In Taiwan, I fell in love. Not with a person, a pet, or a new life overseas, but with a coconut-flavored corn puff called Kuai Kuai. Since returning home, I’ve kept an unopened bag of this snack leaning against my gaming PC. For those familiar with Kuai Kuai, you understand the allure. But for the uninitiated, this might seem a little strange. And you might be right, but there’s an entire culture around Kuai Kuai in Taiwan, something I discovered at Computex this year. It’s a way to bring a little bit of Taiwan home.
If you type “guai guai” into Google Translate, it translates to “be obedient” in English from Mandarin. This is the idea behind placing the snack next to your PC. When I arrived in Taiwan, I received a care package of local snacks, including Kuai Kuai. A small card explained that these corn puffs are considered good luck charms for technology in Taiwan. Intrigued, I devoured the entire bag (they are delicious) and continued my day. But I kept seeing Kuai Kuai everywhere. It was at press meetings, in every 7/11 and FamilyMart, and I even saw executives from AMD, Taiwan’s TSMC, and Microsoft posing with their own bags. This wasn’t just a tourist story about a Taiwanese snack. It was a genuine cultural phenomenon.
You’ll find Kuai Kuai in police stations, banks, hospitals, and engineering labs across Taiwan. And that’s likely just the tip of the iceberg. Some believe in the snack’s magical powers, others don’t. Regardless, it’s a deeply ingrained tradition in Taiwan that most people outside of the country aren’t aware of. The origin story is unclear. Irene Liao, general manager of the company that produces Kuai Kuai, attributes it to a graduate student who placed a bag of Kuai Kuai next to his crashing computer while writing his thesis. After placing the bag, the crashes stopped. It’s likely a combination of a small group practicing the tradition and smart marketing that created this cultural phenomenon. Whatever the origins, the tradition is here to stay.
Finding Kuai Kuai in the U.S. isn’t easy. You can find some online, but it’s rare. Your best bet is to hunt for it at a local Asian or international food market. That’s how I managed to find it. Kuai Kuai is only made and sold in Taiwan, so availability outside the country is limited. If you want to participate in this tradition, there are unbreakable rules. First, you need the green bag. There are different flavors of Kuai Kuai, but the creamy coconut flavor, packaged in a green bag, is the one you need for good luck. Using a different color, like the yellow bag containing five-spice flavor, is believed to bring bad luck to your technology. You also can’t open the bag. So, pick up an extra bag or two to snack on, but keep one unopened for your PC. Make sure to note the expiration date as you’re supposed to replace the bag shortly before it expires. At least you’ll get to enjoy your good luck charm before it goes bad.
In Taiwan, there have been incidents of car accidents and major technical malfunctions attributed to improper Kuai Kuai usage. Kuai Kuai’s history is a blend of tradition and superstition, depending on who you ask. As a computer enthusiast, it’s hard not to participate in this practice. Taiwan is the heart of the semiconductor industry. If a pack of coconut corn puffs is good enough to keep that industry running, it’s good enough for me. Besides, they’re delicious.
