Batchelors Egg Fried Rice

...fussy whether I have the Batchelors variety or the shops own brand but Batchelors are on offer this week in Safeway. They are normally about 50 pence a packet so marginally more than the shops own brand but this week they are 39 pence each. I normally have the Beef flavour or Mushroom but noticed that some new flavours are on the market. These include egg fried rice flavour, pilau rice flavour and garlic butter flavour.

I saw the packet ...
...go. It’s the normal Batchelors rice packet, a blue packet that is remarkably easy to tear open with a big bowl of steaming egg fried rice and the words Egg Fried Flavour emblazoned across the packet. Therefore you can’t pick this one up by mistake. It comes in one sized packet that’s 120 grams and claims to feed 2-3 as part of a main meal (not in my house love) or 1 as a tasty snack.

This packet is the same to cook as all the others, ... more

I always keep some packet rices in my cupboard for emergencies. I find these cheap, cheerful and as I love rice I find them enjoyable to eat. I am not fussy whether I have the Batchelors variety or the shops own brand but Batchelors are on offer this week in Safeway. They are normally about 50 pence a packet so marginally more than the shops own brand but this week they are 39 pence each. I normally have the Beef flavour or Mushroom but noticed that some new flavours are on the market. These include egg fried rice flavour, pilau rice flavour and garlic butter flavour.

I saw the packet for Egg Fried Rice and I thought for 39p this has to be worth a go. It’s the normal Batchelors rice packet, a blue packet that is remarkably easy to tear open with a big bowl of steaming egg fried rice and the words Egg Fried Flavour emblazoned across the packet. Therefore you can’t pick this one up by mistake. It comes in one sized packet that’s 120 grams and claims to feed 2-3 as part of a main meal (not in my house love) or 1 as a tasty snack.

This packet is the same to cook as all the others, either microwave or hob. In the microwave you simply add ¾ of a pint of water into a big microwave bowl cook for 15 minutes let it stand for 5 minutes then munch away. I however always cook this on the hob as I find it easier. Its pretty much the same instructions, ¾ pint of water, boil for 20 minutes and there you go. However I don’t find this ever sticks to the pan and I do find it boils over in the microwave so on the hob it is for me.

Nutrition info is pretty much the same for this packet as all the other Batchelor Rices out there – per 100 grams, 369 calories, 2.6 grams fat, 77.9 carbs.

Now this smells divine when it cooking although not remotely egg fried smelling. I really love egg fried rice and will always eat this with a Chinese. Sometimes I have been tempted by special fried rice or noodles in a Chinese but I always go back to the good old favourite egg fried option.

Now when you shake this out of the packet there are lots of little yellow bits in it. Stupidly as this is egg fried rice I presumed this would be pieces of dried egg. But NO – its sweetcorn - yes sweetcorn. On reading the ingredients its contains peas and sweetcorn before it contains egg and even then the egg is only a flavouring. Well I am not sure if I had a dodgy packet but I feel they might have forgotten to add the egg flavouring in mine.

Anyway I waited the allotted 20 minutes and decided to eat this. I served this up to my boyfriend as an alternative to the normal rice that we would have eaten with our Chilli. He said it was very nice but had to ask me what flavour it was supposed to be. Not a good start then! I told him it was Egg Fried flavour and he actually called me a liar and said he had never tasted anything less like egg fried flavour than this.

So my verdict – this is supposed to be Egg Fried flavour - but does it match up to it? Well that would all depend on what you are comparing it to. If you are comparing this flavoured rice to a Mars Bar then yes it does resemble egg fried flavour but if however you are comparing this to the real thing from a Chinese Restaurant then I have never tasted anything so unlike egg fried rice in my life.

I am not saying this rice isn’t nice as it is, in fact its very scrummy but it doesn’t taste remotely like egg fried rice flavour (not suprising as its only contains egg flavours and it isn’t fried.)

This is not up to the usual batchelors rice flavours I have to be honest. I normally can tell the flavour I am eating without having to read the packet but not I am afraid with this one. If you want a nice rice then I can recommend this but if however you want a nice egg fried flavoured rice then this is definitely a product to avoid.

There is a number to ring if you have any comments or suggestions so I have thought about ringing them to see if they made a dodgy batch and forgot to put the egg in it but I am not that sad and they would probably hang up on me.

2 Stars only then for me I am afraid. In the categories at the bottom I have filled these in based on the egg friedness off the rice - as I said its actually quite a nice rice but have had to score it as poor due to the lack of egg fried taste.
 

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