According to the protagonist of a spy novel, eating local helps give off the same pheromones as everyone else, and avoids giving the game away should your home be compromised. While the rest of us may not be so low key in China, adopting local home essentials is an inadvertent part of life in a foreign country.

The saving of costs brought on by economies of scale makes buying local a smart way to live, and living in cramped Chinese apartments ensures its survival of the most practical when it comes to appliances. The wisest of foreigners should consider making these time-tested essentials of every Chinese household a go, for if nothing else it will go a long way in impressing local guests.

Extreme wokking. Source: liber

Essentials for the kitchen

Except for sprawling villas, the typical Chinese kitchen only accommodates one person, with barely space to turn around. So every item within such confines has to be multi-functional and tiny worktops have to be kept spartan.

1) Chinese Wok
Cooking implements in every culture have evolved over centuries to account for the physical conditions of each geographic location. The wok is a classic example of such trial-and-error experimentation resulting in the perfectly rounded bottom necessitating the minimum amount of scarce firewood. These days, what’s a Chinese dinner without a few stir-fries thrown in. Yet the wok can go some so much further: it must be the only cooking receptacle for conjuring up every dish on the table, from soup to steamed dumplings to perfectly circular omelettes.

2) Chinese Cleaver
Much like the wok, if you only have space or budget for one knife, make it the cleaver. The typical stir-fry requires every item to be in slivers or bits and the cleaver is the only blade that can achieve that sans a food processor. The same blade is sturdy enough to chop up bones and smash vegetable ingredients, and it rarely breaks, unlike other knives purchased here.

3) Rice Cooker
A list of key cooking essentials in China, of course, must include the humble rice cooker. Cooking the Asian staple over the fire is no mean feat so rice cookers draws a “duh”. But using the rice cooker solely to cook rice would be underutilizing this underrated innovation. The latest models have functions for soup, congee, brown rice and they can even bake cakes. But if yours comes minus bells and whistles, fret not. Just add more water for porridge, or experiment with other grains like millet. You could even use it for homemade hotpot.

Tired of the watched-pot-never-boils-feeling? Rice cookers can do the job for items with long cooking times, like red bean soups or glutinous rice porridge. Steaming dishes while cooking rice is a great shortcut. In fact, students in dormitories have been known to rig rice cookers to cook entire meals in them! Survival in the urban jungle indeed.

Essentials for the home more generally

1) In-home Water Treatment – Filters and Electric Jugs
Because, traditionally, Chinese only drink boiled water, electric jugs have become the modern mainstay. Much like electric kettles, these updated versions are easy to clean with no visible heating element, are ultra-fast (and ultra-high voltage) and cordless. Those with temperature options even allow you to have green tea brewed at 80°C.

If boiling is not your thing, you can easily purchase a water cooler and have 12 litres of water delivered to your door whenever you want. Or, if you have a bit more cash to spend you could install a water filter on your sink, or as many Chinese families like to do, on your shower (the metals in the water as terrible for your hair as they are for your insides).

2) Living Room Knives
Earlier it was mentioned only one knife was needed, but that was just for the kitchen. The other knife in the house exists in the living room. Chinese almost never eat the skin of fruits, so living rooms across the country are full of small knives, fruit taste better when watching TV, right? Their short blades are sometimes curved at the end for ergonomic reasons. FYI these ones are great for cutting a bunch of bananas, and not accidentally tearing through the skin of one.

3) Different Kinds of Picks
Besides peeling fruit in the living room for guests, Chinese also like to offer guests toothpicks to use to pick up cubes of fruit, rather than have them use their hands. Toothpicks are also an economical version of dental floss with the added advantage of being socially acceptable. Remember to offer them to guests after meals.

Another kind of pick whose use in public is highly acceptable here is the ear-pick. Chinese believe that ears must be cleaned regularly and implements smaller than cotton buds are more precise. You’ll often spot them threaded onto key rings for those out and about people

4) Heating Mechanisms and other winter essentials
Electric blankets, standing heaters and air-conditioners-cum-heaters are often used in tandem with central heating. But imagine spending winter using them instead of central heating (unless you are already doing so), well that’s life for those living south of the Yangtze; until the government relents and allows gas infrastructures to be built.

If you have cash consider the Korean-style heated floorboards that spread out like carpets that are all the rage here. Or if you don’t have cash, once again rely on the fortitude of university students who you’ll see covering their cold dorm floors with foam jigsaw mats originally intended as child play-mats.

Apparel and Accessories

1) Sleeves
Sitting around in homes or offices all day in winter coats make for grubby sleeves. Winter jackets are not easy to launder in Chinese homes without dryers. So protect your cuffs by wearing sleeves over them. The more fashionable versions come with cute prints and lace that can be coordinated with your outfit. In the summer, sleeves come in the form of sun boleros donned by lady cyclists that cover every inch of exposed skin on the arms and shoulders.

2) Sole coverings
Moving on to the feet, going barefoot is a no-no in China, whether at home or outdoors. In summer, rubber flip-flops will do but in winter, take your pick from bedroom slippers to Ugg-lookalikes (useful in homes without heating). It is also considered civilized to require guests to similarly change into slippers or provide them shower cap-like shoe covers. Reasons for being shod at all times ostensibly arose from traditional Chinese medicine but the truth could be much more mundane. If your feet can’t feel the dust, the floor must be clean.

3) Sun Protection
One cannot write an article about Chinese essentials without talking about sun protection. It is common knowledge that Chinese ladies eschew UV rays like the plague, and so should you, especially if you live in one of the four furnaces of China. SPF products are readily available in the market, but Chinese prefer chemical-free UV protection like UV-proof sun parasols. If toting an umbrella when there is no rain seems effeminate to you, consider Uniqlo’s UV-cut clothing range. Many of the swimsuits you see on Chinese beaches more than comply with the strictest Islamic regulations. Though the headgear, the facekini as it has been nicknamed or nylon sunscreen mask (in Chinese), seems more bank-robber-inspired.

Well, living in China does seem to necessitate quite a lot of essentials. At least most of them do not take up all that much space, or budget.

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Keywords: Essential Chinese Items for Foreigners Important local items for expats