Featured Image Credit: deancolmer/Getty Images
Topics: UK Food
Ben Williams
An American couple who recently swapped life across the pond for the UK have been left stumped by one of Britain’s best-loved Chinese takeaway staples, and it’s sparked plenty of chat online.
Brianna and Thomas, who moved over in 2022 with their three kids due to Thomas’ role with the US military, have been documenting their UK adventures on TikTok, racking up 1.3 million likes and almost 60,000 followers in the process.
For their latest culture clash, they were left truly baffled by a staple of every Brit's Chinese order.
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The pair revealed that every time they order Chinese or Thai food, they find themselves handed a small bag filled with something they couldn’t identify. In a recent TikTok clip, Brianna held up the mystery item and asked: “So, I have a question. We get these every time we have Thai food or Chinese food, but we have no idea what this is.”
The item in question was a bag of prawn crackers, a crispy snack that usually comes complimentary with takeaway meals. Thomas wasn’t impressed at first glance, comparing it to packing material. He said it looked like a piece of Styrofoam, with Brianna quickly agreeing as she snapped one in half to show the texture.
She said: “It literally looks like Styrofoam. I don’t know. We get it, and we put it in the pantry and we never open it, we never touch it. Don’t know what it is.”
Their followers couldn’t believe it. For most in the UK, prawn crackers are just as much a part of the ritual as chow mein or sweet and sour chicken. One viewer joked: “What the hell?? You don’t eat them? My days…” while another teased: “It’s just packing chips to protect the food, do not eat them, send them to me for disposal.”
Others were quick to point out just how versatile the snack is. “Prawn crackers to dip or make boats of goodness (fill it with your food and enjoy),” one suggested. Someone else chimed in with: “They’re basically like the Chinese version of Skips.”
The comments prompted Brianna and Thomas to finally give them a go in a follow-up video. At first, Brianna wasn’t blown away, complaining the cracker lacked flavour. But after dunking it into the rest of her meal, she admitted it was a game-changer. She said: “Okay, these are actually pretty good”, laughing that she’d nearly thrown them away.
She wrapped up by pointing out a cultural swap: “We get fortune cookies [in the US], you guys get prawn crackers. They are good, though.”
It looks like this American family might just have been converted to one of Britain’s most iconic takeaway traditions, even if they did mistake it for Styrofoam at first.