"It is extremely common here, but mainly used for potato-based purposes," said Besha Rodell, the Australian Fare columnist for The New York Times. "Chicken potato chips are one of the most popular kinds here, and you can get it on hot chips—fries—as well. I don’t see it used for much else."
As I daydreamed what chicken salt might taste like over my favorite foods, I realized it’s a flavor I’m already familiar with. The Chinese—of which I am one—have a history of incorporating chicken bouillon powder in our food.
In the recently released The Nom Wah Cookbook, a collection of dim sum recipes from New York Chinatown’s iconic restaurant, chicken powder is listed as a pantry staple and appears in dishes from pork dumpling filling and turned cakes to steamed spare ribs.
The Australian version of chicken salt, I’m told, is less salty than chicken bouillon powder, which contains actual chicken in the form of dehydrated chicken meat and fat. Australian chicken salt is vegetarian—and the winner of our chicken-flavored broth base taste test also happens to be vegan.
Ever since the night I learned about chicken salt on Shark Tank, I’ve been inspired to sprinkle chicken powder on anything and everything. To me, it’s a powdery salt with intense flavors of fried chicken skin. A little goes a very long way. Some highlights: