Price: $3.59 (ouch!)
Serving: 1 container, 11.6 oz.
Calories: 640
Fat: 42%, 27g
Sodium: 70%, 16800mg
Protein: 17g
Carbs: 27%, 82g
Fiber: 12%, 3g

KA-ME says: Considered the crossroads of the Far East, Malaysia assimilated cultures and cuisines from China, India, Thailand and the Middle East. Peanut Satay, Malaysia’s signature dish, delicately blends exotic spices, coconut milk, tamarind fruit and crunchy peanuts into a robust sauce for Kokkien noodles.

Abi says: You know what you don’t want to hear when you pour sauce onto your noodles? This: “Oh ew, that looks like blood.”

There were two reasons that these noodles weren’t delectable:

1. Kokkien noodles cooked in a microwave just aren’t my bag. It wasn’t so much that the noodles were bad as that they just weren’t that good. This little container holds nearly 700 calories worth of food. You’d better give me some darn good noodles next time.
2. Allison’s comment aside, the sauce wasn’t so hot either. A little spicy, but without any backup flavor for the spice. Yes, this is a one-note disaster. I was psyched to try a new sort of peanut noodle, but I can’t say I’ll be coming back to KA-ME.

Other peanut-containing things we’ve eaten:

• Trader Joe’s Ginger Peanut Noodle Salad
• Trader Joe’s Peanut Satay Noodles and Sauce
• Lean Cuisine Chicken in Peanut Sauce Jess’s funny review
• Lean Cuisine Chicken in Peanut Sauce Abi’s review. Not as funny.
• A Taste of Thai Peanut Noodles
• Thai Kitchen Thai Peanut Noodles
• Ethnic Gourmet Peanut Satay Chicken

Price: $3.49 (sale)
Serving: 1 package, 10 oz.
Calories: 170
Fat: 7%, 4.5g
Sodium: 35%, 840mg
Protein: 14g
Carbs: 6%, 19g

Ethnic Gourmet says: Seasoned white meat chicken tossed with slow-cooked spinach. Served with seasoned long-grain brown rice.

Abi says: The first ingredient in this meal is spinach, thus this item should be renamed as follows: Ethnic Gourmet Creamed Spinach with a few bits of chicken and some brown rice that is colored yellow but doesn’t taste like anything but brown rice.

I can’t figure out why Ethnic Gourmet hasn’t crashed and burned. Their products are pretty expensive ($4.00) and can’t compare to the flavorful meals produced by Deep Foods. Come on market forces, do some work!

I wish that I was reviewing a Deep Foods item right now. I’d love to eat a Curry Classics Pad Thai Chicken or a Green Guru Paneer Tikka Masala, but instead I am battling gastro-intestinal agony from the ‘Ethnic Gourmet’ line. Actually, I’m not battling it, I’m fine now. But during the IT presentation of our new Helpdesk system, I was making the most ridiculous burbling noises. This stuff is basically pre-processed food and it is going to pass through your body in ten minutes. Ok, that may be too much information for some people, but it is very important to know.

How did the meal taste? Well, the chicken was ok and the meal was mildly spiced. I would call it excellently mediocre. I got a few skimpy nibs of chicken and an overly-watery, mildly flavored spinach sauce. I hadn’t tried an Ethnic Gourmet offering in months, and now I know why I stayed away. They’re overcharging for an inferior product, a product that is available from other sources (Deep Foods, for example) at comparable or better prices. Hey Safeway and Giant, stop stocking Ethnic Gourmet and make some room in your freezers for Curry Classics and Green Guru!