Snack Bar, Vol. 12: AANHPI-Owned Food & Beverage Brands

You don’t have to be an expert–or even a regular–cook to appreciate a great bottle of olive oil, and Brightland is an AANHPI-owned brand leading the way in producing quality, flavorful oils that are great for cooking, finishing dishes, and dunking bread. This cute giftable (or worthy of keeping for yourself) set includes three miniature bottles to sample some of the brand’s most popular infused oils: chili peppers, garlic, lemon, and basil.

Koso is a Japanese drink made from a blend of fresh fruits, vegetables, seaweed, and mushrooms that’s fermented for a year, then sipped as a probiotic elixir to improve gut health and digestion. Some drinkers also report improved skin, stronger immunity, and even better sleep when Koso is part of their diet. Add a splash of R’s Koso to sparkling water for a wellness mocktail at any time of day. It has a lovely sweetness and sophisticated flavor that’s right at home at cocktail hour, too.

Umaimah Sharwani founded Paro (named after her mom) to share the flavors of her Pakistani heritage with home cooks everywhere. Kitchari is a soft, creamy porridge-like dish made from savory mung beans and rice (which together make a complete plant-based protein). A bowl of lightly spiced kitchari from Paro, which takes about half an hour to cook on the stove, is pure comfort food.

There seem to be endless sparkling water options out there, but none is quite like Sanzo. This brand, founded by Filipino-American Sandro Roco features the bold, fruity, and frankly fun flavors of Asian produce, including lychee, yuzu, calamansi, and mango. I recommend sipping on one in the afternoon to break your slump with a sweet little tropical escape.

Hear me out—these freeze-dried mushroom chips are absolutely delicious. Shiitake mushrooms are naturally packed with umami, and when the flavor is further condensed by removing the water into crunchy, snackable shelf-stable bites, the result is irresistible. The idea for Popadelics came from co-founder Mariyn Yang’s favorite childhood snack.

If you’re a chili crisp fan, chances are high that you’ve seen, and maybe tried a flashy jar of numbing Szechuan pepper sauce from Jing Gao’s brand Fly By Jing. But her dry Mala Spice Mix is not to be overlooked. It imparts the same tingling sensation as the traditional chili crisp but can be used as a dry spice rub, popcorn topping, or seasoning for roasted veggies. Gao even suggests rimming a cocktail glass with Mala Seasoning to really wake up the taste buds.

A bottle of well-seasoned rice vinegar is a pantry staple in many Asian homes. It has the tart zing of apple cider vinegar with a more subtle umami flavor that comes from grain distillation. This version from Asian pantry brand Lee Kum Kee is delicious in marinades and sauces and adds zing to a simple bowl of rice. While you’re at it, the brand has an extensive offering of other high-quality condiments, sauces, spices, and marinades to stock in the kitchen.

If you love the salty, briny crunch of nori wrapped around sushi, it’s time to welcome these healthy seaweed crisps into your snacking repertoire. Gimme Seaweed is a light, crunchy savory bite that you can enjoy on its own like chips, but a pro move is to use the palm-sized sheets as a wrapper for rice, veggies, and other fillings to make DIY handrolls.

This New York City-based brand makes unique small-batch loose-leaf tea blends using premium ingredients, including whole dried flowers, herbs, and citrus peels. You can choose one of their pre-made blends or design something totally your own. These tea blends also make a great gift (the personalized packaging is a nice touch).

Coffee is beloved around the world, and this blend from mother-daughter-owned Bean & Bean unites flavors from three continents: Latin America, Africa, and Asia. This medium roast is wonderfully chocolatey with a pop of lemongrass. If you’re in New York or New Jersey, you can sample a fresh cup directly from the source at a Bean & BEan cafe, but a take-home bag of beans is the next best thing. 

You’ve likely never tasted chocolate like the stunning bars made by the Indian-American confectionary brand Madhu. The flavors, including warm cardamom, floral rose, and indulgent saffron milk, are born from classic Indian ingredients united with sweet and creamy Colombian chocolate.

These aren’t your average store-bought cookies. Love + Chew Cookies, owned by Chinese-American entrepreneur Lauren Chew, have the soft, chewy texture of a fresh bakery-style treat, thanks to gluten-free ingredients like almond butter, dates for sweetness, and almond butter. They’re delightfully nutty and packed with chocolate chips (kids love them too).