Asian Food Gifts for Coworkers

Feeling the pinch in 2026? Save some money AND delight your coworkers with these homemade Asian food Gifts. Easy edible gifts DIY are cheaper, healthier, and more personal than anything you can buy in a store!

Jump to:

• Expert Tips for Making Edible Gifts
• 🍰 Cakes
• 🍪 Cookies
• Green Tea
• Matcha Cookies with White Chocolate Chips
• 🍰 Other Sweet Treats
• 🧁 Preserves
• 🍘 Savoury Food Gifts
• Sambal Oelek
• 🧂 Spice Mixes
• 🍱 Freezer-Friendly
• 🍹 Drinks
• 💬 Comments

Homemade gifts are so personal, and these Asian food gifts are sure to bring joy to any coworker who loves Asian food. Here are some of my tricks and tips!

Expert Tips for Making Edible Gifts

1. Invest in Packaging: Mason jars, nice boxes, and printable gift labels will make your food look like it came from an expensive deli.
2. Make long lasting foods: you won't find something like noodles on this list of Food Gifts DIY. Gifting food that needs to be eaten immediately can stress out the recipient! Hence, I recommend baking/ cooking homemade gifts that can last at least a few days (the longer the better.)
3. For shipping long distance: Make food gifts with longer shelf lives and that don't require refrigeration, such as Osmanthus Sugar, Homemade 5-spice Powder and this Dark Chocolate Chai Instant Hot Chocolate Mix. Also, remember to use lightweight packaging to keep the shipping cost down!
4. For something extra special, make food gifts that can't be found easily locally: for example, if you live in a small town where you can't find Korean ingredients, you can easily make your own Tangerine-Cheong Syrup, Plum Syrup or a Gochujang substitute (click through for the recipes.)

If you're gifting a picky eater, it might be best to give them an Asian Cooking Essentials gift set instead so they can cook for themselves, such as this Korean food gift set by Morueats- perfect for anyone who wants to make my 8 minute Gochujang Noodles recipe!

These black sesame cookies are super easy to make and not something your colleague can find in the grocery store! They have a sophisticated, not too sweet flavor with a nutty taste.

Pair these traditional Chinese cookies with a nice cup of Jasmine Tea with Milk! Actually these cookies are super popular in Hong Kong, so maybe have them with Yuan Yang Tea?

These cookies are popular in South East Asia- I don't use eggs in my recipes, just egg yolks to wash the cookies!

FYI: We don't use peanut butter in traditional Chinese cookies! If you really must substitute, make sure it's a pure nut butter. If not, the extra shortening etc will wreak havoc on your cookie's texture!

Tip: if you can't make your own ground peanuts, you can get ground peanuts from the Asian supermarkets.

Like fortune cookies, these "Chinese" cookies were created by immigrants in America not China! Use high quality almond extract and almond flour (not almond meal) for extra almond flavor.

P.S. In case you've not guessed, I'm a huge fan of nuts. Hence, I have this sweet and savory nut recipes round-up on my blog!

These caramel-flavored cookies are my favorite Christmas cookies for cookie boxes as it's 1 dough, multiple cookies!

• Dip them in dark white chocolate to make chocolate coated treats
• Or white chocolate!
• Divide the dough into batches and add cinnamon powder to 1
• And vanilla flavoring to another
• Chocolate chips to the 3rd
• Sliced Almonds in the 4th
• Chai spices in the next
• Etc etc!

Friends with dietary restrictions can be quite challenging to eat with, or to give food gifts to.

However, the more limited their diet, the more grateful they are when you give them a delicious food gift as it can be difficult for them to find stuff!

Trust me, I know, as 1 of my friends is allergic to eggs and dairy and she's always so happy to receive a vegan dessert. I almost cried when I ate the vegan cake I bought for her years ago- it was like sweet cardboard but she thought it was delicious!

Thankfully, these vegan cookies do NOT taste like cardboard!

Note: Click here for more easy vegan food gift ideas.

These homemade treats only red winter, so if you need more ideas, here's a round-up of easy Asian cookie recipes.

If you need a plant-based muffin, try this recipe. For a funkier flavor, try these black sesame and chocolate cupcakes or Hojicha muffins. These last for several days but will need re-heating to taste their best!

Calamansi has a special floral bouquet, but if you can't get them, feel free to use 1 of these calamansi fruit replacements instead.

Or if you have too much, use the extras in these calamansi lime desserts recipes- they also make delicious homemade gifts!

For something just for the Christmas season, make Eggnog Curd instead of Lime Curd!

For friends on a plant-based diet, they're missing out on all the caramel and butterscotch flavors of the season! Why not gift them with some of this delicious animal-product free Gula Melaka Caramel Sauce?

Note: if you can't get Gula Melaka, regular or homemade brown sugar works too!

🍯 Syrups for Coffee

If your coworker is an avid of a coffee drinker as mine, she'll love these flavoured syrups to jazz up her coffee!

This is ideal for people who can't live without their Chai Lattes. Coffee lovers will find it super easy to make Dirty Chais with this on hand!

It's easy and quick to make big batches of simple syrups. Plus, they last for 1-2 weeks in the fridge!

Matcha syrup is a wonderful homemade holiday gift for people who love matcha lattes, whether regular or mixed with chai spices!

Note: don't forget to send them this link of simple matcha green tea recipes, so that they have plenty of inspiration!

Brown sugar syrup is perfect for sweetening cold drinks, and a great idea for a family member or friend who loves bubble tea! (It's used to make the super caramel-ly and delicious Tiger Milk Tea, shown below!)

Salted eggs are super easy to make, you just need to be organised, as they need time to sit in the brine.

Some people are scared to make their own though, so why not make it for them and save them from the pesky chemicals and preservatives found in the store-bought ones? This is the perfect gift to post actually, as the eggs will require at least 20-30 days to brine!

Make it a complete gift by including a selection of salted egg recipes, such as salted egg popcorn (and maybe a curry leaf plant, as homegrown curry leaves go amazingly with salted egg!).

Tip: I don't recommend gifting salted egg popcorn itself as it tastes best fresh!

For new twists on a classic Korean condiment, try this delicious creamy sauce! Perfect for burgers or fries.

Peranakan food takes a lot of time to make because of the pounding of the spices. Luckily, you can make the spice mix, or rempah, ahead fo time and freeze it!

Make a huge batch of Mee Siam Paste and gift it to friends who love Nyonya food! Can be used for traditional Mee Siam Soup, dry Mee Siam Goreng or to sauce meat and veg!

This homemade Indonesian chili is so versatile- you can use it as a condiment, to make sambal chicken or any of these sambal oelek recipes.

XO Sauce

Since this is an Asian food blog, how can I not mention XO sauce?

With so much dried scallops and dried shrimps inside, this umamilicious and luxurious gift will please any fan of Chinese cuisine!

If you're wondering why your friend can't just buy Chinese 5 spices powder from the supermarket, remember that supermarket spices have been sitting around for ages (whilst in transit from the factory to the supermarket, then on the shelves before making it to your kitchen).

The fresher the spice powder, the more tasty it is, so nothing beats homemade!

At the same time, why not include some recipes so that your friend knows what to do with the gift? Here's a link to some easy recipes which use 5 spice powder- you'd be surprised by how unusual some of them are!

You can also use 1 of these green onion substitutes as fillings!

A cousin of the samosa, curry puffs are a beloved street snack in Southeast Asia.

Best enjoyed with some Korean banchan or side dishes!

Other drink ideas include this homemade Korean tangerine syrup (chung gyul cheong) and homemade plum syrup (maesil cheong)- they can be added to alcohol to make cocktails, to hot water (or sparkling water) to make tea or to salads as part of the dressing. You can even use them when cooking soup and stews!

Which these homemade Mothers Day food gifts was your favourite? If you enjoyed these festive treats, you'll find more such ideas in my Asian recipes newsletter?