Clarissa Wei

Clarissa Wei is an American journalist and writer. Her focus is on Taiwan and in particular Taiwanese food and food culture. Her book Made in Taiwan: Recipes and Stories of the Island Nation was released in 2023 and was nominated for a James Beard Media Award. The book won the IACP Julia Child First Book Award.

Personal life Wei was born in Los Angeles, California, to Taiwanese American immigrant parents from Tainan, Taiwan. She graduated from New York University with a bachelor's degree in journalism and political science. As of 2023, she resided in New Taipei City. Many of her stories in Hong Kong focused on aging restaurateurs or chefs who maintained important culinary traditions. During this time she traveled around China producing food and culture videos for SCMP.

In 2020 she left Hong Kong for Taiwan together with her husband, on 30 June, when the Hong Kong National Security Law took effect.

In February 2022, Wei made a Singaporean chicken curry recipe in a New York Times social media video, which was later removed following backlash regarding its authenticity.

She was the co-host of the cooking show Kitchen Remix on TaiwanPlus.

In 2025, Wei launched HEYDOH, an artisinal soy sauce company.

Her second book, Sitting the Month: Postpartum Recipes for Rest and Recovery, will be out in 2026.

Books Made in Taiwan Made in Taiwan: Recipes and Stories of the Island Nation was released in 2023. Made in Taiwan is an exploration of Taiwan's food culture. In it she emphasizes using Taiwanese ingredients and not substitutes more widely available internationally. It was launched in 2021 and examines how different national cuisines and agricultural practices have developed in similar climactic zones across the planet.