Jennifer Liao
Seattle, Washington
Xiao Long Baos, 小笼包, aka Soup Dumplings have become a revered comfort food that many of us city folk crave. What’s not to love about a little soup-filled bundle of joy with a top pleat that you can ever so gently bite and delicious meat steam comes through? Meat steamed sounded better in our heads…
Usually these moments are left to sit-down restaurant experiences only - it’s hard to take such a sacred experience, put it in a take-out container to eat at home. XCJ Dumplings, a company based in Seattle has figured out the solution - freeze it. In addition to soup dumplings, they also offer street style meat skewers, sauces and making the Little Bites, otherwise known as Xiao Chi (小吃) experience more accessible at home. We sat down with Jennifer Liao, one of the co-founders to chat more about her company.
Full name, age, where are you from?
Jennifer Liao, 32
I’m currently based out of Seattle! I was a bit of a nomadic kid – I was born in Dallas and had lived in the Bay Area, Rhode Island, Boston, Seattle, Philadelphia, New York, then SF again before coming back to Seattle.
What is your title and where do you currently work?
I am one of the co-founders of Xiao Chi Jie (XCJ), a direct-to-consumer modern Chinese food company.
Was food a big part of your upbringing?
Definitely – food has been a love language in my family as I believe many third culture kids have also experienced. External to the family, food (and many potlucks) was a way to connect with chosen family in a country where we had no relatives and limited support networks. Internal to the family, food was the way to celebrate accomplishments and also the way to break the ice after an argument and express care.
Growing up as an Asian American kid - I didn’t appreciate Chinese food as much. We ate Chinese food at home daily and on the rare occasions we ate out at restaurants, it was also at Chinese restaurants. I was ecstatic when we would make it out to Olive Garden or Red Robin! When I was in 3rd grade, I had my “lunch box moment”. I desperately wanted to fit in with the kids who had lunch boxes of white bread and floppy cheese pizzas and I felt the only way to do so was to publicly renounce the “weird” lunch my mom had cooked for me by throwing it into the cafeteria trash bin. When I returned home that day, I remember telling my mom that my homemade lunch tasted great that day so I devoured it all. In response, she looked into my empty lunch box and examined my unused metal spoon — this was the same day I learned I was horrible at telling lies, and also the last day my mom cooked me lunch.
As I’ve grown older, I have learned to appreciate the rich history of my Chinese heritage and Chinese food. I did not know how good I had it, having parents who cared enough to cook my favorite dishes from scratch – living apart for all of my adult life, I very much miss my mom’s home cooking and have even incorporated some of her recipes into our food products. Launching XCJ and sharing Chinese food is also my way of encouraging other Asian Americans to show up as they are.
If you could give a piece of advice to someone who wanted to pursue your career, what would it be?
Just get started, complete what you start, and actively listen to any responses to what you’re putting out there. There’s nothing embarrassing about trying, and no one expects the first version of what you put out to be perfect and the final form of your product. Customers are seeking your product which is why they buy it, so they are rooting for you and want to give you as much feedback as you ask for/can handle. Once you feel like you’ve hit product/market fit, that’s when you should be 120% leaning in, stepping on the gas pedal, and obsessive about adapting fast and getting it right.
What do you think working in this industry has taught you?
It’s taught me that everyone loves food – it’s such a positive connector! There’s a lot of built up knowledge, experience, set ways, and relationships that can be intimidating to wade into. However, everyone loves being in this industry and is excited by new energy and ideas since they themselves will also be the beneficiary of great new products!
What’s your favorite product?
That’s a very hard question since the main reason I started XCJ was to eat all of my favorite Chinese foods! I love that our soup dumplings are such a great entry point for anyone to try and start exploring Chinese foods. I personally love lamb skewers – it brings back so many memories at night markets in China with my family. And then… we’re launching new products in October – come back to find out what that might be :p
What is your favorite place to go out and eat at and what are you ordering?
I love food variety, so my favorite spots/cravings change constantly and I’m definitely ordering as many dishes as reasonable for the party size to share lazy susan style. Right now, any delicious Korean BBQ spot owns my stomach.
You’re on a desert island, what are the 5 kitchen items you need to run your business?
Do the chefs on our culinary team count?? Probably freezer, knife, pot, spice cabinet (if that counts as 1). I’m assuming I could finagle a makeshift fire, some type of rolling pin made from a tree, and some type of steamer set up in the pot.
