Gourmet Potato Chips?
Apr 25, 2006 Jacqueline Church
One day, you'll be sucking on lemons.
I once told a friend that I'd noticed my snack preference was changing as I got older. When I was younger, chocolate anything was always the preferred treat. Then the salty thing took over. Chips, popcorn, o-sembei. He looked at me and said "So I guess some day, you'll just be sucking on lemons." I wonder if I am somehow the reincarnation of the person who inspired the idiom "full of piss and vinegar." Someone else once offered to get me a salt-lick to hang in my kitchen. Not that I don't appreciate the gesture, but was he calling me a cow? (for the record I am not)
If a little is good, a lot must be better.
I don't want to admit I'm a glutton, but I do have my days. My nod toward moderation is to only ever buy small bags of chips. The bag will be eaten once it's opened so there's only one control, portion size. Still, I like to think I can pull the glutton thing off with a bit of panache, some grace, some style.
Exhibit A: Caviar.
So I discover a salty treat with pedigree and what happens? It's verboten. Who hasn't heard about the over-fishing that has nearly depleted the Caspian Sea of any Sturgeon? No momma sturgeon, no tins of joy for grateful gourmands. A macro-level example of my shameful personal tendency to over-indulge. I'm sure there's a cautionary tale in here somewhere...
So back to the as-yet still legal varieties...and ever striving for the Gourmet style points, my current fave, you will please note, is on Saveur's list too.
- Thai Kettle Chips One of Saveur Magazine's "The Saveur 100" picks this year. This is my current addiction. (I just put the second 2 oz. bag out of sight in the hopes that I will, just for today, be able to resist.) All the things that make Thai food so wonderful, that delicate balance of salty, tart, sweet, in a chip. I'm swooning.
- Route 11 Chips NASFT favorite - National Association for the Specialty Food Trade. Discovered these years ago in a specialty grocers. They have a dill pickle flavor, an perfect bbq and if you love Maryland Blue Crab boils, they've got your chips. I've sent their tins as gifts at Christmas and even once to good friends in morning. Is that wrong?
- Crack seed As a child in Hawaii, this was da bomb of the snack choices. I don't think there are any sinister ingredients but they do have a curious and strong appeal. Crack seed is a generic term for dried salted plums and other fruits that come in a staggering variety of flavors. Some are hard and dry and salty. Some are sticky and sweet. Flavors include five spice, citrus and I'm sure more. Thinking of them makes my mouth water. Li Hing Mui was the name we called them as kids. My guess is it's a derivation of Chinese. They are thought to help settle the stomach. Japanese have their own version, umeboshi. Both work in my experience.
- O-sembei What most Americans call rice crackers actually come in a staggering number of varieties. Most of these are not widely available except in Japanese grocers. On a trip to Japan I was fortunate to visit a Sembei shop in Asakusa which was in continuous operation for generations. It was almost too much to bear. Trader Joe's has some milder, Americanized versions and they also carry the popular wasabi peas. While not a rice cracker, they fill a similar dish on poker night. (If you're in TJ's the rosemary potato chips are a better bet.) It's worth going to a Japanese grocer for the real thing though. Try to find Kakinotane which combine chili and soy flavors. Adore them. Nothing better with a beer. The Bento.com has a nice bit on rice crackers and other Japanese food.
Tell me your secrets, I'll tell you mine.
What are your favorite gourmet treats? What are your decidedly downscale guilty pleasures? Let's share!
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