Dr. Gourmet's Food Reviews

Glutino Chicken Pad Thai

We reviewed a couple of Glutino products about a year ago and we came up with a split decision. The Chicken Penne Alfredo was OK but the Chicken Pomodoro was not quite as good. I am seeing their products more and more in the grocery along with many gluten free items in both the freezer case and on the aisles. In an effort to expand our gluten free information we will be reviewing many products in the next few weeks that don't contain any gluten. Somewhat surprisingly, some of these meals are good enough that even if you're not allergic to gluten, you still might want to pick them up for your freezer.

Glutino's Chicken Pad Thai is pretty good. I was concerned because rice noodles are difficult enough to cook fresh, and reheating them from frozen would be a challenge. They hold up OK though and are only slightly gummy. The sauce is good, being just a bit spicy. I was also a little worried because we noticed that the chicken in the package was slightly freezer burned. This might rise from these not selling as well and spending a longer time in the freezer case. There was no sell by date on the package so it's hard to be sure.

The chicken breast did come out good. Tender and not too overly dry. All in all a pretty good product and one that offers an alternative to folks who are gluten sensitive and feel that they always have to cook. There is a fair amount of sodium though. While this doesn't come through in the flavor, 890 mg is quite a lot.

The Chicken Ranchero fares much like the Pomodoro. The chicken had the same freezer burned appearance as the Pad Thai, but this time it tasted terrible. It had clearly been overcooked and the freezing, freezer burn and reheating left it dry and stringy. It was inedible. The rice that it is served with it didn't come out any better, being far too overcooked. All of this is topped with a bright tomato sauce that doesn't have much flavor at all.

It would be nice to say something good about this meal, but even the veggies and beans were awful. Judging by previous reviews the folks at Glutino do pasta pretty well, but so far the rule is to avoid their rice dishes.

Reviewed: March 20, 2009