Fish skin snack is a local classic staple in Hong Kong and the Chinese loves to eat them with steamboat or soups. The skin itself is a healthy and nutritious food due to the high proteins and Omega 3. It may not be so appetizing when the fish is steamed or grilled as the skin may have a 'fishy' taste. However, fried fish skin as snacks is just totally addictive! It has turned into a cracker but is it still as healthy? Let's find out.
As you can see from the nutritional label, each serving (10g) will give 3.6g of proteins, 1.5g of carbohydrates, 2g of saturated fat and 104mg of sodium. Comparing that to a packet of Lay's potato chips, it gives only 0.7g of proteins, 5.4g of carbohydrates, 0.5g of saturated fats and 60g of sodium. Thus, you can see fish skin snacks actually give you much more proteins yet less carbohydrates, but also more unhealthy fats and sodium. It does makes sense because you need to add more salt to fish skin since it is otherwise pretty bland.
Thus, we conclude that you can take fish snacks as a source of proteins and low carb snacks compared to potato chips but not too much due to the amount of salt and MSG.
For Un Chi fish skin, there is an added preservative (TBHQ) which is why the shelf life can be up to 6 months. The fresh fish skin you buy in containers can only be stored up to 1 month.
The first thing I noticed when I opened the bag is the fishy smell. Indeed when I took a bite of it, you can taste the fishy after taste, but they are indeed crispy and refreshing, great as a light snack. However, I still prefer the salted egg version, particularly because it masks the fishy taste.
It is sold in all NTUC Finest and Xtra. This is not a paid review and we receive no commission from this.
Shiok level: 6/10
