Outta the box
Critic's rating: 
Suggested retail: $2.69 per 10-ounce meal
Per meal: 210 calories, 5 g fat, 580 mg sodium, 22 g carbohydrates
If you can't do Asian right, don't do it at all. That's one standard I have for this column. I have had too many mediocre Asian dishes in my years of testing. That was my first thought when I rolled back the cover of this microwavable meal.
Honestly, the product looked nothing like the image that appears on the packaging.
I admit the meat was chunky and tender, the noodles soft and the sliced mushrooms a nice size. As for the sauce, "savory" it wasn't. It was as bland as its muted brown color, which looked more like a gravy.
The product was confusing, perhaps because I think rice rather than noodles when I think of beef steak and peppers, for which a gravy would have been better suited.
There are three other varieties: Homestyle Beef with mashed potatoes; Santa Fe Style Chicken with rice, black beans and fire-roasted corn; and Sesame Chicken with vegetables and pasta.
In all fairness, I would be willing to sample another variety.
Hormel Compleats are available at select grocery stores. Visit www.hormelfoods.com.