A few weeks ago, Steve Fox‘s name was drawn as the winner of my blog birthday giveaway. I say, his emails have had me in stitches, especially the letter he sent when he tried the jar of Tean’s Crispy Prawn Chilli. I have his permission to quote from his email here. You may remember that I compared this savoury condiment to crack (though I myself have no experience with the substance, I reckon crispy prawn chilli must be as addictive as I imagine drugs to be)…
… And whilst, having never actually tried crack, I can’t confirm the literal accuracy of your claim, I’m prepared to accept that you have, in essence – and to misquote the laureate that is George Clinton – nailed that mutha!
…
As you may have gathered, I’m rather impressed by that there jar of crispy chili prawns. I started by tossing a couple of teaspoonsful into a pan of butterflied Tigers, blasted with garlic, ginger, nam pla, lemon juice and a wee bit of sweet chili sauce. The usual suspects.
But – whoo, baby! What’s going on in that jar?! Straaaange chemistry. I know what a few prawns fried in the aforementioned taste like – it’s Snack Number Two on my all-time Snack List. But this new ingredient is like the Flavour Motherlode. It makes things, well, more. It made those Tiger prawns prawnier, the ginger gingerier, the nam pla saucier – y’get the idea. And the juices…! Once the prawns were gone (less time than it takes to read this email), the detritus in the bowl looked like an accident in a chemistry lab – but the taste…
I had to rustle up some noodles t’pour the juices over. And then I had to make some more prawns – although, due to poor Prawn Management, I had no more prawns. So I just made the original mixture without prawns, added some miso and drank it.
A spoonful from the jar is a wee bit too much for my tastebuds, but damn near every combination I’ve tried works – noodles, pasta, as a dip, crackers, all the obvious stuff.
And then the benchmark – what does it do t’cheese on toast? (Number One on the Snack List since 1979)
The answer – (very) nearly everything! Only Worcestershire Sauce comes close – and there can be no greater praise in the Umami Lexicon.
You heard it from Steve first! Crispy prawn chilli cheese toast! Somebody, give this man a blog! Thank you, Steve, for your brilliant emails!
If you’re looking for a jarful yourself, take a look online. You can find it at the Wing Yip store or sold through Wing Yip on Amazon.
Mon, 19 Jul, 2010 at 13:46
That is adorable! Oh, I have to get me a jar of this.
Unlike Steve though, I bet I’d end up eating it neat 🙂
Mon, 19 Jul, 2010 at 13:46
LOL well I am still nursing my little jar and I have not been anywhere near as creative as Steve – must try crispy prawn chilli cheese toast! Cheese and chilli does go well together… 🙂
Mon, 19 Jul, 2010 at 16:33
Nice crispy prawn, always good with spicy chilly!
PS: Please vote for my blogger friend Bananaz, Blog Idol Finalist. Just type “I vote You’re the Voice” at the comment box in http://bluedreamer27.blogspot.com/2010/07/blog-idol-finale.html
Thank you!
Mon, 19 Jul, 2010 at 17:53
I should look for some around here (Hawaii) sounds amazing!
Mon, 19 Jul, 2010 at 19:55
Oh yeah, I’m twice as keen to try this stuff now! Though I am determined to find it in an actual store rather than buying it online (this is at least partly because I love visiting Chinese supermarkets, and it’s important to have an excuse ready).
Tue, 20 Jul, 2010 at 09:25
Hmmm I wonder if I have bypassed this product in the supermarket shelves in Singapore. The logo looks familiar though.
You just tempted me to want to try it and I shall make a trip to the supermarket!
(Psst, I actually missed Wing Yip! LOL)
Wed, 21 Jul, 2010 at 09:33
That was hilarious-Im off to get some!
Thu, 22 Jul, 2010 at 07:35
Aw, shucks, Su-Lin.
Thanks f’the kind words – and evenmore thanks for the deliciously delightful delivery.
T&T readers should know that it didn’t just contain the magic that is CPC – there was also a selection of snacks which (please excuse enormous ignorance)struck me as variations on a Singaporean take on Scampi Fries. (Which, for those of us of A Certain Age, is meant as a tongue-tinglingly savoury compliment)
There was also, of course, the Monty Python and the Holy Grail-themed tin of Garlic Spam which started the whole thing off, back when Su-Lin was a wee young whippersnapper whose age began with a 2. I’m saving that for the International Day of Spam Fritterage (which the United Nations seems to have forgotten about. Bastards)
As for the Little Jar of Flavour, I’ve since acquainted it with the fried egg sandwich (courtesy of Wing Yip). ‘Twas brilliant. And sausage rolls. ‘Twas even brillianter – a coupla spoonies into the sausagemeat, some scallions, a heap of sage and then a spreading of sweet chilli sauce over the pastry before wrapping. (Shop-bought puff, of course. People who make their own puff pastry should be made to live somewhere horrible. Sunderland, probably)
Anyhoo, I better go and do some work. Thanks once again, Su-Lin. (And, by the way, y’missed out the most important bit of the emails I’ve sent you. The bit that says “Su-Lin – you’re a star”)
Thu, 22 Jul, 2010 at 16:05
so cute!
Mon, 26 Jul, 2010 at 19:06
meemalee: I eat it neat too. 🙂
catty: I would never have come up with that combination either!
pete: Alright – I’ll check him out!
kat: I hope you’re able to find it!
Kake: I’ve only found it in Wing Yip though perhaps I haven’t been looking hard enough downtown.
keropokman: Yup, they make pastes for chicken curry, prawn mee and laksa and other things too, I think. I think it’s common in Singapore. And Wing Yip is pretty fab, no?
Northern Snippet: It’s a great product… I’m addicted to my jar!
Steve Fox: Aw shucks, you’re too kind! I love your idea of the fried egg sandwich (craving that now) and the sausage rolls too – you’re a genius with this stuff!
The “scampi fries” are prawn rolls – like mini little spring rolls with a prawn filling (not dissimilar to the CPC). I made them here: https://tamarindandthyme.wordpress.com/2010/02/06/mini-spicy-shrimp-rolls/
It’s so much easier to buy them. 😛 But very difficult to find here in the UK. How did you find the muruku (Indian spiced snack)?
shayma: Isn’t Steve brilliant?!
Tue, 27 Jul, 2010 at 02:27
Yes, I saw it at Fairprice Finest near home. A photo of it: http://twitpic.com/27i0w0 haha.. It’s on sale too!
Wing Yip is fabulous! So many things! So huge!
Mon, 11 Oct, 2010 at 14:39
Just to say I finally found some!
Plus, Steve Fox is adorable ^_^
Wed, 10 Nov, 2010 at 12:00
meemalee: Isn’t he fab?!