Snack Review: Richin Prawn Crackers

As Americans, there are flavors we’ve always avoided in our snacks. Green vegetables and meat essences, for instance. Although the variety of flavors seen in our chips, crackers and the like is slowly expanding thanks to products like Snapea Crisps, there remain certain varieties of crisps and cookies not likely to pop up on the Safeway shelves anytime soon.

Seafood is one of those things most Americans aren’t keen on seeing in any form but in a sandwich or grilled or fried on a dinner plate. I mean, when was the last time you saw Perch Pretzels or Tuna Twists at the local gas-station convenience store? Never, right?

Asians have no such qualms with snacks featuring the bounty of the sea. In most East Asian supermarkets, not only is there a well-stocked seafood counter with all manner of fish, amphibians and reptiles; but there are whole other sections dedicated to sea creatures of the dried and salted variety, and still others devoted to sea-lightful crispy treats. For this reason, on my last excursion to Saigon Market, I made a point of bringing home at least one ocean-worthy treat.

There must have been hundreds of options, but after a few minutes I had it narrowed down to three choices. My final decision was between shredded, dried jellyfish-jerky, salt-and-pepper squid, and plain prawn crackers. In the end, I walked away with the prawn crackers.

Several factors converged to influence my decision. First of all was the packaging. No matter how unusual the flavor, Asians have mastered the “kawaii” aspect of marketing. Aside from vegetarians, who might very well be horrified, who could resist the cute little shrimp swimming on the bag’s front? Second, the look of the chips, themselves, was different from how I’d envision a “prawn chip.” Unlike the complimentary “shrimp chips” sometimes served in Chinese restaurants, which have an appearance similar to styrofoam, these were small and actually bore the pinkish hue of shrimp, speckled with intermittent black spots that looked unsettlingly like crustacean-eyes. Finally, at only $1.69 for a 2.82-oz. package, they were the best deal of the lot.

Before tasting the crackers, I looked over the nutrition information (345 calories and 9 grams of fat for the entire bag - not too shabby) and the ingredient list. Everything was more or less as expected - rice, wheat flower, shrimp powder, MSG - Rapeseed oil? What was “Rapeseed oil”? It certainly didn’t sound too friendly. Shrugging it off, I opened the bag and withdrew my first cracker.

It was far smaller than a traditional “shrimp chip” - slightly larger than a silver dollar - and elegantly ridged along the sides. There was a shiny finish to the cracker. It didn’t smell “shrimp-like” at all, just greasy and salty, with rice and soy undertones. In fact, it smelled like a slightly more appetizing version of its chippy, shrimpy cousin.

My first bite was accompanied by a pleasing crunch - I could understand now why this was a cracker, technically, rather than a chip. Contrary to my expectations, there was very little grease to be found here. The interior was airy, yet altogether thicker than most things classified as “chips” or “crisps.” My first impression was that of salt, but not too much, soy, and a toastiness; probably that of the rapeseeds.

After a few seconds of chewing, the “prawn” flavor made its first appearance. Its presence was not super-strong and “fishy.” Rather, it reminded me of cooked cocktail shrimp or “Shrimp on the Barbie” from Outback Steakhouse. It certainly had more of a shrimp flavor than any Chinese restaurant “shrimp chips” I’d previously tasted. I reached for another, letting it linger and slowly melt atop my tongue… yum. Before too long, the entire bag was finished. The fact that I’d not eaten previously in the day may have had soemthing to do with my rapid consumption; however, it didn’t hurt anything that the crackers were so perfectly-textured, tasty, and addictive.

I’m looking forward to trying more seafood-flavored snacks in the future, and Richin’s other varieties of fish-cracker will be at the top of my list. I found this snack to combine the best elements of an oriental rice cracker and the best sort of cooked seafood. Why do Westerners shy away from seafood-flavored snacks, when they can taste like this?

• Richin Trading, Inc.

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