While fast food restaurants are often known by their style of food or the most popular items on the menu, it’s the sides that often take them to the next level of praise. If you’re a hamburger joint, you’ve got to have good fries. If you’re a fried chicken spot, your mashed potato game needs to be excellent. The same goes for classic Asian eateries — you can’t be taken seriously if you don’t have delicious fried rice.
That’s what is so mind-boggling about Panda Express. As America’s largest family-run Chinese restaurant chain – with over 2,300 locations across the country – you’d think its fried rice would be the best of the best. But we unfortunately discovered that this was far from the truth when we reviewed 12 Panda Express menu items. The fried rice, shockingly, came in at dead last.
It’s truly hard to believe a chain this large — that offers only four sides in the first place — can fumble this Chinese staple so hard. But the fact is that you’ll have a better meal making your own fried rice at home, or choosing from one of Panda Express’ other three sides: steamed white rice, chow mein, or super greens.
Why is the Panda Express fried rice so bad?
Fried rice is one of those Chinese staples that should stand on its own. Who among us hasn’t left a hibachi steakhouse with a pound of leftovers simply because we ate so much fried rice before the proteins even arrived on our plate? But the Panda Express fried rice is just lifeless. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that the restaurant cooks in batches and not to order, so you may receive a box of fried rice that was prepared a couple of hours ago.
The fried rice is often a little clumpy and looks a bit dull, missing the golden hue you’ll see when the dish is prepared the right way. The amount of egg and carrot is inconsistently scattered, so you might get nothing but rice in many bites. And, too often, the side just seems poorly seasoned and unevenly fried, which might make many a hibachi chef bang their metal spatulas in anger on the flattop.
Next time you visit Panda Express, just stick with the delicious honey walnut shrimp, the original orange chicken, or the Beijing beef. Don’t waste your money on the fried rice. Instead, pair your entree with the white rice or chow mein. You’ll thank us later.
