Lean Cuisine Asian-Style Pot Stickers

January 9, 2007 | Reviewer: Jess

Price: $2.00
Serving: 1 package, 9 oz.
Calories: 280
Fat: 8%, 5g
Sodium: 23%, 540mg
Protein: 9g
Carbs: 17%, 50g
Fiber: 13%, 3g
WW Points: 5 Points

Lean Cuisine says: Tender dumplings filled with a blend of chicken, cabbage, onions and carrots, all in a golden oriental sauce with soy and ginger. Accompanied by long grain rice with broccoli, carrots, red bell peppers and seasonings.

Jess says: There is a trend among many cultural/ethnic foods to wrap food around a thin flat flour derived substance. There is the crepe, mu shu, the pig in a blanket (this is a stretch), spring roll, burrito, enchilada, etc. Do you know why? Because it is freaking awesome to wrap food products in other food products, especially for food portability. I’d like to create a website dedicated to crazy things wrapped in thin pancakes, like fiats and, uh, small children and perhaps rabbits. But as I write this I know this will never happen. This won’t seem like such a funny concept tomorrow.

Potstickers are a cool wrapped in a flat pancake thing. They are light and airy, but pack a punch of taste. I don’t find them to be especially filling. Also, I think the ground up contents leave a lot of room for sneaking in of questionable ingredients, but otherwise I’m down. LC’s potsticker look and taste like potstickers. The sauce is good, but portioned off to one side. The rice is dry. This meal is the opposite of filling. You probably burn the same amount of calories chewing it that you gain by consuming it. You will look at the empty plate and feel empty inside. Only a website of things wrapped in pancakes will make you feel fulfilled. You can buy this meal, I give you permission, but bring a hearty back up snack.

comments

18 Responses to “Lean Cuisine Asian-Style Pot Stickers”

tanya on January 9th, 2007

I haven’t seen these in the supermarkets yet - but they look interesting - maybe for lunch instead of dinner since you were thrilled with the quantity. I’m gonna try these - thanks for the review!
Kara on January 9th, 2007

I completely agree. This is a tasty little meal but I ate it VERY slowly so as to trick my stomach into thinking it was full. It didn’t work and I stole candy out of our receptionist’s basket afterwards.

Can we please add to the list of pancake-wrapped foods blintzes and pierogi?
Abi Jones on January 9th, 2007

Wow, the exclusion of blintzes and pierogi is a puzzling oversight on Jess’s part. I wonder if our only Jewish reviewer of Russian descent is reading this.
MaryAnne on January 9th, 2007

Mmm pierogis! Trader Joe’s has delicious cheese and onion potato pierogis that aren’t diet killers.

This meal looks good but I think in general potstickers aren’t filling. I can polish off an entire appetizer of 6 if I don’t watch myself and not feel too full. I love how they randomly stick rice on the side. Lean cuisine loves their rice and pasta fillers. Why not at least fried rice? What about sauteed veggie or veggie stir fry? Lean Cuisine, I’m on to you.
Abi Jones on January 9th, 2007

MaryAnne- I’ll have to keep an eye out for those. I think that I generally shy away from pierogis because we never (and I mean never) ate them when I was a kid. It wasn’t that I didn’t like them…I just didn’t know that they exist. So now, I’m an adult who’s never had pierogies (am I even spelling that correctly?) and I don’t have any idea what to do with them. Are they a side, a main dish, do they need a sauce, what do they go with?

Answers would be appreciated.
Stephanie on January 9th, 2007

I tend to like this meal, and mixing the sauce into the rice helps with moisture and flavor a lot. But I agree that it’s not so filling- I usually take an apple or some cookies to work to go with it.
MaryAnne on January 9th, 2007

Abi, pierogies that you buy frozen (most) come with various serving suggestions. My favorite way is to boil them gently and put them in a pan with some butter, garlic, and chopped onion and pan fry the bottoms quickly Then add a little bit of flour to thicken the rest of the butter and serve. However, you can just microwave them in a wet paper towel, serve with marinara, steam, fry, etc. There are endless possiblities! Also, pierogies are generally ressemble a very large ravioloi filled with creamy potato but you can also buy them in various flavors always including potato. I love the cheesy onion ones and while I’ve never tried them, they offer a broccoli filled variation.
MaryAnne on January 9th, 2007

Oh, and sorry to post after myself, but if you like pierogies, you might like gnocchi as well or visa versa. Mmmâ€¦
Abi Jones on January 9th, 2007

I love gnocchi.
Clevegal42 on January 10th, 2007

Pierogies are also a great side dish at a fish fry with your piece of…fish (I don’t know what kind they use - it’s a mystery) and mac and cheese or slaw. And microwaveable, too!
Jess on January 10th, 2007

Damn it! Blintzes! I can’t believe I forgot them, especially since I have been jonesing for them like mad recently. Think I’ll need to go on down to the Deli this weekend for some of the good stuff. Sigh. Good call Kara.

Abi, can we have a pierogi week at HER? After all this healthy crap, I say we deal hands on with the starches!
Jorge on January 10th, 2007

This is something that I never thought would come to the microwave, and after reading this review I must try it. They look so delicious. I was expecting soggy returns, but it appears that they are just right.
Now I’m hungry!
Abi Jones on January 10th, 2007

Yes, I’m sure I can find at least five forms of pierogies to have a Pierogi Week at HeatEatReview.
charlie s, sa, sai, on January 13th, 2007

Mmmm. These kind of meals should be made in un-lean portions of 1 pound.

They are so good but i usally feel more hungry then before i started.
anafagodma on February 1st, 2007

Since you bring it up, the Russian version of pirogi is nothing resembling potstickers or even the big ole’ frozen potato dumpling things y’all at HER are prolly used to seeing. The closest equivalant is meat ravioli, preferably served in a broth of hot water thickeed with mayo. In Russia, that is. . . They have pretty much the same thing in Poland, but as I recall they were most often served sprinkled with bacon and doused in butter or some other kind of fat I don’t want to contemplate. . . “Mrs. Smith’s” pierogis are just what they sound like- an anglo-American bastardization of an Eastern tradition.
gladys on February 9th, 2007

I would like to know where I can buy potstickers , I used to get them in Sam’s club
thank you
Chang on February 16th, 2008

Gladys, Costco’s shrimp dumplings are great pan fried.
JB on February 22nd, 2008

Store bought pierogies are NOTHING at all like the real thing. My Polish grandmother has never made any with potato in it that I know of. There are cheese ones, cabbage ones, and cabbage and meat. Those are more traditional in the area of Poland my family comes from. We boil them and then put butter on them, and they are definitely a main dish!