Dried Durian Chips

Durian chips. Whoever thought of doing this ought to be given an award! My first encounter with this glorious food was when a colleague brought home some bags from Thailand. I was a bit skeptical since it looked very much like the kamote chips (sweet potato) available in the local market - but when I tried it, my oh my, it was love at first taste! I can't stop myself from eating it (restraining myself from eating the whole bag was indeed an effort).

The slices are just right - not too thin (ala Pringles potato chips) and not too thick (ala kamote chips found in tiangges) - so each slice has the right crispiness and each chip retains the distinct taste of the durian. It's sprinkled with a dash of salt, and the oil used in frying the chips is almost non-existent. And the best part - no smell at all!

When you eat a piece, the taste is hard to explain, like tasting something very familiar yet new and different at the same time - it's like you can't really pinpoint what's that "ump" that makes it really good. The closest approximation I can think to describe the taste is cashew nuts and kamote chips combined. And you keep coming back for more, as if the chips have some hypnotic trance that haunts you to grab more... some more... some more... (sorry, just got carried away). You just have to taste the chips to understand what I mean. (Think of me when you taste the durian chips for the first time, regard it as our "bonding" experience :-)

Returning from Bangkok last Tuesday, Andy brought me - yes - Durian chips! I am truly, delightfully . . . heavenly . . . happy . . . did you say aphrodisiac ?!. . .