I'm Eating What?! Shrimp Chips

Shrimp chips may not seem so foreign -- after all, they used to be served at Chinese restaurants long before those crunchy little brown noodles we've come to expect. But plenty of people have never tried these funky, crunchy treats, which may cause a new addiction.The first thing anyone notices...

By Riki Altman

March 5, 2010

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Shrimp chips may not seem so foreign -- after all, they used to be served at Chinese restaurants long before those crunchy little brown noodles we've come to expect. But plenty of people have never tried these funky, crunchy treats, which may cause a new addiction.

The first thing anyone notices is that these uncooked chips

resemble little circular shards of stained glass when they pour

graciously from their box. If

you're the kind of person who has to eat

all the green M&Ms first, you'll love this treat as you can easily

segregate the white and yellow from the green, pink, and orange bits.

Plop

them in a wok half filled with hot oil--but not too hot, because you'll

burn the little guys--and watch them quickly grow like flowers to about

five times their original size.

The finished

product looks like a piece of slightly squished foam with a pastel hue

and a beautiful, almost pearly sheen from the oil. Some have curled

edges, but none really exude the scent of shrimp. (A shrimpy flavor,

however, is more apparent after the chips totally cool off. It's worth

the wait.)

The verdict? Delish and fun. Score one for the shrimp chips.

Who

should eat this? Those of us who wish to wax nostalgic for the good ol'

days and folks who get off on watching their food grow before their

very eyes.

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