Random Person: "Eat This" Me: "Okay!"
December 19, 2018 7:39 AM   Subscribe

I was waiting in the McDonald's drive through, and the lady at the window gave me a handful of...something...to eat, and I ate it. What was it?

Longer story: The woman was Asian, thick accent, and had just returned from Hawaii with this snack -- she had just given a coworker some and exclaimed "I SHARE WITH EVERYONE" and offered me a handful, so I gleefully ate the weird stuff, and it wasn't bad.

What it was like: They were like oyster-cracker sized and shaped, but crispy and visually like pretzels (dark brown and smooth), and the flavor was vaguely savory, but not salty, and they might have been a little oily but not enough to leave a residue on my hand. She *had* said the name but was speaking quickly and it seems to me what she said had two syllables, and the syllables rhymed, and may have been the same syllable twice. She had poured them out of a plain-old Ziploc bag so I don't know a logo or anything.

(My wife, probably the more wise one, declined to eat a handful of whatever a random stranger poured out of an unmarked ziploc bag, but I live on the edge, yo)

Any ideas what this was? Thanks!
posted by AzraelBrown to Food & Drink (9 answers total) 3 users marked this as a favorite
 
Best answer: Arare rice crackers?
posted by bunderful at 7:41 AM on December 19, 2018 [5 favorites]


Best answer: Arare Rice Crackers, probably?
posted by aspersioncast at 7:42 AM on December 19, 2018


Best answer: [jinx] - These are really common in Hawaii, and there are a ton of different kinds.
posted by aspersioncast at 7:43 AM on December 19, 2018 [1 favorite]


Sounds like sembei
posted by JamesBay at 7:48 AM on December 19, 2018


You should try them in popcorn.
posted by Exceptional_Hubris at 7:48 AM on December 19, 2018


Best answer: Yep, some kind of Arare
posted by pseudostrabismus at 8:03 AM on December 19, 2018


I think these might also turn up in what's typically called Asian/Oriental Mix, which you can sometimes find shelved along with the bagged trail mix/Chex mix/etc in the snack aisle at the grocery store.
posted by Strange Interlude at 12:26 PM on December 19, 2018


Response by poster: These were all uniform in size and shape, but definitely look similar to the ones in the photos -- not sure what the flavor was (although could vaguely count as 'soy sauce' since many seem to have that). sounds like it's some Arare!
posted by AzraelBrown at 12:41 PM on December 19, 2018 [1 favorite]


I LOVE arare, but the ones I buy are so often disappointing. I like them a little bit oily and flavorful for crissakes. Anyone have a brand that they can recommend? What about the Hawaiian brand linked to above? Thanks!
posted by Gusaroo at 4:04 PM on February 19, 2019


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