Gift Ideas for Foodies & Home Cooks (Kitchen Essentials)

Okonomi Kitchen’s 2021 holiday gift guide us here! I’ve rounded up the best gifts for all the foodies and home cooks in your life, plus a few extra goodies. These gifts are sure to make all the special people in your life feel the warm, holiday love!!

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When selecting gifts, I always like to think about what is something this person would actually use? I rounded up some items that I think would be of use for any foodie or home cook! Whether you’re on a budget or looking to get something a little more grand, I hope this guide helps you find the perfect gift!!! 🙂

Holiday Gift Ideas Under $25 for Home Cooks & Foodies

1. Knife sharpener ($20): Something not everyone has but defiantly needs! Sharp knives are so important for cooking— it makes the work faster and safer.
2. Reusable bags ($22): Perfect for storing extra food, snacks and more without having to use plastic. 
3. Oil Splatter Screen ($11): Since I don’t have a deep fryer, I like using this to keep my stovetop clean. 
4. Otoshibuta ($24): A drop lid for simmering dishes! It does 3 things: helps with absorption of the flavour, even distribution of heat, prevents evaporation of the liquid and helps keep ingredient intact.
5. Miso muddler ($24): Measures out the same amount of Miso each time. It also doubles up as a small whisk handy for making homemade dressings. 
6. Miso Strainer ($20): This nifty strainer helps dissolve the miso so you don’t have chunks of it in the dish.
7. Silicon Covers ($15): These are great for covering food, I especially like to use it for microwaving instead of using plastic cling wrap.
8. Silicon Container Covers ($12): These are so useful for covering up any leftovers without having to use plastic cling wrap. 
9. Healthy Human Tumbler ($13): This is the ONLY tumbler I use because it actually keeps my drinks at the temperature I like. Cold in the summer and warm in the winter. They also have a water bottle version that I love too!
10. Oroshi grater ($7): Another gadget I always get asked about! It’s a type of vegetable grater, mostly commonly used for grating daikon (daikon oroshi) for dishes like udon, tempura, soba, tofu, tamagoyaki and more. 
11. Coffee mug warmer ($25): An essential for winter to keep drinks warm!
12. Food scale ($23): Highly recommended for the bakers in your life! I always recommend using a food scale when baking because +/- small amounts of an ingredient can really throw off a recipe. 
13. Cookie scoop ($16): Again, for anyone who loves baking and doesn’t have a cookie scoop yet. It makes making cookies so much more easier since each scoop will yield the same amount of dough. 
14. Oil brush ($9): The perfect stocking stuffer! Such a small but useful little thing. 
15. Wooden spoons ($11): I love cooking and eating with wooden spoons because it doesn’t scratch pots and dishwater like how metal sometimes does.  
16. For the Love of Miso ($20): For anyone that is interested or loves miso!! It goes into depth about miso, the varieties, uses, FAQ and 20+ delicious recipes using miso 🙂

Holiday Gift Ideas Under $100 for Home Cooks & Foodies

1. Iwatani Portable Gas Stove ($50): A wonderful addition to any kitchen for doing hot pots and making clay pot
2. Individual donabe ($48) : I love donabe (clay pots) because it keeps to food nice and warm, perfect for the cooler season!
3. Yukihira pan without lid ($27-40): A deep and wide pan with a hammered surface with a spout. Typically used for miso soup and simmered dishes but an be used for a wide range of cooking. 
4. recipes. 
5. Yukihira pan with the lid ($47-53): A step up from just the pan, add a cover to it for more versatility.
6. Torch ($31): If it can be torched…. I’ll torch it. It truly makes so many dishes taste x10 better!!
7. Japanese Madeline ($48): I’ve gotten several questions about how to make cabbage slices that are fluffy like the ones paired with tonkatsu, and it’s this Japanese Madeline. Unlike french Madolines, the Japanese one is much lighter, storage friendly and affordable! Plus, I love how the blades are diagonal for a more control and cleaner + thinner slices. 
8. Deep fryer pot ($43): I don’t personally own one but my mom raves about this fryer! It makes cleaning up much easier. 
9. Storage Containers ($33): Great for those who always have leftovers or like to meal prep. 
10. Suribachi ($57): This Japanese motor and pestle grinds sesame seeds and spices like a dream. Handy for ramen and making dressings. 
11. Reusable bags ($53): The BEST reusable bags that are easy to clean. Perfect for snacks, storing food and more!!
12. Instant pot ($90): Another must have kitchen appliance that is highly versatile and cooks a wide range of food. 
13. Air Fryer ($97): Air frying is big right now and I have to say, it’s become one of my most used appliances in my kitchen. 
14. Zojirushi Electric Skillet ($100): This is another one of my moms recommendations! Especially if you’re not too keen on using gas stoves, this is perfect for hot pot.
15. OXO Food Containers ($52): I love how durable these OXO food containers are. If you have bulk items, they also have larger sizes.
16. Kokoro Cares Vegan “Zen” Package ($65): Perfect for anyone looking into cooking vegan Japanese food! It comes with 7 different items, ones that are not as easy to find at local grocery stores making it extra special.

High Ticket Holiday Gift Ideas ($100+)

1. 3 Cup Donabe ($322): This is my absolute favourite donabe— the gold standard for clay pots in Japan. High end restaurants use this donabe because of how incredible it cooks up rice (and many other dishes). Here’s also the 2 cup style ($155).
2. Zojirushi Rice Cooker ($178): The best affordable muti function rice cooker! I can’t live without it. When I’m not using my donabe, I use the rice cooker since I can just press a button and go. 
3. Zojirushi Hot Water Dispenser ($181): Super convenient to have hot water at all times! As a huge tea drinker I love having access to hot water without having to wait for it to boil.
4. Vitamix ($382): SO worth it. We’ve had our first vitamix for over 14 years and still works!
5. Breville Milk Cafe Frother ($207): I’ve tried several brothers but this one really stands out in its quality. It froths up anything I put in it (even almond milk!) and heats up with different temperatures.
6. Air Fryer Oven ($220): A step up from just an air fryer. Perfect for those with a smaller kitchen since it has multiple functions.
7. Breville Espresso Machine ($194): We recently JUST got one and safe to say, we’re in love!!!!! Definitely a must have for any coffee lover.
8. Kitchen Aid Stand Mixer (450): As someone who doesn’t like to knead…. this is great for making bread. Of course, it’s useful for making and baking heaps of other food too like cookies, cakes, frosting and more.

Japanese Ceramics & Tableware: My picks from Musubi Kiln

I also chose a few of my favourite pieces from Musubi Kiln that I think are reasonably priced and on the more affordable end! They are my absolute favourite Japanese ceramic store and ship world wide. Their pieces are high quality and absolutely gorgeous. Be sure to use the code “LISAK” to get 5% off your order! 🙂

1. Yamanaka Lacquer Chopsticks ($38): You can never go wrong with a nice pair of beautiful chopsticks!
2. Chopstick rests ($10-12): Cute and beautiful stocking stuffers. They have a huge selection, but I love the Christmas, Autumn food and Vegetable collection for the holidays.
3. Snow Shino Mino Ware Ramen Bowl S ($17): White ramen bowl with little brown accents, makes any ramen look that much for yummy!!
4. Nishiki Peony Mino Ware Donburi Rice Bowl with Lid ($S 50/M 59/L 65): I love Donburi rice bowls that come with a lid because it keeps the food hot. The Nishiki Penoy Mino Ware series is a popular style you might see at Tempura and Katsudon restaurants in Japan. Size comparisons below!
5. Red Banreki Mino Ware Bowl wth Lid ($65): A beautiful shallow donburi bowl with a red colour scheme. Truly a beauty of a bowl. 
6. Baizan Kiln Arabesque Tobe Donburi ($46): Another popular style donburi bowl (without a lid)! The blue is gorgeous and compliments almost any food colours. 
7. Rinkuro Kiln Old Imari Story Chimon Imari Rund Place ($52): Another beautiful plate with red and blue accents.
8. Hibino Gustav Ivory White Mino Ware ($16): My most used plate, it’s simple but I love that it has a flat surface with edges so you can serve saucy food as well. 

Gift Ideas for Fur Friends

• Instant Udon Noodle Bed ($99): I recently purchased this bed and safe to say, I’m obsessed. If you get a matching one, please do take a photo and tag us!!
• Leash with Flashlight ($17): We love this leash, especially during the winter so we can see in the dark when taking Subie for a walk to make sure she doesn’t pick up anything.
• Harness light ($18): Another one we use for safety, so drivers can see and so that we can see if she’s picked up something.
• Water bottle ($14): A must have for when we’re traveling / going for a walk.