Nothing is more comforting than eating hot, fresh Chinese food right out of the iconic takeout containers. From the typical Americanized Chinese food staples such as fried rice and General Tso’s chicken, to more traditional fare like cumin lamb or mapo spicy tofu.
Ordering from your favorite spot is not always an option, or sometimes making your own Chinese food is out of reach (and exhausting!), or you just can’t seem to snag a reservation at Din Tai Fung to try its garlic green beans. This is when we turn to the frozen aisles at our local grocery stores to fill the void. But with the multitude of options available, it becomes difficult to decide which ones are the best. We recently ranked 15 frozen Chinese food meals, featuring brands such as Marie Callender’s and P.F. Chang’s. We found high-quality and impressive items, but also some that were heavily disappointing. Coming in last place was Tai Pei’s Beef & Broccoli, which had terrible texture and its sauce was way too sweet. However, our winner, Trader Joe’s Mandarin Orange Chicken, made up for any previous disappointment with its perfect amount of crisp and addictive sauce.
Trader Joe’s takes the cake
Trader Joe’s coming out on top is no surprise, as the grocery store chain reigns as one of the most popular places to grab your frozen fixings, from items such as its hashbrowns or soup dumplings. In fact, Trader Joe’s items appear on our list three times, all in the top four! Its ginger shrimp lo mein falls in fourth place and the kung pao chicken in third place. Similar to the great aspects of its orange chicken, both of these items have strong flavor and good texture. However, the orange chicken is superior in terms of classic flavors, and of course because of the sauce. The sauce is the perfect amount of sweet, tangy, and savory.
We suggest preparing Trader Joe’s Mandarin Orange Chicken in the air fryer at 400 degrees Fahrenheit, because of its speedy process and good crunch. The chicken is also high quality and very filling, and can be paired with any solid fried rice dish or noodles for the most satisfying meal. Consider making a complete Trader Joe’s trip with its other Asian-inspired frozen items (that we also ranked!) such as its vegetable fried rice and vegetable spring rolls.
