Five asian snacks you should try
Posted by Stephanie Co & Todd Smith on Tuesday, August 4th, 2009Tags for this Article: asian, chips, Richmond, snack
Snacking is a distant cousin to eating finely prepared meals and although it is seldom healthy, it is a characteristic of being a foodie that cannot be ignored and it’s something we love to do. When we snack we’re picky and just because there are hundreds of great options available at any local convenience store, we guarantee you that North American snacks have nothing on the ones you’ll find in Asia.
Here are a few you should try:
Jao Kae Noi - Seaweed chips
Jao Kae Noi seaweed chips – Available in a variety of flavours such as: tom yum goong, seafood, spicy, and (Todd’s personal favorite) wasabi. You will quickly find yourself at the bottom of an empty bag of these; although, the texture may throw you off if you’re not used to eating seaweed.
Oyster Mushroom Crisps
Oyster Mushroom Chips, a healthy alternative to regular chips with an almost nutty flavour and a dry, floury texture (they’re a little weird at first, but don’t let that distract you).
Soft Shell Crab Chips
Soft shell crab chips – While high in saturated fats, they taste remarkably similar to fresh soft shell crab.
Takoyaki Ball Chips
Takoyaki Ball chips – If you’ve ever had fresh Takoyaki balls, these might throw you off a bit. These are like a seasoned, squid-flavoured, corn pop substitute for the real thing… but they melt in your mouth.
Nori Maki Arare - Seaweed wrapped rice crackers
Nori Maki Arare – These seaweed wrapped rice crackers are a nice light snack; they’re not as risque as some of the others in this list, but be warned, they disappear quickly.
Do you have any favorite asian/asian inspired snacks? Let us know… we’re always looking for new ones (and yes, we know about pocky).
** Some of these snacks can be found at your local T&T supermarket, but for best results try Smart-n-Save in Landsdowne mall (Richmond, Canada), or Yaohan (Also Richmond, Canada)
Posted on August 4th, 2009
Nancy Wu says:
Thanks so much for sharing this Stodd/Todeph! 8)
There was one I got addicted to on our last trip to Tokyo. It’s Meiji’s “Tropicana Fruit Candy Assortment”, an assortment of hard fruit candies that are sweet but not painfully sugary. It has a liquid center which is a delightful surprise and a nice match to the outer fruit taste. Comes in Red Grape (my all-time fave candy/beverage flavor), Grapefruit & Apple. Available at their ubiquitous convenience stores, particularly AM/PM & 7-Eleven. In Vancouver, I found it at Fujiya Japanese Foods on the corner of Venables & Clark Drive. They also sell a yummy gummy called Kasugai “100% Fruit Juice Gummy Candy.”
**Warning, the candies are individually wrapped with 4 color packaging throughout. An environmental faux pas, but this is all about Japanese culture & presentation here.
Posted on August 7th, 2009
Degan says:
oh YUM! I don’t much eat chips, but I’m definitely going to have to try the soft-shelled crab ones.
Posted on August 12th, 2009
Phyllis (me HUNGRY!) says:
I’ve had the oyster mushroom chips and they were really good! This is a great list, I’m going to look for all of these the next time I go shopping at my local Asian mart. The Asian snacks that I always have in my pantry are Brilliant Shrimp Chips (Wasabi & Curry flavor, made in Richmond BC!) and Kameda Age Ichiban rice crackers (sweet/salty and totally addictive)
Posted on August 24th, 2009
Gen Handley says:
My favourite Japanese snack is by-and-large kakipee or kakinotane (little, orange banana-shaped rice crackers mixed with peanuts). Living in Edmonton, I try to stock up on these as much as my cupboards allow and it’s a real treat when you find the wasabi-flavoured ones.
Posted on November 9th, 2011
u8mypinkcookies says:
You should try Banana Chips, hopia, shing-a-ling and peanut brittle from the Philippines!
Posted on August 13th, 2012
Precious says:
Really the best Japanese chip is the crispy seaweed chips. Mmmmm delicious. Seriously try them they have different flavours. Hot n spicy which is my favorite Tomato, seafood and others