M&S Summer of Flavour Hand Cooked Prawn Tom Yum

I don't usually eat seafood (although let's be honest, crisps don't really qualify as seafood do they?) but I wanted to know what these prawn tom yum crisps were like, so I bought a packet for the reluctant taste testers at work.

I put a bowl out at lunchtime and replenished it after lunch. And before I knew it there was nothing left beyond a few crumbs. So it seems everyone thought these were rather delicious.

Good crunchy (very crunchy - great sound effects) golden crisps they taste of lemongrass, ginger and a hint of chilli (or so says the packet). And that would be about right. There's coriander and lemon in the flavour too. It's a lovely spicy flavour. I couldn't detect prawns in the taste but others in the office did. Only the aroma reminds me of prawns in chinese restaurants.

I gather that tom yum is a spicy and sour soup. From Laos or Thailand or Malaysia or Singapore. Or all of them. As with so many recipes there seem to be a great many different versions but the version most popular with tourists is the one with the prawns. Or so Wikipedia tells me. So I guess that's what we have here.

Interestingly there is a bloc of information on the back of the packet explaining what lemongrass is. I would have thought anyone buying a packet of prawn tom yum crisps would probably know already. Probably anyone shopping at M&S.

The bag is actually a much softer, prettier, coral red than the scan shows. I don't know why it has come out quite so bright; the scanner is usually more accurate than this.

Rather good spicy-tasting crisps. With a terrific crunch. Very popular at work.