Ever since we reviewed the Bibigo Chicken & Vegetable Korean Style Steamed Dumplings, our readers have been sending us messages to let us know how excited they are that we’ve finally dipped our toes into this beloved frozen food brand. And that, of course, means we definitely need to review more of it.
Today, we’re sticking with the Korean-inspired side of the Bibigo line, with the Bibigo Korean Style Fried Rice Vegetables with Kimchi. We do love a good fried rice here at Freezer Meal Frenzy, so we’re excited to get into this one.
The box includes instructions for both the microwave and stovetop. We went with the microwave, because it’s super easy, and the front of the box brags about the three-and-a-half-minute cook time. You can also fry this in a pan, but that will take you almost twice as long. And who has time for that? (If you want to read the full cooking instructions straight from the box, check out the package scans at the bottom of this review.)
Primarily, this is really just a batch of rice with soy sauce and sesame oil. It has a nice flavor to it, but that flavor is a little bit muted. If you’re going to eat this as a bed for a protein, like a General Tso’s chicken, then that’s probably fine. If you’re eating this by itself, you might want to add just a little more sauce to kick up that flavor.
In this mix, you’ve also got some carrots, edamame, red bell peppers, and roasted corn. The corn ends up being the best of the veggies here, with a flavor that makes it stand out. We’d say the carrots are second best, as they’re mostly serviceable, but the edamame is a little bit putty-like in the middle, while the bell peppers are sort of just there for color.
This rice also comes with scrambled egg in it. We have to admit, we really love eggs in our fried rice, so we’re always happy when fried-rice makers don’t leave it out. That said, these eggs are a little spongy and pale, so they definitely could be better. We’re curious as to how they might turn out on the stovetop, because that might actually change things a little bit.
Now, this is no diet food. There are two servings in the box, and each one contains 460 calories and 1,280 mg of sodium. Neither of these things is too surprising, but both of those numbers are pretty high. Be careful with this one, folks!
The Bibigo Korean Style Fried Rice Vegetables with Kimchi makes for a decent batch of rice to serve as a side dish for a broader meal. On its own, it’s not bad, but there are definitely better fried rice dishes out there. This isn’t bad — in fact, it’s pretty good — but we’ve eaten a lot of fried rice here at Freezer Meal Frenzy, and this one doesn’t do a lot to stand out from the crowd. Again, if you use this as a bed for a saucy chicken or a batch of fried veggies, that’s probably fine. As a standalone dish, though, it’s pretty much just alright.
To learn more about the nutrition content, ingredients, or cooking instructions for this Korean-style fried rice, check out our package scans below.
