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Growing up, our tiny New York City kitchen was always busiest on the days leading up to Lunar New Year. The fridge would be bursting with ingredients for our reunion dinner, while bags of chocolates and clementines sat on shelves waiting to be gifted to family and friends.
It was also one of the few occasions when my parents would deep fry at home. It was needed to make gok jai, crispy ingot-shaped dumplings filled with sugar, coconut, and crushed peanuts. And since there was already a wok of sizzling hot oil ready, they would also pull out a bag of shrimp chips.
Also known as prawn crackers, shrimp chips are a colorful, puffy snack popular in several Asian countries, including China, Vietnam, and Thailand. They’re made with tapioca flour and dehydrated shrimp and sold dried as translucent pastel-hued rounds that more closely resemble a children’s craft supply than food. To turn them into light and airy chips requires deep frying and watching the process as a kid always felt so magical. My mom or dad would toss a handful into the wok and they’d go from thin poker chips to puffy, curled clouds in mere seconds.
As an adult, I began trying supermarket versions, but none were particularly impressive. That is until my in-laws returned from Costco one day with a massive bag of SoKusa Happy Shrimp Chips.
Simply Recipes / Patty Lee
Why I Love Costco’s SoKusa Happy Shrimp Chips
I was initially skeptical, but as soon as I popped one into my mouth, I was proven wrong. They’re still smaller and not quite as airy as fresh ones, but these were by far the lightest packaged shrimp chips I’ve tried. The white chips are made with wild shrimp and fried in sustainable palm oil. They come in a garlic butter flavor with a touch of sugar that keeps it from venturing into vampire breath terroritory. It didn’t take us long to get through that initial bag, which is no small feat considering its size—each 16-ounce package is nearly half the size of my five-year-old.
Other Costco shoppers have been just as thrilled to finally find shrimp chips that resemble the ones they grew up eating. “For Vietnamese people, if anyone like “banh phong tom,” this is the closest one or I might say the one that you definitely have to buy,” said Emi Ng on Costco’s website.
Like so many Costco products, Happy Shrimp Chips are not always available, but I spotted them recently and immediately stocked up since they’re much cheaper in store ($8.99 each) than online ($27.99 for two).
To make the bag last just a bit longer, I usually snack on a small bowlful at a time. They’re so good plain, I’ve never thought to add anything else, but other fans have shared some delicious-sounding ideas.
A few recommend sprinkling on furikake or togarashi for a kick of heat, while user whyarenttheserandom share this in a Reddit thread: “Try it with Thai peanut dip (easy to make), it’s absolutely incredible! I warm up the chips in the oven too.” I’ll definitely be giving that combo a try before my bag runs out again.
