Despite the fact that it's unhealthy, I must say, I love chicharon. In all its pure fat goodness. And even if every bite brings you one step closer to a heart attack. But recently, I stumbled upon this new treat from Oishi called Marty's Cracklin'. It claimed to be vegetarian chicharon and while I'm always skeptical about vegetarian alternatives to sinful (read: delicious) food, I tried it nonetheless.
Made from dehydrated green peas and potatoes (among other ingredients), I have to say Marty's Cracklin' tasted pretty darn good for something vegetarian. The Salt & Vinegar flavor was ten notches above Oishi's Ribbed Cracklings Salt & Vinegar Beer Match Snack. It looked, tasted and even felt (yes, felt) like the real chicharon. With 0 grams transfat, 0% cholesterol, it's guilt-free (says the package)! In fact, the 70-gram pack of 2.5 servings per container only came with 160 calories per serving. Sure it's 80 calories from fat (not exactly low-fat), but compared to the 1,000 or so calories in a regular chicharon serving, it's really not bad. In fact, it's a pretty healthy alternative to satisfy anyone's chicharon craving (and by anyone I mean me, haha). And at less than 20 pesos for the large pack, it really is a cheap treat.Bravo, Oishi! And the Marty person who may or may not have invented this snack. Hahaha. :D
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