When I go to the store to stock up on groceries, I always check to see what health food or vegetarian products are on sale. This last trip I found Gardein Meatless Chicken With Mandarin Orange Sauce on sale and decided tonight is the night for Chinese food!
I love Chinese food for more than any other ethnic food. My favorite Chinese dish as a meat eater was Sesame Chicken. Like many Americans, I viewed Chinese food as mainly meat with a few veggies and a little rice. Since I am a vegetarian now I try to avoid the Chinese buffets and see Chinese food as a treat.
With the Gardein chicken in hand I decided also do rice. I recently bought a rice cooker and I’ve had more rice related dishes. You can bake Gardein meatless chicken in an oven or pan fry it. I chose to bake and not use oil to fry them. I put the Gardein in the oven for about 15 minutes, turning them once half way through.
The meatless chicken looks like normal chicken nuggets and bake to a golden brown. The outside is crispy like you would expect real chicken would be. The ‘meat’ itself does a good job or intimating real chicken meat. Overall a tasty meatless chicken option.
I mixed the baked Gardein meatless chicken and sauce in with basmati rice. The package comes with two mandarin orange sauce packets. I used half of the nuggets and one sauce pack. I think the sauce packs could be bigger. One pack of sauce is enough to cover half of the nuggets but don’t expect it to look like the picture on the package.
The taste and texture are close to real chicken and a good meat alternative for vegetarians. The value is good as it allows me to satisfy an orange chicken dish craving. I have tried and like several Gardein meatless products. When I picked up this meatless chicken I also picked up the meatless beef tips, which I have never tried.
Gardein meatless products are a good alternative to animal meat. On the occasion when I’m craving a chicken dish it’s good to have vegetarian alternatives. A must try and repeat buy!