Let’s be real: Unless you’re shopping at an Asian market, most frozen Chinese food isn’t exactly what you’d get from your favorite takeout spot. (Unless we’re talking frozen dumplings—there are some amazing frozen dumplings out there.) Still, when you’re craving something easy and familiar but don’t have the ability to hit up an H-Mart or 99 Ranch Market, the freezer aisle of any old major U.S. supermarket has some solid options… if you know where to look. Luckily, that’s what we do. So put down that stir fry sauce and preheat your toaster oven. Here’s our list of the best frozen Chinese food to buy.
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In terms of novelty and convenience, bao buns are some of the best frozen Chinese food you can buy—and as brands like Wow Bao continue to grow more popular, it seems like grocery stores are finally waking up to that fact. But know this: Wei Chuan’s Barbeque Chicken Steamed Buns set the standard for frozen bao. Stuffed with tender chunks of BBQ-flavored chicken, these buns deliver a deeply savory bite in the perfect bun-to-filling ratio. The bun itself is fluffy and a little sticky. My mouth is literally watering as I write this. If you’re looking for steamed buns, you have to try them.
Pork can go so, so wrong in a frozen meal. (True for meat in general, really.) But thanks to all that salty, sweet, smoky umami flavoring, every nibble of pork in Innovasion BBQ Pork Fried Rice is an instant dopamine hit. Even with takeout, I never expect the meat to be the best part of fried rice, but here, that savory flavor seeps into the whole dish. Full disclosure: This brand didn’t rank #1 in our fried rice ranking (that went to a Japanese Hibachi-style fried rice), but it’s still some of the best Chinese frozen food we’ve tried. It deserves its moment!
Yes, I know: Bibigo is a Korean food company. (I’ll never forget it, in fact, since I watched the popular K-drama Business Proposal, which also doubled as a 12-hour-long advertisement for Bibigo. Oh, Netflix.) But if American brands can make some of the best frozen Chinese food we’ve tasted, so can Korean brands—and Bibigo’s soup dumplings are top notch, people. They’re small in size and potent in flavor. The dumpling wrapper is thin but sturdy. And that rich soup broth bursts out in a literal mouthgasm. I’m sorry you had to read that, but I must speak my truth.
No one (except my whiter-than-your-average-white relatives in Florida) dines at P.F. Chang’s for authentic Chinese cuisine. The same can be said for their frozen food—but damn if they don’t know how to make a good orange chicken. (Which makes sense, considering orange chicken isn’t really authentic Chinese food, but I digress…) We loved the thick, savory-leaning orange sauce in this dish, made with ginger, oyster sauce, red chili paste, and blissfully free of corn syrup. The flavor is layered and interesting while steering clear of any cloying sweetness. Sometimes, the best frozen Chinese food isn’t real Chinese food. And we just have to be okay with that.
Minh Pork Egg Rolls are everything you want in a pork egg roll—juicy and savory on the inside, crispy, flaky, and a little greasy on the outside. Yes, they’re delicious, but for once, they taste pretty authentic, too—and that’s what makes them some of the best Chinese frozen food to buy. The egg roll wrapper gets deliciously brown and shiny out of the oven, almost like it’s been brushed with oil and deep fried. You really don’t even need a sauce with these, that’s how juicy and flavor-packed they are (not that any of us would stop you from absolutely dousing them in sweet and sour). Live your best life.
Sorry to be sacrilegious, but the Spicy Sichuan Style Chicken from P.F. Chang’s is one of the best frozen Chinese meals we’ve tried to date. Is it super authentic? No, no it is not. But thanks to real Sichuan peppercorns, it does pull off that ma la (hot and numbing) flavor it promises—and the best frozen Chinese food delivers on its promises. The mushroomy sauce has a real kick to it. Plus, compared to the boring rice in other P.F. Chang’s meals, the lo mein noodles here are pretty satisfying. Overall, it’s comforting and flavorful—and at the end of the day, that’s all we want from the best frozen Chinese meals, really.
Ariana Losch is a Sporked contributor, webcomic writer, java junkie, and bad TV enthusiast. She only ever feels at peace laying out on a beach like a kebab, roasting in the sun; sadly, she can never move back to Florida, her home state, because there simply isn’t enough good Mediterranean food. You can find her overstaying her welcome at just about every LA coffee shop, working on a screenplay and avoiding all eye contact. (She is embarrassed to be there, please leave her alone.)
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