Guess This Mystery Grocery Item!

When we last stopped in at Chinatown Food Market in Kansas City, we went home with our usual fare, although something unusual (to us) caught our attention and ended up in our basket at checkout. We're pretty familiar with the taste of most snacks and candies at Asian markets, but this one was new to us. Can you guess what it is?

These beautifully candied nuggets of water chestnut turned out to be the taste of the day. Water chestnuts lend themselves to sweet options as well as savory preparations and are found in many Asian desserts.

These had a perfect candied coating that kept the outside crisp and sweet and the inside juicy and plump. The water chestnut taste came through clean without being tainted by the sugary outside, and it made for a tasty treat.

If you happen to come across them on your next trip to an Asian market, slice them up and add them to a little fruit salad for some extra oomf, or just eat them straight out of the package like we did! Let us know how you'd like to eat them or what you thought they were in the comments below!

• Related: What Is This Mystery Root?

(Images: Sarah Rae Trover)

Comments (20)

is that mochi?

ah! water chestnuts! i've only had them in cans. interesting.

interesting. Not a fan of water chestnuts (my boyfriend gets all of mine from the stir fries, and i get broccoli and tomatoes = win win), but i'd give it a try.

Has anybody tried Chinese meat flavoured candy? it's quite a trip

Mochi was my first guess too.

love water chestnuts, but doubt i'd like the sweet version.

Thanks for revealing the answer instead of having us wait for days ;)

I want to try them. I love water chestnuts!

That's my son's fave.

Mom would only buy them at Chinese New Year....otherwise she'd eat a package a day.

We would have those for Chinese New year....They are sooooooooo sweet!

I recently discovered fresh water chestnuts and they are delicious. No comparison to the canned stuff. They're crunchy, juicy, and sweet, like a piece of fruit almost. If the candied version is half as good as the fresh stuff, it's got to be great.

bubble - They are just as juicy and sweet, but lose a slight bit of their crunch in the candying process... just as plump and satisfying though!

Sarah Rae, thanks, can't wait to try them!

I used to love these as a kid. We would have them for Chinese New year as well. I second winane, they are UUUUBBBBER sweet - too much so for me these days. Fresh are leaps and bounds above canned, crunchy, clean and sweet. Canned are good for spinach dip and not much else IMO.

Ohh! This was one of my FAVORITE New Year treats as a child.

Huh, I thought mochi first. I've never heard of candied water chestnuts.

I wonder if they'd be good in a cocktail? Like lychees are...

Wow, I loved these when I was a kid! My family also had these around for Chinese New Year.

I haven't had them, or even thought about them, for ages!

I also though they were mochi. Huh...they sound good.

I would have guessed mochi, but mochi is Japanese, not Chinese, so it didn't make sense. This sounds delicious. Speaking of meat candy, a friend of mine marinates water chestnuts in an "asian" sauce, and then wraps them in bacon and rolls them in brown sugar and broils them. It's the most delicious thing I've had in my entire life!

Years ago a friend warned me never to eat fresh water chestnuts, since I would then be incapable of eating the canned variety served in every Chinese restaurant in our city. I wonder if I should make an exception for the candied kind? They sure look intriguing.