Okra Chips

Brand: Fujisafu

Cost >200 yen (I don’t remember)

Found At: Cainz

I have had a bad relationship with okra since a bulk seafood gumbo incident in my childhood. It is somehow spiny and slimy and bitter, and I have yet to have my “come to Jesus moment” with this staple of southern cooking. I will not say that these chips have redeemed the vegetable for me, but they are palatable, which is already an upgrade in my mind. What they do have going for them is the fun factor. These are not actually chips, but whole okras that have been freeze-dried in such a way as to retain their shape perfectly. When you open the package, you are greeted by a dozen little green cigars that you can bite into with a delightful crunch. They taste like okra if you like that sort of thing – but if, like me, you don’t, there is a certain catharsis in rending them apart with your teeth. The action conjures up images of vegetarian hyenas on the primeval savannah, viscously taking down the mighty okra with one powerful crunch.