It was not that long ago that I discovered the pure joy that is salted egg products. Definitely not something I encountered in life until I started traveling more extensively in Asia Pacific. But once I got a taste ... I've been hooked!
Whenever I am in Singapore or Sydney now, it is basically impossible for me not to get everything I can with salted egg yolk, ranging from packaged snacks of all kinds (fish skins in particular, another thing I had zero familiarity with before!), to bar snacks, to entrees, to desserts. Fried potato wedges with salted duck egg yolk? Yes please (thank you XOPP for introducing me to these in Sydney!). Salted egg custard bao? Of course, and what, even airline lounges and hotel breakfast buffets have these?! Shrimp burgers with salted egg yolk sauce? Yeah, even my office cafe had them in Singapore. Salted egg soft serve ice cream? Yup, all over the place. And warm freshly fried salted egg fish skins? Absolutely everywhere. Best bar snack ever. The list goes on and on.
So of course I was eager to find a few that I could bring home with me, just to have a rare salted egg moment when back in the US. Which introduced me to Shi Le Po, a Singaporean snack food company.
So combine my love of snacks, chips, and, newfound appreciation for salted egg, and you can imagine how much I adore their products, although I was only able to try one kind. I'd get more in a heartbeat.
Spoiler: THESE ARE TOTALLY ADDICTING!
"Twice-cooked to golden perfection, lusciously coated with creamy salted egg sauce and elegantly balanced with a secret blend of chili spices."
I wasn't quite sure what to expected with the spicy flavor, but it actually reminded me of bbq chips, just with a far more refined spice profile than your average bbq chip. I do like a good bbq chip, and these were great chips. Not super thin, but not thick, crispy but not too crisp, not like kettle chips. That base chip really was my ideal kind. Wonderful foundation, and actually, probably a chip I'd really like just like that.
But these had much more to give of course. The salted egg! It was certainly there, but didn't overwhelm the spicy flavor, it mostly came through as the first thing that hit, then the spicy flavor takes over, and then comes through again on the finish. It really was rather amazing.
What made them amazing? Well, the ingredients for sure. The fascinating bbq flavor comes from a mix of dry chilli power, chilli padi (bird's eye chili!), and curry leaves. Oh, and, uh, sugar and msg. And yes, they were crazy addicting. And then of course there is the salted egg, and margarine ...
Yeah, ha on the healthy quality of these, you can't even pretend. The bag, which really is at most 2 servings, has nearly 500 calories and 35 grams of fat. Gulp.
But just so good, really, I couldn't stop.
The bag suggests warming these up "to enjoy goodness just like restaurant quality!", so, I finally did. Just 20 sec or os per side in a warm toaster oven.
Um, wow. They got even better. After trying this once, I had no choice but to always lightly warm them. The flavor intensified greatly, and actually, it was as they started cooling that I loved them the most. They were great at room temp too, but if you have a moment, tossing in the toaster oven is definitely worth it (and seriously, just grab a handful to snack on while you wait, go pour a drink, and they'll be ready!).
Whenever I am in Singapore or Sydney now, it is basically impossible for me not to get everything I can with salted egg yolk, ranging from packaged snacks of all kinds (fish skins in particular, another thing I had zero familiarity with before!), to bar snacks, to entrees, to desserts. Fried potato wedges with salted duck egg yolk? Yes please (thank you XOPP for introducing me to these in Sydney!). Salted egg custard bao? Of course, and what, even airline lounges and hotel breakfast buffets have these?! Shrimp burgers with salted egg yolk sauce? Yeah, even my office cafe had them in Singapore. Salted egg soft serve ice cream? Yup, all over the place. And warm freshly fried salted egg fish skins? Absolutely everywhere. Best bar snack ever. The list goes on and on.
So of course I was eager to find a few that I could bring home with me, just to have a rare salted egg moment when back in the US. Which introduced me to Shi Le Po, a Singaporean snack food company.
"We are a collective of food lovers who are passionate about celebrating Singapore’s rich and diverse culinary heritage."I was in. They make two product ranges: fish skins and potato chips, all with salted egg, some spicy, some not.
So combine my love of snacks, chips, and, newfound appreciation for salted egg, and you can imagine how much I adore their products, although I was only able to try one kind. I'd get more in a heartbeat.
Spoiler: THESE ARE TOTALLY ADDICTING!
 |
| Spicy Salted Egg Potato Chips. |
But these had much more to give of course. The salted egg! It was certainly there, but didn't overwhelm the spicy flavor, it mostly came through as the first thing that hit, then the spicy flavor takes over, and then comes through again on the finish. It really was rather amazing.
What made them amazing? Well, the ingredients for sure. The fascinating bbq flavor comes from a mix of dry chilli power, chilli padi (bird's eye chili!), and curry leaves. Oh, and, uh, sugar and msg. And yes, they were crazy addicting. And then of course there is the salted egg, and margarine ...
Yeah, ha on the healthy quality of these, you can't even pretend. The bag, which really is at most 2 servings, has nearly 500 calories and 35 grams of fat. Gulp.
But just so good, really, I couldn't stop.
 |
| Warmed up! |
Um, wow. They got even better. After trying this once, I had no choice but to always lightly warm them. The flavor intensified greatly, and actually, it was as they started cooling that I loved them the most. They were great at room temp too, but if you have a moment, tossing in the toaster oven is definitely worth it (and seriously, just grab a handful to snack on while you wait, go pour a drink, and they'll be ready!).
0 comments:
Post a Comment