We’ve been let down by Lean Cuisine’s Asian-inspired frozen food in the past. For example, the Chicken Teriyaki Stir Fry is a dish we hope to never eat again, and the Sesame Chicken could certainly use some improvements. Of course, it’s not all bad — we really like Lean Cuisine’s Thai-Style Chicken Spring Rolls, after all.
So we weren’t sure what to expect when we cracked open the Asian-Style Pot Stickers. This is a dish that could go either way.
The first thing we want to comment on is the cook time. This has an unusually long cook time, at eight whole minutes, though the instructions ask that you use your microwave’s “low” setting for this. When one of the biggest benefits of a frozen meal is that it can be prepared in a rush, eight minutes seems a little bit longer than we’d like.
Of course, we don’t find it difficult to forgive a long cook time if the meal is delicious, like Devour’s Buffalo Chicken Mac & Cheese. Unfortunately, these pot stickers don’t do enough to redeem the dish for its eight-minute wait time.
The shells end up with a weird texture, and the chicken inside tastes a little bit off. The best part of this meal by far is the sauce, which is delicious, but there’s not enough of it to make up for everything that doesn’t work.
The rice is simply bland, which seems to be the trend with Lean Cuisine. This rice, though, has several veggies mixed in, such as peas, carrots, and red peppers. The ingredient that stands out the most is the peas — every bite of rice will taste predominately like peas. We suppose that’s not a bad thing for lovers of peas, but many of Freezer Meal Frenzy’s staffers can’t stand those little green orbs.
Lean Cuisine’s Asian-Style Pot Stickers Could have been great with a few tweaks. Primarily, we’d have loved more sauce and a little more effort with the rice portion. As is, this is a forgettable dish that we’re likely never to eat again.
The biggest perk here is definitely the 280 calorie count. While you might not enjoy the meal, you’ll probably be pretty happy to find an Asian-style dish under 300 calories.
If you’re curious about the ingredients or nutrition in this frozen food, check out our package scans below.
