Monday, October 13, 2008

Thai Kitchen

So there I was in Fiesta the other night, wandering through the asian aisle looking for something new or something on sale. I walked by these and stopped because I saw those two awesome words: Gluten Free.

This Thai Kitchen company offers a variety of instant noodle soups, much like old-school ramen noodles but with rice noodles and GF seasonings.

I tried two things:

the Toasted Sesame Stir Fry Rice Noodles- about $2-3
and the
Spring Onion Rice Noodle Soup- $1
See how it's clearly labeled? They even have a list of allergy info on their website, here. Good news, most of their products are gluten free!

The funny thing was, though, the Toasted Sesame isn't listed as gluten free on the website, but on the box it is. I checked the ingredients, just in case, and it all looked fine. So I dunno what the deal about that is. Maybe they recently changed the recipe.

But, the most important thing: How did they taste?

The soup cooked up quick, about 4 minutes in some hot water. The seasoning packet and oil packet added just enough flavor and it was a smallish sized portion so you didn't stuff yourself. I liked it.

The stir fry sesame thing was a little different. I brought it to school to try it out for lunch. You put some water in it, microwave for 3-4 minutes, and then pour out the excess water. This was a potential problem for me seeing as how I was in a cafeteria without a sink or open trash can. (They were all the kind that you push the flap). Fortunately (I guess...) all of the water bubbled out of the container into the microwave. I think that was the microwave's fault, though. It might have been one of those industrial ones.

Anyway. After the noodles are cooked you add the seasoning packet and oil and mix it up. Sounds simple enough, but I ended up with a clump of sticky noodles and had to mix pretty vigorously to evenly distribute the seasonings. Despite my noodle issues, it was tasty. Mildly spicy, somewhat sweet, and there were actual sesame seeds. The noodles just weren't working for me though. I don't know if that would be a good "bring to school" thing.

Would I buy them again? Yes.
Will I try more of their products? Yes.

*update* I'm not digging the thai peanut flavor...

OH OH and guess what? You know how I bitch about UH not having GF options in their c-stores?
They just started carrying these!! And those lara bars, which I could never develop a taste for...

2 comments:

Jolynn B said...

I looove those Thai Kitchen dishes! I think Spring Onion is my favorite. I haven't tried any of the stir-fry dishes in a long time. I think I'll buy one sometime soon. Sometimes we add meat too. I want to try adding shrimp. Yum!
I agree w/you about those Lara bars. I tried to eat one once...I didn't get very far.

Anonymous said...

thai kitchen is delish!

and btw... scott was enjoying your bag of GF cookies this afternoon
-dayna