Friday, October 21, 2016

Shiitake Mushroom Chicken

I would like to clarify that I believe there is a typo on the packaging of this product.  I think it should be called Shit-Ake Chicken.

Ok, now for the review.  (Can you guess what we thought of it even before reading further??!  :) )

Looks tasty enough on the bag, no?  
I have BUYER’S REMORSE on this one.  Sigh.  It is my own fault, I should have read the bag more clearly before buying it, but I got excited!  It looked really good in the photo!!  And it looked like it would be so easy to prepare!  But if only I had taken time to read the ingredients list I would have seen that not the first ingredient, but the first TWO INGREDIENTS listed are dark meat chicken chunks.  Putting aside my preference for white meat chicken a moment, why did they list it TWICE??  And again, ignoring that if I have my choice I choose white meat chicken, why didn’t they use better QUALITY dark meat chicken in this meal? 

Dark Meat Chicken Chunks - the ingredient so "nice" they listed it twice...
OK, backing up; this is a frozen meal that comes in a bag.  It consists of dark meat chicken, more dark meat chicken, shiitake mushrooms, edamame, and green beans.  I was right about one thing with this product, it is easy to cook and make a meal out of.  But it does not make a TASTY meal, which is something we like…  I followed the instructions and cooked it in a wok and served it over jasmine rice. 

Lots of chicken...  Lots of bad quality chicken...
The two ingredients that made this product taste bad were the bad quality chicken and the very bland, poorly textured green beans.  The very best part of the dinner was the rice (cooked separately and not included in this packaged meal…).  But the best part of this PACKAGE was the edamame and the shitake mushrooms – those bits were good.  But those things can’t carry the weight of the whole meal.  I think something that would jazz it up would be GARLIC.  Give it a bit of flavor.

This does not taste like a dish you would get at a restaurant AT ALL.    Well, I take that back.  It DOES taste like something you would get at a restaurant, but the restaurant would be an all-day Chinese Buffet in Daytona Beach, Florida.  It would be in a pan that had been left out all day on the buffet line, and senior citizens who paid $4.99 for all-you-can-eat “Chinese” would be plopping it on their plate for their 4:00 PM dinner.  THAT is what it tastes like!  (And I do not mean any offense to Seniors, we are AARP members ourselves!)

Orrrr, it might also be found in a junior high school cafeteria. 

I couldn’t finish my serving.  I ended up eating more rice and heating up some Trader Joe’s edamame (which I love) to finish out my dinner.  As for the Shitake Mushroom Chicken dish, I give it a 2.0. 

David's take on Shiitake Mushroom Chicken BEFORE eating it...
Here is what David thought: “I agree, this is not as delightful as one might have liked.  In general, I do not have a problem with dark meat chicken, but this one...  The beans in this dish taste like canned green beans.  It would be much improved by the addition of green peppers, onions, maybe carrots…  For me the best part about this is the SAUCE.  So instead of getting this again I should just learn how to make a sauce like this – it is nice and savory but slightly sweet so it is a tasty sauce.  I would give this a 2.75.”

And David AFTER eating it...
Even DAVID didn't want second helpings, and David alllllways wants a second helping!
We won’t be buying this one again.  In fact, instead of putting the leftovers in a Fupperware (fake Tupperware) container we threw them out, which never happens at our house.  David will (hopefully) be figuring out how to make the sauce included with this package and we will put it with tastier stuff! 

Price – $4.99

Rating – 2.5

18 comments:

  1. I have eaten it about a year and half ago, and I didn't think it was that bad. Perhaps they have changed the ingredients?

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    1. Maybe, I am not sure. Let me just say - the chicken in the PICTURE on the bag and the chicken on our PLATES did not look the same... :)

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  2. We did not like this one at all either. It had such a strange taste. However, we LOVE the bbq chicken teriyaki. Highly recommend for a quick meal!

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    1. Ahhh, is the BBQ Chicken Teriyaki a frozen meal-n-a-bag, too? Note to self: try that BBQ Chicken Teriyaki!

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  3. I bought a second bag .. everything was on point with good quality chicken and products ... but I have read other reviewers who liked the flavor but not so much with the edamame ... but we all have different tastes

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  4. I agree with everything you say. The mushrooms taste metallic. They really make this dish fail in every way. It's probably the worst thing I've ever eaten from TJs.

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  5. I bought two bags, just in case I loved it. Well, I made the concoction last night and ate 1/3 of it. The chicken tasted completely artificial--- like watery, compressed cardboard. The mushrooms were rubbery and oddly-flavored. I was surprised; I've never had a problem with TJ products. Unfortunately, I woke at 4 a.m. with "the trots." My guts were telling me something I obviously was slow to grasp. I returned the other package today.

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    1. OH MAN - sorry this shit-ake gave you a tummy ache!! Not good, not good at all... I wish you would have found my review before you ate it! Hope you are feeling better today.

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    3. For sure, STG, I wish I had! Problems with TJ products are the exceptions (to the rule). Imagine mt surprise

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  6. I DISAGREE with your entire rant - this is an amazing product and is better than most take out restaurants at double the price. Maybe you drink a lot and your palate is off! I have turned so many people on to this product and they all LOVE IT!

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    1. Nope, don't drink a lot :). Glad you like it, you can eat my share, too.

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  7. First I’ll say this is enjoyable for me while being on the healthier side as far as fat and salt content but I wanted to clear something up for you. The Dark meat chicken chunks are listed twice since they are prepared using other ingredients. That is why it says “dark meat chicken chunks: dark meat chicken chunks, water, eggs, etc”. They didn’t use two different types of chicken (notice the colon before mentioning the chicken again).

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    1. Thanks for clarifying that! Appreciate it.

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  8. Yukky. Added sugar. And I got a migraine from the soy and MSG. The chicken was like mystery meat and I was hungry after eating it. Not for me.

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    1. "Mystery meat" - that made me giggle. Totally agree! This product does not seem up to the standards of other TJ's meals.

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  9. Totally agree about how good the sauce is! I have been looking all over for a duplicate. Have you had any luck?? The General Tsau Stir Fry Sauce is just not the same.

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