K-Town Tofu Snacks

Leave it to my Korean assistant to dig up the tastiest K-Town snack with the most versatile uses. Simply called Tofu Snack on the back of the cellophane wrap, certainly the name does not do these crunchy, sesame-flecked crisps justice.

Found at Koryodang—a bakery and café on the jam-packed 32nd Street—the tofu chips are a simple mixture of tofu, sesame seeds, salt, sugar, egg, and flour. Elements such as the All Trumps flour (an enriched, malted blend) and the non-greasy fry give the chips a textured, complex flavor. The sugar adds an underlying sweetness to them but doesn’t overpower the savory tones of the bean curd and black sesames.

The chips are formed into irregular triangular shapes, twisted and crinkled around one another in the bag. They resemble the fried wontons served on the table at so many Chinese restaurants, but these are much more satisfying than that dry, oily rendition.

These fried crunchers are delicious served atop a soup or salad. Drop them into any squash purée for an added layer of taste and texture. They also taste delicious in a chicken noodle soup or a cup of hot and sour. Add them to a leafy green salad to substitute crunchy nuts.

More creatively, they could be used as scoops served with a tuna tartare or crumbled up and used as a coating for fried sesame chicken to replace bread crumbs or corn flakes. For the tartare, chop tuna into small bits and mix it with sesame oil, sesame seeds, and a little soy sauce. Form it into a mold and serve the chips around the tuna as an appetizer.

Of course, they are also great plain. Serve them in your children’s lunch box in place of Goldfish™ or pretzels. You can carry them in your purse and nibble them at your desk or serve them in a bowl on the kitchen table for your crew to munch on before dinner is ready.

No matter how you like to eat them, the tofu chips are a healthy snack alternative to potato chips.