Holland and Barrett's Japanese Rice Crackers

...my secret...

Holland and Barrett is the source I usually turn to, mainly because they're the only high street chain - supermarkets included - where they're reliably stocked. They're also marginally cheaper than most places with 100g setting you back about £1.10 or, if you're a glutton like me, you can get 500g for £3.60!

Rice crackers are pretty tricky to describe because they don't bear much relation to any other food ...
...which comes mixed in the Holland & Barrett packet:

1- Square crackers, made of rice and wheat flour. They're quite hard but when you crunch them between your teeth grind down into a more powdery substance. Saved from being dry and unpleasant by a tasty glaze which tastes like sugar and (I guess by their salty edge and its inclusion on the ingredient list) soy sauce. Dotted with shreds of seaweed, underneath the glaze, although you ... more

Rice Crackers have long been one of my favourite snacks, mainly because they look so wierd that no-one else ever wants to share them! Damn, I've gone and let you in on my secret...

Holland and Barrett is the source I usually turn to, mainly because they're the only high street chain - supermarkets included - where they're reliably stocked. They're also marginally cheaper than most places with 100g setting you back about £1.10 or, if you're a glutton like me, you can get 500g for £3.60!

Rice crackers are pretty tricky to describe because they don't bear much relation to any other food available over here, but I'll try and describe for you each of the varieties which comes mixed in the Holland & Barrett packet:

1- Square crackers, made of rice and wheat flour. They're quite hard but when you crunch them between your teeth grind down into a more powdery substance. Saved from being dry and unpleasant by a tasty glaze which tastes like sugar and (I guess by their salty edge and its inclusion on the ingredient list) soy sauce. Dotted with shreds of seaweed, underneath the glaze, although you don't really notice it in the taste or texture.

2- Smaller, sorta-kidney-shaped crackers, as above, but with an additional hot, chilli taste to them.

3- Peanuts, coated with a hard, thin dark red coating which tastes quite strongly of soy sauce. It combines well with the sweet taste of the peanut, honest!

4- More peanuts, this time covered with a thick layer of coating which tastes sweet and is less dense than the other types of cracker. Covered finally in sesame seeds. Tasty, the buggers get stuck between my teeth though!

Altogether, the taste combinations hover between the sweet, the salty and the spicy, a combination which may sound a little odd but doesn't differ from other oriental dishes we all know and love. Sweet'n'Sour, anyone?

They come in Holland and Barrett's usual clear plastic bags which is handy so you can check they're not too damaged: as they get bashed around in transit (Holland and Barrett's ARE actually produce of Japan) a few of them will turn into a layer of sawdust at the bottom of the packet.

I've tried to describe them, as factually as I can without boring you with my own love of them too much! However, a final note of warning: Don't buy Rice Crackers as some kind of healthy diet snack. They do somehow taste sin-free while you're eating them, but don't be fooled, at 400 cal per 100g, they're just as calorific as your fave crisps! And although the flavourings are mainly natural, they do contain some e numbers. Get everywhere, the sneaky little buggers do. 

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