From my childhood, I have what my lovely bride interprets as a bad habit on major holidays: namely, not really eat anything until the big dinner itself. You see, it's not a
bad strategy when "holiday dinner" is at about 1 p.m. or so, so skipping breakfast isn't
that huge of a deal, and come meal time, you have plenty enough room in your belly to eat your fill, and to be too full for dinner. Totally works because that's how I grew up. But on
her side of the family, Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners and the like are more towards the evening (5 p.m. or so), making this strategery much tougher to employ. Not to say I haven't tried...but every holiday with a later big meal, I get the speech: "You're not going to starve yourself all day until dinner time! You're gonna eat something! Set a good example for the kids!" and so on.
And so it was this past weekend out here in the 'burgh. Easter dinner, our house, 5 p.m. Got home from church, she started launching it yet again...blahblahblah...yes dear, alright dear, I ran 5.5 miles that morning so kinda hungry anyways...
...and then she pulled out Trader Ming's Kung Pao Tempura Cauliflower from the freezer. Game, set, match. Stop twisting my arm already, this looks good!
As the name implies, what we have here is a bag of frozen lightly breaded cauliflower florets with some spicy kung pao sauce to stir them all around in. The camera somehow ate the picture we took of the finished product, but the picture on the bag is a more than apt depiction of the vibrant veggie vittles inside. Except...most of the blossoms are freaking huge. Ginormous, probably a whole serving itself. That's not
entirely a bad thing, but they do present a textural variant that can be difficult to account for in preparation. Naturally, the stemmy sections retains more crunch and stiff fibrous feel, while the actual "trees" sections are kinda all over the place. Some were done roughly right, with a good bite, while others seemed smooshy and almost creamy due to being just way too soft. If they were smaller, I'd think it'd be easier to prepare them in a more even manner. It didn't inhabit us too much, but I could see it being a potential issue for some.
As for the sauce, I didn't care much for it straight up (yes, I tried it). It seemed a bit too cloyingly soy sauce-y, with a little tang of pineapple juice and a tickle of heat poking out. However, once on the slightly crispy/greasy cauliflower, a lot of the soy tendencies mellowed out, while the spice amped itself a smidge. By the end of my bowlful, the heat definitely kicked up several notches from where it started. The breading itself is barely worth mention, except to say it was a fairly adequate medium between the sauce and veggie.
Overall, this particular Trader Ming's offering is a go...I'd feel slightly better recommending it if it cost $3.99 or so instead of $4.99...but chances are it'll be a repeat purchase for when the vaguely Asian food/don't feel like paying for takeout bug hits (which is often enough). Sandy offers up a four whereas I'll slide in a little lower.
Bottom line: Trader Ming's Kung Pao Tempura Cauliflower: 7.5 out of 10 Golden Spoons
I tried them and they were ok but nothing great and too expensive for battered cauliflower and sauce in my opinion. ;)
ReplyDeleteMine got really soggy after tossing in the sauce. I'll either bake it longer or use less sauce next time
ReplyDeleteSauce is too gloopy-sweet and the florets are too big. Otherwise, it's not too bad. I'd give 6/10.
ReplyDeleteI found the same issue the first time I tried this. About half the bag was creamy, delicious cauliflower pieces and half were fibrous, tough cauliflower pieces. Those fibrous, tough pieces I couldn't even cut with a steak knife! I found the sauce delicious, if only every piece of cauliflower was edible I could eat this vegan dish several times a week. It's a little pricey ($5 for a bag), especially when the WHOLE bag is NOT edible.
ReplyDeleteI recently tried this and it's not terrible, but the pieces need to be smaller and more uniform. I had a lot of very large pieces and the breading doesn't stick well to those. What didn't fall off was mushy. The few small pieces I had crisped up nicely and held on to their breading.
ReplyDeleteNot very good.. Expensive and mushy!!!! Way mushy sorry I wasted my money...
ReplyDeleteSauce too hot to eat, nowhere does it say it this product is hot. I get really aggravated when products have chili peppers and the label does it have it listed as an ingredient. Way down in the ingredient list it has spices listed. It does not say there are Chili's or Peppers or jalapenos in this product. I will be getting a refund from Trader Joe's.
ReplyDeleteWell, Kung Pao is supposed to be spicy... and the sauce is described as a "spicy kung pao sauce" on the back of the bag. But I do agree that they should label the ingredients more thoroughly. That is frustrating. (I have a bag in my freezer now and plan on trying them soon, but I haven't gotten the chance to have them yet, so I can't comment on taste.)
DeleteI just tried this ... I broke the rules though. I fried the cauliflower instead of baking it.... best thing ever. And I added some honey and pineapple preserves to the sauce .....
ReplyDeleteI absolutely love tis! I bake in toaster oven till really crisp, place on paper toweling to absorb any oil, and serve w low sodium Shoyu sauce on the side. I didn't use the sauce that came with, as I feel it overpowers the sweet, tender and juicy cauliflower. Just a few drops of Shoyu is perfect. The individual pieces of cauliflower are amazingly crisp on the outside, so I wouldn't let them sit in any sauce. They're on my regular TJ's shopping list.
ReplyDeletewonder how it would turn out in the air fryer...?
ReplyDeleteI think it would be perfect. Best method.
ReplyDelete