confidence writing in English. I worried people would notice right away that English isn’t my first language. But I’m glad I did it anyway. As someone who’s relatively new to food writing—navigating storytelling from the perspective of a first-generation immigrant, an Ausländer (a German word for “foreigner”, which I use jokingly to describe myself)—I’m beyond grateful for your support. Thank you for reading my words, making my recipes, and sharing your ideas and stories with me.

Chengdu’s cult-ish Christmas deco

This year, I published 36 newsletters until today. One major focus has been the Chinese pantry, exploring ingredients like doubanjiang, black vinegar, Sichuan pepper, soy sauce, fresh tofu blocks and tofu products. This series has been time-consuming but deeply rewarding. Writing has helped me organize my research and document the process. I also delved into the world of noodles and shared more niche recipes like Sichuan dessert ice jelly and sweet fermented rice (laozao)—both made from scratch.

According to Substack, the most popular posts this year were my tofu guides, followed by recipes for hot and sour noodles (suanlafen) and Chinese steamed eggs. If you missed some emails, now you can find all these recipes in the content index!

I hope you have a wonderful holiday season ahead—don’t worry, there’s more content coming soon! For now, here’s my virtual thank-you card, along with a collection of gift ideas.

Gift Ideas for Chinese(ish) Food Lovers

I grew up with a different gifting culture in China. Gifts were often straightforward—like red envelopes with cash (now digital WeChat transfers) or, occasionally, a new iPod for good exam results. While I’m not a big holiday enthusiast, I love the process of picking gifts (of course receiving them) and secretly enjoy reading all of the listicles of “The Best of“. These aren’t a formal guide, just a few things I’ve been loving! I call it a Chinese-ish lovers, but these are not only Chinese brands so you can use them in many other occasions. (Also, You’re from different parts of the world but I try to include things you can get in Europe and US).

Homemade Edible Gifts

The best homemade gift I’ve ever given is my Sichuan chili oil, so I made another batch this year and will continue to make a few more! You could also try:

• A crunchy version of chili crisp

• Aromatic sweet soy sauce (perfect paired with chili oil!) to dress dumplings and noodles

• Sichuan pepper-infused oil: for those who can handle its tingly, numbing flavor

Chinese Ingredients

My friend Ivette once asked me to recommend a small bundle of Chinese ingredients for her family, who wanted to start cooking Chinese dishes. This can be an affordable and thoughtful gift:

• Grocery pantry items: soy sauce, black vinegar, chili oil, doubanjiang, oyster sauce and sesame oil, for example can be a starter kit to cook Chinese food. These should be easy to find in your local Asian grocery stores or online, and you can find my recommended grocery brands in the respective pantry talk newsletter.

• More premium options: you can upgrade some to artisanal options, such as this whole pantry collection, three-year-aged doubanjiang or dried chilies from Mala Market; the Sichuan pepper oil set from 50 Hertz Tingly Foods; or milder chili oil from Chili Chan, an Amsterdam-based brand that also makes cute merch.

Kitchen and Dining

Donabe (Clay Pot)

I’ve been in love with my Japanese donabe, a gift brought from my parents, delicately wrapped in their hand luggage. Clay pot is a traditional East Asian cooking vessel perfect for congee, mini hot pots, jjigae, and braises. And the Japanese version of Donabe is both functional and beautiful—great for cooking and serving. The heat retention is incredible; you can still hear it bubbling as you bring it to the table. Mine is a banko ware (萬古焼) donabe, and you can find similar ones here, here, or here. Sometimes you also find these at MUJI. The price range is huge so here’s a guide about how to choose the best donabe.

donabe with stewed beef and daikon, tofu skin

Kettle with Temperature Control & Tea

This is a game-changer for tea and coffee lovers. I got this as a gift, along with a scale with a timer for my hand-pour coffee setup. It’s also great for brewing tea, which often requires specific temperatures, for example: green tea (like Longjing): ~85°C ; Pu’er: ~95°C; Oolong: 95~100°C. You can find similar ones from fellow, Hario, Ninja and Kitchen Aid.

For tea lovers, pair this with quality Chinese tea—it’s a perfect combo. I normally source my tea from China, but here’s a Berlin brand Paper & Tea that offers tea in tasteful packages, always a great gift especially for elderly, I love their Oolong from Taiwan and Oolong from Fujian, and this easy tea filter.

Other kitchen tools I love:

• the Benriner mandolin (perfect for cucumber salads and shredded potatoes)

• an affordable Chinese cleaver from Zhang Xiaoquan.

Ceramics and Drinkware

Cups and tumblers

I love Kinto, a Japanese brand that makes beautiful drink ware, I’ve gifted this amber coffee cup and this chic travel tumbler, which were so well received. These water glasses are on my list, too.

I’m drinking a lot of hot liquid in the winter so thermo bottles are my big passions, I also own this one from chilly’s (with a handle and silent silicon bottom) and a small 350ml one from Stanley (similar to this one) for coffee, love them both for different occasions.

For ceramics, I always hunt for local studios when traveling. Some favorites:

• Ea Ceramic Studio (Crete, Greece) - ships across Europe. I have encountered them in the ceramic village in Crete and brought back this noodle bowl immediately, later I got gifted this chubby rusty mug. this oil bottle is extremely cute, too.

• The Wild Things Studio (Naples, Italy) – I found them in a back street in Napoli and they’re available via Instagram

• Shu Chen Ceramics (Shanghai, China) – I discovered the artist at Wan Gallery, a boutique Chinese ceramic shop with a beautiful selection

• Empreintes (Paris France) - This place has unique selection of ceramics and home deco pieces and jewelries from independent artists. I had (but sadly smashed) a very special coffee mug here. They ship internationally, but have to navigate this French website.

• Luza Portugal (Lisbon): I found this affordable ceramic shop just by searching on google map when I was in Lisbon a few years ago and carried a few pieces back home. Their website ships Europe and world wide.

Dining and Food Experiences

If you’re in Germany, here are a few ideas for food-related experiences. Semi-affiliated because I know them personally but I adore their work without being paid to say so!

Chinese Dining at UUU Berlin

My friends Yuhang and Jonas run this fine-dining (ish) place in Berlin, focusing on reinterpretation of Chinese food with new and creative approach. They offer a refreshing tea pairing. I took my partner there for his birthday, and he loved it!

Tofu Workshop at Soi Co(Huadou)

This vegan café in Berlin offers tofu-making workshops where you can learn to make tofu from scratch, with a traditional stone mill and a beautifully designed tofu press.

Workshop at Qu Fermentation Studio

My friend Polly, a fermentation expert and culinary creative, regularly hosts workshops on making koji and miso.

Books

For Chinese cookbooks, I recommend:

• Fuchsia Dunlop’s The Food of Sichuan and her newest book Invitation to a Banquet (always the OG)

• Hannah Che’s The Vegan Chinese Kitchen, for those who want to explore the abundant veggie and tofu recipes.

• A more vintage classic: Buwei Yang’s How to Cook and Eat in Chinese, which was listed one of the most influential cookbooks from the last 100 years.

These two I haven’t read but looking forward too!

• Betty Liu’s The Chinese Way

• Michael Zee’s Zao Fan: Breakfast of China

For non-cookbooks, I loved Peter Hessler’s Other Rivers. It offers a moving reflection on Chinese education, culture, and politics through the lens of his experiences teaching in Sichuan both in the 90s and during the pandemic (exactly in my old college Sichuan university). I grew up deeply impacted by the Chinese education system and one-child-policy, this book feels empathetic and nostalgic.

For something light and fun, try Yellow Face or Interior Chinatown (which was recently adapted to TV show).

a Chinese calligraphy shop in Xi’an with all written wishes such as “a lot of money every day”(日进斗金) “elegant home and harmonious relationship”（室雅人和）which are my wishes for you :-)