Kataage means hard-fried — and the name is a commitment. Where a standard potato chip is sliced thin and fried quickly to a light, delicate crunch, Kataage is cut thick and fried slowly and deliberately, producing a chip that requires a real bite and rewards it with the kind of substantial, resonant crunch that releases more potato flavor with every chew. The official description puts it simply: kamu hodo umai — the more you chew, the better it gets. Into that foundation, Calbee introduces wasabi sourced specifically from Azumino City in Nagano Prefecture — one of Japan’s most celebrated wasabi-producing regions, where the cold, clear mountain water and precise cultivation methods produce a root with a character that processed wasabi cannot replicate. The Azumino wasabi is used as powder at 0.02% of the total formulation — a small number that understates the impact considerably. The seasoning is constructed to let the wasabi perform at its best. Salt arrives first, clean and present, providing the base that draws out the potato’s natural sweetness and frames what follows. Powdered soy sauce adds a dark, fermented depth that anchors the seasoning without competing with the wasabi’s freshness. Powdered vinegar and lemon juice powder contribute a bright acidity that lifts the wasabi’s character upward, making the tsun — the sharp, sinus-clearing pungency that wasabi is known for — feel clean and refreshing rather than simply hot. Citrus peel adds a faint aromatic complexity at the finish. Whey powder rounds the overall profile with a subtle creaminess. The result is a chip that delivers wasabi as it should be experienced: not as heat alone, but as a fragrance that rises through the nose with the clarity and freshness of a condiment that earned its place at the Japanese table a very long time ago. About this item Item Name : Kataage Potato Chips Shio Wasabi Brand : Calbee Item Form : Potato Chips Number of Items : 60g (Pack of 1)
