Seven-Eleven Thailand, ever a hotbed of culinary innovation, has recently expanded its fried rice offerings in a curious direction. In addition to commonplace fried rice dishes, which include pork, chicken and shrimp, 7-11 recently released Surimi fried rice – better known as “Nemo fried rice” among Thai instant food aficionados.
The dish’s nickname derives from the shape of the fish sticks contained therein, which bears a heavy resemblance to the titular character in Pixar’s Finding Nemo. In order to complete the dish, three “Nemos” are placed on top of fried rice with vegetable and egg.
Reactions to this strange bit of cross-branding have run the gamut, with customers alternately averring that eating a facsimile of a beloved cartoon characters is cute, funny and bizarre. Some parents think that this may be a good means for inducing their children to eat more meat. The Nemo sticks are made from Surimi, a fish protein that is best known as one of the principle ingredients in imitation crab.
The 195-gram dish is priced at THB32.
ข้าวเมนูใหม่ล่าสุดของ 7-11 ข้าวผัดซูริมิ เป็นรูปปลานิโม น่ากินมากๆ >w< twitpic.com/cqrj5y
— I support Kihae~♥ (@BumLoveHae) May 15, 2013
Photo: Hell Eating Association of Thailand (H.E.A.T.)
