No More Soggy Lumps (Uncle Bens Express Thai Sweet Chilli Rice)

Member Name: Andy.mack

Product:	Uncle Bens Express Thai Sweet Chilli Rice
Date:	14/10/09 (43 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: A great taste, easy to prepare

Disadvantages: Perhaps a little expensive at regular price

Over the last couple of years it would be fair to say that my cooking ability has come on in leaps and bounds. Yet no matter how much better I seem to get in the kitchen I never seem to be able to get rice right. We've bought ourselves a rice cooker and still I can never get it just right. So when I spotted Uncle Ben's Express Rice for sale in Sainsbury's a couple of weeks ago I decided that it might be worth trying. They are on offer at the moment in most of the major supermarkets at £3 for 3 rather than the regular price of £1.54.

Rather than buying Uncle Ben's Express for dinner though I quite fancied trying the Thai Sweet Chilli for my lunch the next day. The reason for this is simply because of how quick and easy they are to prepare. The rice comes in an orange microwave safe bowl with a bowl of rice on the front and something eluding to the flavour hanging above the bowl. The front of the back declares that it's ready to be eaten in just 2 minutes and it really is that simple.

There are two ways to prepare your rice. The first being slightly longer and more drawn out in that you need to boil 30ml of water and then cook the rice for 3 minutes in the boiling water. I went for the simpler way however which involves tearing a 2cm gap in the top of the bag and then putting it into a microwave for 2 minutes for a 700w microwave (more or less depending on the power of your Microwave. It's important to remember to squeeze the bag before you place it in the microwave as this ensure you don't end up with one or two big lumps of rice.

Once the timer has sounded and you withdraw the bag from the microwave you can instantly smell the sweet aroma of the Thai Sweet Chilli. I've always liked Thai sweet Chilli dips and as I'd never tried Uncle Ben's before I wasn't sure how this would live up to other Thai Sweet Chilli flavours but on first smell it was just as good. Opening the rest of the bag you pour the rice onto a plate. This serving is big enough for 2 if you are having something else with it, but the 250g portion is pretty much the perfect size to have for lunch.

The most important aspect though was going to be the taste test. As I've already mentioned I always seem to fail when it comes to cooking rice but what lay before me in my bowl appeared to be perfectly cooked. The rice itself had totally infused with the Thai Sweet Chilli and you could see that as well as the little red pieces of chilli every grain of rice had absorbed the flavouring. Now that it was in the bowl the aroma was a little stronger, it had a spicy fragrance to it and it certainly had that moorish taste of Thai Sweet Chilli.

Of course the most important aspect was going to be the taste test. The rice looked perfect and upon first taste you can tell pretty quickly that it tastes as it should. It doesn't have that pre-packed taste you expect with products of this type. The Thai Sweet Chilli flavouring has a very nice, slightly spicy taste that slightly warms the inside of your mouth. It quickly fades as you swallow and you are left with a very pleasant after taste which feels a little spicy but not overly so. They have managed to create nice tasting rice that has a flavour to rival any of the Thai Sweet Chilli sauces and dips I've had over the years.

This is the first time I'd tried any of the Uncle Ben products but I have to say I was very impressed. To think I can have delicious tasting rice in just 2 minutes without all the messing around and soggy lumps I end up with when I cook its certainly much easier and far tastier. The main advantage though is that these are perfect for lunch and are far better than the alternatives such as Pot Noodles and Super Noodles for quick lunch time snacks. With a decent taste and easy preparation Uncle Ben's Express Rice is by far and away the easiest way to cook rice.

Nutritional Values per 250g

346 cal
6.8g protein
69.6g Carbs (of which sugars 2.5g)
4.6g fat (of which saturates 0.4g)
1.2g fibre
o.8g sodium

Summary: Uncle Ben's Express Rice are a reasonable alternative to DIY