Snack Nation: Nozaki's Corned Beef Mayo corn snacks

Corned beef -- known as "corn beef" in Japan -- has managed to attain a culinary presence in Japan but not a particularly auspicious one. NYC deli-style corned beef sandwiches are a rarity, and the brine-cured beef is best known in its can form -- basically like Japanese spam.

A favorite way to enjoy corned beef in Japan is to rip its dehydrated sinews out of the can and breath in some life with mayonaise. This gives the salty rich flavor a compliment of fatty tang. Could this also possibly be an ideal combination for a potato chip or other bagged snack?

American company Frito Lay has made good on such lofty dreams by teaming up with Nozaki's Corned Beef -- holders of the coveted web address cornedbeef.jp -- for a new convenience store favorite Nozaki's Corned Beef corn snacks. Frito Lay takes Nozaki's cured meat-in-a-can flavor and drapes it on top of an incredibly crispy cylinder-shaped corn snack.

The result is very good, and the corn snacks get bonus points for sticking in the teeth just like Frito Lay's large-size Cheetos puffs. The only downside is that the snacks taste like a fully-realized sandwich, making them too powerful to have as a side. But as a party snack or afternoon treat, we highly recommend them.

Nozaki's Corned Beef corn snacks, ¥120.