Native Vegan Prawn Crackers, 60g

Prawn crackers are a street snack across Southeast Asia, and they are usually made with prawn. Native make theirs plant based: tapioca crackers with a prawn style flavour and no prawn at all. This is the 60g bag, which the listing says holds three servings. The full product name on the pack is tapioca cracker with prawn flavour, and the listing names Native Snacks Ltd, of Dublin, as the distributor.

The ingredients

According to the published pack listing, the crackers are made from tapioca starch, vegetable oil (rapeseed), sugar, rice flour, salt and natural flavouring. Six ingredients in all.

Prawn without prawn

There is no prawn or other animal ingredient on the list. The prawn cracker taste comes from the natural flavouring, with salt and a little sugar, and the pack says the crackers are vegan.

Tapioca

Tapioca starch, from the cassava root, is the base of a prawn cracker. It puffs up into a light, airy cracker that crackles on the tongue.

Rice flour

Rice flour sits with the tapioca in the dough, and neither contains gluten; the listing makes no gluten free claim.

Sugar

Sugar is the third ingredient, and the label gives 5.9g of sugars per 100g, amber on the front of pack scale, just over the 5g line. Prawn crackers are gently sweet as well as salty.

No MSG

The pack says nothing artificial and no MSG, and none is on the list.

Rapeseed oil

Rapeseed oil is the only oil on the list. The label gives 25g of fat per 100g, red on the front of pack scale, and 2g of saturates, amber.

Numbers per serving

The label gives 94 kcal (392 kJ), 4.8g of fat, 0.4g of saturates, 12.3g of carbohydrate, 1.1g of sugars, 0.4g of fibre, 0.3g of protein and 0.36g of salt for a 19g serving. That is about 5% of an average adult's daily energy reference intake, 7% of the fat and 6% of the salt.

Numbers per 100g

Per 100g the label gives 494 kcal (2065 kJ), 25g of fat, 2g of saturates, 64.6g of carbohydrate, 5.9g of sugars, 2.3g of fibre, 1.4g of protein and 1.88g of salt.

Reading the front of the pack

On the UK front of pack scale, per 100g, fat at 25g is red. Saturates at 2g are amber. Sugars at 5.9g are amber. Salt at 1.88g is red.

Protein

With tapioca as the base and no prawn, the crackers carry little protein: the label gives 1.4g per 100g.

Salt

The label gives 1.88g of salt per 100g and 0.36g in a 19g serving, red on the front of pack scale.

Light as air

Prawn crackers are light and puffed: a 19g serving fills a bowl.

Carbohydrate and fibre

The label gives 64.6g of carbohydrate per 100g, of which 5.9g are sugars; the rest is starch from the tapioca and rice. Fibre is 2.3g per 100g.

Natural flavouring

The natural flavouring is the last ingredient; the listing does not say what it is made from, and the pack says vegan.

Nothing artificial

The pack says nothing artificial, and there is no colour, preservative or flavour enhancer on the list.

Allergens and diet

No allergens from the UK list of 14 are on the published ingredient list, and the published listing gives no may contain advice. The pack says the crackers are suitable for vegans and vegetarians; there is no gluten free claim. Recipes and factory arrangements change, so check the allergy advice on the pack you receive.

Three servings

The listing says the 60g bag holds three servings, and the pack front says 94 calories per serving.

Once opened

The listing advises a cool, dry place and says to eat the crackers as soon as the bag is open.

Street snacks

The listing describes Native's range as street food snacks, inspired by the sounds and smells of food stalls around the world.

The pack

The orange bag carries a pink band reading vegan and nothing artificial, the words original prawn flavour, a pink arrow reading 94 cals per serving, the Native name in large black letters over a pink N, the words prawn crackers with the A crossed out, a few crackers and the 60g weight.

Who it suits

A prawn cracker with no prawn suits vegans and vegetarians who miss a takeaway prawn cracker, and anyone with a shellfish allergy should still read the pack first.

Serving ideas

Serve the crackers with a sweet chilli dip, beside a stir fry or a Thai curry, or with a cold beer.

At a takeaway night

Put a bowl on the table with the curry and rice, as at a Chinese or Thai takeaway.

With dips

A light cracker suits a thin dip: a sweet chilli sauce or a soy and ginger dip.

Distributor

The listing names Native Snacks Ltd, in Dublin, as the distributor.

Sharing

A 60g bag of prawn crackers fills a big bowl for sharing, and the listing says it holds three servings.

A snack for the table

Set the bowl in the middle of the table with dipping sauces, and let everyone help themselves.

Recycling

The published recycling guidance says the whole packaging can be recycled with carrier bags at large supermarkets and should not go in home recycling.

The published listing gives the United Kingdom as the country of origin. The tasting notes on this page are our own editorial assessment against the current pack format and the brand's published description.