Are you tired of the same old, same old when it comes to weeknight dinners? Are you someone who reaches for the frozen foods to make life a little easier? Then you might be interested in shaking things up with the latest offerings from Chef Ming Tsai.
Available at Walmart stores across the country, the new line of Mings meals are perfect for people looking to spice things up throughout the week (or on the weekends). Currently there are four options for people to choose from when it comes to these freezer meals. There is a Chicken Ramen, a Spicy Beef Ramen, Sweet Chili Chicken & Broccoli and Spicy Dan Dan Noodles.
Not only did we get to try all four of these meals for ourselves, but we also had the chance to chat with Chef Tsai to learn more about these meals, his inspiration and what the future might hold for Mings. (And if you were wondering, I would say that the Sweet Chili Chicken & Broccoli is my favorite, but the Chicken Ramen was also quite tasty.)
So what did we learn from Chef Tsai?
Ming Tsai is helping to expand our dinner options with his new linup of frozen meals
Guilty Eats: What was your favorite part of creating the frozen Mings meals?
Chef Ming Tsai: "It was almost like opening a restaurant or a pop up. I came in with my menu ideas, and like in a pop up, you work with a crew you never worked with before. Every chef is different, but I pride myself on being a people person, because that's how you run a restaurant. You have to delegate and you have to train, you have to teach. And each one of these chefs really, really wanted... basically, it's just like at BaBa. They just cared. They actually cared about the final product. And when I get to work with people that care like I care, you're going to end up with a great product."
Guilty Eats: What was the hardest part of actually deciding on which dishes you are going to start with?
Ming Tsai: "You know, again with the group, with the executive committee, with all the chefs, we actually just chatted. We tried everything...I pushed Dan Dan in the focus group. Like guys, you're going to love this Dan Dan. The push back was, 'oh, I don't know, that sounds a little bit too out there.' Like you guys trust me on this. I am a chef, trust me. And then once we tried it with the entire committee, everyone loved it. So that was like the shoe in number one.
We all knew we wanted ramens of some sort. I trained in Japan. I love making ramen. And I'm like, look we should do a classic miso. And chicken's by far the most popular protein. So this is a classic miso chicken for everyone to enjoy. But boy I like spice, so let's do one... I think a lot of America, a lot of this world, likes ramen, and likes instant ramen. I grew up eating it, just like every other college student in the world. Super not great for you, right? We all know that there's really no veg. Nothing interesting is in it. I'm like, you know what, if we can make a better ramen that's in a price point, we will have $5, I think we have a great hit here. And let's make it so it's so easy, they can just add water, microwave it, stir it, done."
Chef Ming Tsai points out that you can even "chef up" frozen meals
During our conversation, Chef Tsai was making his own bowl of the Dan Dan noodles. And he showed off how he chefs up his own frozen meals. This included making an egg in the microwave to add over the top of the dish.
Walking us through how he was chef-ing up his meal, he started with adding greens and then a cooked egg with a bit of a jammy center. Here is exactly how he kicked up his own frozen meal below.
"I add a little bit of greens there, so that wilts it up. Here's a great little trick with the microwave. I take, any neutral oil and it's a little dab. I decided to use olive oil just to get in the ramekin. This takes 30 seconds. I take one egg. Eggs don't come seasoned, so salt, pepper, and the trick is actually take a paper towel, and you don't want to cover it. You want it to breathe a little bit. So now this 30 seconds in the microwave. Maybe 28, maybe 32 depending on if you have a really small microwave or a really big one. What I like is an egg that is runny, right? The whole point of adding an egg to ramen, is the richness of the yolk. And then, of course, the protein of the egg white. I think I probably add eggs to everything I ever make... noodles, fried rice, stir fries."
Honestly, whether you chef up your Mings or eat it straight out of the microwave, we think you will enjoy the explosion of flavors on your tongue. And of course, these could be a great way to really jazz up those week night dinners without having to go all out in the kitchen.