Kraft South Beach Kung Pao Chicken

March 2, 2007 | Reviewer: Abi

Price: $2.00 (woo, Shopper’s Warehouse!)
Serving: 1 meal, 10.3 oz.
Calories: 300
Fat: 17%, 11g
Cholesterol: 27%, 80mg
Sodium: 37%, 890mg
Protein: 32g
Carbs: 6%, 18g
Fiber: 20%, 5g
WW Points: 6 Points

South Beach says: Breast strips with rib meat, red peppers, and peanuts in kung pao sauce with broccoli, water chestnuts and yellow peppers

Abi says: Three thoughts went through my brain as I put this meal in the microwave.

That is not enough sauce for all that chicken.
Is that all chicken? Wow, that’s a lot of chicken.
That is far too little sauce for all of that chicken.

It turns out that I’m horrible at estimating the sauce quantity in a frozen item. Once I’d microwaved the meal for four minutes (stirring the chicken after the three minute mark), I realized that there was precisely the perfect amount of sauce to coat the enormous mound of chicken in the tray. South Beach’s chicken is terrific in a ‘boiled chicken’ sort of way.

Fortunately for the chicken (and your tongue), South Beach’s sauce is among the best pseudo-Chinese sauces I’ve tasted in a frozen meal. Another plus: peanuts. While microwaving peanuts might not be your idea of fun, I found that this meal contained the perfect peanut to chicken ratio, with at least one peanut (or half peanut) to each chunk of chicken.

Usually vegetables are the savior of a meal. They’ve pulled through for me time after time with their bright color and high nutritional content. Plus, they have fiber, which is important when you’re eating a lot of microwavable meals. In the case of South Beach’s Kung Pao Chicken, the vegetables were a dismal reminder that the microwave does not always play nice with bell peppers or broccoli. Sure, the water chestnuts were crispy, but if I ever found a non-crunchy water chestnut, the world would probably implode.

Every month, Heat Eat Review provides 3,660 meals
to hungry people in San Francisco via the SF Food Bank. Click here to find the Food Bank nearest you.

comments

6 Responses to “Kraft South Beach Kung Pao Chicken”

Andrew on March 3rd, 2007

1. That’s a fantastic price for a South Beach meal.

2. I agree with everything you said.
Colleen on May 26th, 2007

The microwave just beeped. Be back soon…
Chris B on November 5th, 2007

I had this twice last week and it definitely is PACKED with chicken. I laughed at your water chestnut comment, too…lol!
Cheryle on November 9th, 2007

I am eating this right and have to say, it’s one of the better frozen entrees I’ve tried. The sauce even has a hint of heat to it, thought it’s not nearly spicy enough for my palate. Next time, I’ll try adding a little garlic flavored chili paste but overall, I’m impressed.
sue on January 28th, 2008

My favorite South Beach meal is the Kung Pao Chicken. If you have to have frozen diet dinners, this I’ve found to be the best.
South Beach Living Savory Beef : Heat Eat Review : We Review TV Dinners, Frozen Meals, and Microwavable Foods on August 19th, 2008

[...] is pretty generous and almost fills the entire compartment. However, it falls victim to the dreaded ’soggy & disintegrating’ broccoli character flaw. Also, cheese sauce? Lies. There is a melted cheese smear that got on, like, ¼ of [...]