Into the Fridge 🤠
Rebecca Zhou on preserved ginger and dancing regularly
Rebecca Zhou 🤠
Rebecca is the CEO and founder of Soft Services, the body care brand I’m highly loyal to, as well as the co-founder of OFFHOURS with her husband David McGillivray. Outside of work, she’s an avid dancer, horseback rider, and chef who takes eating almost as seriously as she takes her professional pursuits. They made the move to upstate New York after previously living in Greenpoint, Brooklyn. Rebecca is easily one of the coolest people I know, so I’m just as excited about this as you are.
What is your fridge philosophy?
Local and seasonal produce/perishables, mixed with specialty sauces, condiments and accoutrements from far and near. Anything that’s fresh I like to get as close to me as possible and then spice it up with the best things I can find from around the world.
Your fridge is always always always stocked with ____.
SO MANY sauces and condiments, mostly acquired at Sullivan Sundries. Must-haves include: no less than 5 types of vinegars, tamari (GF soy sauce), mirin, miso, fish sauce, maple syrup, tahini, preserved ginger, preserved lemon, salt-cured capers, and at least 5 types of hot sauces/chili pastes.
At any point in time, there’s probably a handful of fresh vegetables and some protein, usually seafood from our fish market or ground beef or turkey from a nearby farm. Ramp season just started (!!), so we currently have a handful that a friend foraged from their backyard.
Eggs always, including a set of soft boiled eggs. I’ll sometimes peel one for a quick snack if I’m feeling hungry. Also a little dairy. I’m technically lactose intolerant so I shouldn’t, but it’s too hard to resist.
Beverage-wise, at least one bottle of wine that’s chilled and sparkling water. I always have seltzer in the fridge for a non alc cocktail but also to make vegan batter for pancakes or anything you would use a buttermilk/ fermented dairy in — it makes a really great batter for baja fish or a chicken schnitzel.
Top 5 condiments, go.
I’m a huge fan of Tart Vinegar. I love everything she does. I always have a stash of her vinegars. Preserved Ginger is one of her products that I don’t hear talked about as much. Ginger is really common in Chinese cooking. Growing up I hated it—raw, cooked, it always was too intense for me. Tart’s is the first time I’ve been able to eat ginger… and now love it. I put this in everything, salad dressings, stir frys, marinades. I can’t get enough. I swear I’m not sponsored.
not to mention they look so fun I’m a big spice person, and I love Burlap and Barrel. It’s hard for me to choose a favorite but the Black Urfa Chili might be it. It’s good mixed into yogurt as a sauce to serve on the side of veggies, meat, and for tacos.
Extra Ducking Spicy Chili Oil — my team gifted me this for my birthday, which tells you a lot about the type of person I am. It’s from Canada and is so delicious.
black lime is calling my name Queen Majesty Scotch Bonnet and Ginger Hot Sauce — I was introduced to Scotch Bonnet peppers in Grand Cayman at Palm Heights and have been seeking it out ever since. It’s sweet, citrus-y, and it has just the right amount of heat.
Huwa - Our new household olive oil. It’s from a family-owned farm in Palestine, the olive oil is delish, and how cute is the bottle.
Fine, I’ll open it up to pantry too. Let’s hear your favorite snacks / pantry staples:
Fruit as a snack! I love an orange or an apple. If I can find a tangelo, I buy a bunch. Very into Opal Apples these days — I used to be a Honeycrisp person but the owner of my local shop convinced me to try Opal and wow. Also, red kiwis and kiwi berries!
Healing Home Foods Kale Goji crackers - Gluten free and addictive. A good alternative to Ritz or Goldfish which if I have in the house, a whole box will be gone in one sitting. Top Seedz crackers too.
(editor’s note: the pizza flavor of these crackers is addictive) Marcona almonds - The best for snacking on or chopping up and adding to any dish. Good on: salad! stir fry veg! Fried rice!
Little Sesame Hummus - I usually get the Jalapeno version. I dip Persian cucumbers — they’re my ride or die, unless you can find a lemon cucumber which I fell in love with in LA and am going to attempt to grow in my garden this year.
A meal that’s on heavy rotation these days:
I’ve been trying to eat breakfast, which I previously have been really bad at. I’m not a picky eater at all, but I really don’t like chia pudding, can’t stand oatmeal, and can’t have something carb-y without feeling sluggish afterwards.
I started making these breakfast bowls and think I found my solve. I do a handful of lettuce, avocado, hummus, egg (fried or soft-boiled), seed crackers (Top Seedz), sometimes a protein (chicken sausage, baked salmon) and whatever else is in the fridge that makes sense. It’s nutrient-dense, flavorful, but still light.
Let’s go a little deeper…
What’s the mantra you keep coming back to?
One foot in front of the other. That’s very helpful to me in not getting ahead of myself, and just focus on making progress.
The other that has stuck with me is one I read in a leadership book that describes a good leader as one with a “strong back, open heart.” Like the warrior pose in yoga.
What products / practices are part of your regular mental wellness habits?
Talk therapy every other week. Acupuncture, at least monthly. Feeling the sun on my face, ideally every day.
Also, trying something new, as often as possible. Could be as simple as cooking a new dish or something bigger. I took up horseback riding last year which has been the best adventure.
And a healthy dose of laughing! My preferred methods are watching comedy, being silly with friends, asking my husband to do his Irish accent, and hanging out with kids.
And your physical?
Pilates, stretching, taking a walk around the neighborhood. If you take private pilates classes, ask to hang upside down on the cadillac :)
just hangin Dancing regularly. That saying “move your body, free your mind” couldn’t be more true. I try to dance whenever I can—around the house, a class, a wedding, a night out. I’ve been devoted to the class Moves for a decade, it’s 90 minutes of pure joy.
I started doing lymphatic drainage at Ricari last August after meeting the founder Anna (who is the best!) and found them to be incredibly balancing. My whole body feels in sync and amazing afterwards. I’ve always had circulation issues (cold hands & feet, numb fingers) and they have all disappeared!
I’m obviously going to have to try this for myself Buffing Bar, obviously. I not only love the way it makes my skin so smooth and so soft, I also use Buffing Bar to give myself a diet lymphatic massage in the shower.
Also, my osteopath, Erika. I try to visit her every ~6 months for a body alignment. She is an actual magician. I first discovered her via a recommendation from my friends at Sky Ting Yoga when my husband had chronic back pain. He had been doing PT for a year and wasn’t seeing any improvement… but was fixed from just 1 session with her! If you have chronic pain in your body, go see her! If you don’t and just want to feel your body in perfect harmony, go see her!
What do you think is the most underrated part of wellness?
Figuring out what works for you and what you can do regularly.
And overrated?
Anything that claims to be a one-hit-wonder silver bullet.
Picture this: you wake up one morning and feel like shit. What’s your next move:
First, I’ll gulp down some natural electrolytes. I’ll mix water (or coconut water if I have it!), plus one or two limes and a pinch of salt. Second, take a really, really hot shower with a good Buffing Bar scrub down.
Give us your ride or die wellness products:
My husband installed an under sink water filter and it is the best thing ever. I’m for anything that makes it easier for me to drink more water. It only took him 10 minutes to install—no plumber needed! We used to be dedicated Berkey-heads, which is the best option if you can’t mess with your sink.
Speaking of the sink, Comfort Cleanse (our Soft Services gentle body wash) as a hand wash. It’s the hand wash of choice in our household. Great for removing oil, makeup, dirt, but not drying you out!
I’m newly obsessed with the Eadem Mami Wata, I love the way it feels and the mister is perfect. A great skin refresher. Also, it smells incredible. I recently bought 4 at Sephora—one for the bathroom, one for my husband, one for my car, and one for my desk.
what a beautiful family Fish oil - I swear this solved my hormonal acne breakouts. Thank you to
for this tip and for her whole line.Waterpik! If there’s one thing I wish I could do more, do better is flossing. The Waterpik is a good second line of defense. Related, I listened to this podcast about oral health. I learned a lot!
Sauna! I would love to live somewhere with hardcore sauna culture. There is nothing better than staying somewhere with a sauna, or even better a hammam (Standard Miami, I love you so). We’re saving up to install a sauna at our house, but in the meantime we got the HigherDose infrared sauna blanket which is convenient and does the job. When we want a proper sweat, my husband and I go to the sauna at a nearby hotel.
One thing you do everyday that makes you the most YOU version of yourself:
I like to listen to an episode of Up First or The Monocle Daily when I’m getting ready in the morning. The ritual snaps me out of my bubble. The Monocle Daily host has that quintessential British humor. I like a bit of wit and sarcasm in the morning.
I’ve had an Oura Ring now for almost a year and I check my stats every morning. I enjoy this way more than I expected.
Whose taste inspires you?!
I get the most inspiration when I travel. I’ve been traveling quite a bit to Seoul, Shanghai, and Guangzhou these past couple years. These cities blow my mind, every time. The food, the fashion, the retail design, the hotels, the service… it’s all on another level.
Big, big thank you to Rebecca for sharing this taste of her colorful life with us. Join me in her fan club over on Instagram and find her fridge favorites and more here.
Feel free to leave a comment or respond to this email with questions you want asked, people you want featured, or anything else that’s on your mind. Don’t be shy, I love hearing from you.
she’s the best ❤️
Loved every bit of this. Packed full of gems 💎