27 Valentines Day Food Gifts that are not pink

Looking for the best homemade Valentines Day food gifts but not a fan of pink? These easy DIY Vday Food Gifts are perfect for all those important in your life, wither it's a boyfriend or good friends. (Includes food gifts you can mail as well as savory treats that are not sweet.)

If you're specifically looking for easy vegan food gift ideas, click here.

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.

If you usually buy your Chinese 5 spices powder from the supermarket, remember that supermarket spices may 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- nothing beats homemade!

At the same time, why not include a little booklet of 5 spice powder recipes recipes so that your friend knows what to do with the gift?

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. If you're not a potato fan, you can substitute with 1 of these samosa fillings too.

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!

Most people love cookies, especially in fall and winter, so if you need more ideas, here's a round-up of easy Asian cookie recipes.

These homemade treats only require 4 ingredients- works best with homemade peanut powder.

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

Calamansi has a special floral aroma. However, if you can't get calamansi limes, the recipes works with 1 of these calamansi fruit replacements too.

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

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!

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!)

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 as seasoning when cooking soup and stews!

Best enjoyed with some Korean banchan or side dishes!

Expert Tips for Homemade Food Gifts

1. Packaging is important: Fancy jars, nice boxes and printable gift tags will make your gift look like super luxurious!
2. Make foods that can last for a while: gifting is meant to bring joy However, if you give people food that needs to be eaten on the same day, it can give them more stress! So always bake or cook homemade gifts that can last at least a few days (the longer the better really.)
3. For food gifts you can mail: Make food gifts with even 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 (such as plastic rather than glass) to keep the shipping cost down!
4. For something a bit more special, make stuff that can't be found easily at the supermarket: for example, if you live in a small town where you can't find Asian condiments, you can gift homemade Tangerine-Cheong Syrup or Plum Syrup

Which these homemade Valentines Day food gifts was your favourite? If you enjoyed these treats, why not sign up for my Asian recipes newsletter?