Food: Japanese Snack Chip Flavors

Food Shopping
Articles
Seafood Articles

Cheeses
Chocolates, & Candy
Coffee & Tea
Desserts
Fruit
Gift Baskets
International Foods
Meats
Nuts
Seafood
Specialty Foods
Complete List
Home

Article List
Directory
Resources

Articles/Resources:
Beans
Breakfast
Budget
Cheese
Chinese
Comfort Foods
Dessert
Diet
Eating Habits
Everything Food
Fast Food
Food Gifts
Food History
Food Shopping
Food Traditions
Foods and Events
Foods and Holidays
Foods and Places
French
Fruits
Gift Baskets
Healthy Foods
Italian
Lunch
Mexican
Recipes
Restaurants
Treats
Vegetables

Archives:
March 2005
April 2005
May 2005
June 2005
July 2005
August 2005
September 2005
October 2005
November 2005
December 2005
January 2006
February 2006
March 2006
April 2006
May 2006
June 2006
July 2006
August 2006
September 2006
October 2006

Have New Articles E-Mailed To You!

Japanese Snack Chip Flavors
Wednesday, October 12, 2005

When I lived in Japan, there wasn't much Japanese food that I could actually eat. I wasn't a fan of sushi or raw fish, and, come to think of it, I didn't go for the cooked fish either. I didn't like miso soup, rice with curry, grilled cabbage, or any of the other staples of Japanese cuisine. Of course, I did manage to get by and found several foods that I not only liked, but also missed eating once I left that country. While some of my favorites included such regular mealtime fare as fried noodles and skewered teriyaki chicken, I also enjoyed snack foods a great deal. In fact, Japan has some very interesting snack food flavors that you simply won't find here in the United States. Let's take a look at some of them.

One thing that I should mention right from the beginning here is that many Japanese foods, including their snacks, are seasonal. That means that certain things are only available in the summer, while others appear on supermarket shelves only during the fall or winter, etc. That system took some time for me to get used to. It was quite frustrating to discover a great new food only to have it disappear in a couple of months. At the same time, it was fun to see what new flavors would appear each season.

When it comes to snacks, Japan has a lot of the same things that we have in the United States. For example, potato chips and cookies are just as big over there as they are over here. The main difference comes in the flavors. Did you know that one of the most popular snack chip flavors in Japan is Shrimp 'n' Mayonnaise? I have to admit that this variety did not sound appetizing in the least when I first heard about it. I refused to even try the things until one of my friends offered to buy me a drink if I ate just one chip. Surprisingly enough, that particular flavor combo was not bad at all. By the end of my stay in Japan, Shrimp 'n' Mayonnaise chips were in my regular snack food lineup.

There were many other flavors that Westerners would probably find a bit unusual. Some of the tastes were absolutely wonderful; others were awful. Some of the flavors that I really enjoyed were: Maple syrup flavored corn puffs; teriyaki and mayonnaise potato chips; vegetable flavored snack sticks; tomato and mozzarella cheese flavored potato chips; and steak flavored potato crisps. Flavor varieties that didn't quite make the grade for me were: curry flavored corn puffs; fried octopus flavored corn balls; and okonomiyaki flavored potato chips.

Usually, when we think of traveling to a foreign country and tasting the local cuisine, we tend to mean substantial foods that are normally consumed for lunch or dinner. But if you limit yourself to those types of foods, you could really be missing out on some terrific treats. So the next time you travel, check out the local snack foods if you have a chance. You might discover some fantastic flavors that you never tried before!

5:15 PM Comments:
Post a Comment

<< Home