Marlingardener
Sous Chef
Our local Chinese restaurant closed, so we tried frozen Chinese from the grocery. We have had vegetable lo mein and honey glazed chicken so far, and rate each a full 5. It is actually better than the restaurant's take-out.
Innoasian frozen dinners
- Thread starter Marlingardener
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If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
GinnyPNW
Master Chef
We have similar restaurants here in the PNW! Chinese and Mexican restaurants are just horrible! I've been known to say that frozen food from the grocer is better and cheaper too! Do you have any Thai restaurants nearby? We find that our local Thai places are mostly very, very good. Many make some Chinese and/or Vietnamese dishes too...and better! Short of that, there are many of the Chinese (and Thai, etc.) dishes are really quite easy and quick too. Once one invests in the herbs and spices, of course. If you have some favorite dishes, consider learning to make them...and, I highly recommend getting a good rice cooker too. Check out some of the damndelicious(dot)com Crock Pot recipes.
A lot of take out isn't even as good as in the resto. Some food just doesn't do well in a take out container. When we order out, I don't order steak, bacon wrapped scallops, most stuff where the cooked veggies should be crisp, ... Curries usually do quite well, better than corn starch thickened sauces.
Marlingardener
Sous Chef
Ginny, we live in a restaurant desert. If we don't want to drive 29 miles, we have the local choice of one bad Mexican restaurant, a Dairy Queen, or MacDonald's. That's why we get frozen pizza and Chinese for those nights when we are too tired to cook.
Medtran, thanks for the correction. I didn't have the box handy and misspelled the name. Glad you like it, too.
Taxlady, thank you for reminding me there are civilized places in the world--bacon wrapped scallops, curries--not on our horizon, but glad you can get good food in restaurant or out.
Medtran, thanks for the correction. I didn't have the box handy and misspelled the name. Glad you like it, too.
Taxlady, thank you for reminding me there are civilized places in the world--bacon wrapped scallops, curries--not on our horizon, but glad you can get good food in restaurant or out.
GinnyPNW
Master Chef
My sincere apologies! I was distracted when I read/responded. My bad! I do remember you posting about the lack of restaurants...and I do relate!
We now return you to your regular programming....
pepperhead212
Executive Chef
The other option is to become obsessed with the cuisine, and grow any of the fresh ingredients you need for it. Sound like a plan, @Marlingardener?
Seriously, though, unless an Asian market is somewhere nearby, those frozen dishes are as close as someone can get, and may be better than a local restaurant. However, many Thai, Vietnamese, and other SE Asian foods are finished with fresh herbs, not just cilantro, and this is something that can't really be done with frozen. Hopefully they will be using the essential lime leaves, used in many of the dishes; they are available now, but some restaurants still don't use them (a friend, whose job has him traveling, tells me he knows the good restaurants, when he tastes the lime leaves in those dishes), and I'm sure some of those frozen dishes don't use them. If they do, that would be a good + for the dish!
Seriously, though, unless an Asian market is somewhere nearby, those frozen dishes are as close as someone can get, and may be better than a local restaurant. However, many Thai, Vietnamese, and other SE Asian foods are finished with fresh herbs, not just cilantro, and this is something that can't really be done with frozen. Hopefully they will be using the essential lime leaves, used in many of the dishes; they are available now, but some restaurants still don't use them (a friend, whose job has him traveling, tells me he knows the good restaurants, when he tastes the lime leaves in those dishes), and I'm sure some of those frozen dishes don't use them. If they do, that would be a good + for the dish!
Kathleen
Cupcake
A regular DQ or a DQ brazier? I mean....DQ! I'm down with that!
Yeah, I'd be looking at their health inspection reports. Ex son-in-law used to deliver for Coca-Cola. DD and I were discussing where to get lunch one day and he was NO. Asked about the other 1 across town, same response. Don't know how widespread it is, but I always check.
