I was very happy to try Knorr-Lipton's new Whole Grain Rice Sides in the chicken broccoli flavor. This new side dish is made with whole grain brown rice, a healthier alternative to the long grain white rice that most side dish packages contain.

Nutrition

A quick comparison between this item's nutrition label and another brand's chicken broccoli offering shows that per serving the brown rice version contains more fiber (3 g) and more of Vitamins A and C (30% and 15% rda). The other vitamins, grams of sugar, carbohydrates, calories, and fat are all comparable. Unfortunately it does contain a little more sodium.

Preparing and Cooking

This item comes in a sealed plastic-coated envelope. I prefer this type of package to the cardboard box with a paper envelope inside, that other brands come in. Opening the envelope was not as easy as it should be, however. In fact, after tearing across the top at the indicated spot, I discovered my tear was too high; the envelope was still sealed. I ended up using a pair of scissors as I didn't want to take a chance of spilling the contents.

Taking a look at the dry ingredients, I was impressed with the amount of broccoli. Both in terms of the number of pieces, and the size of the pieces. With other brands, you need a microscope to find the broccoli; here the pieces were quite large. Although the picture on the envelope shows both stem pieces and florets, all of the pieces in my package were stems. This doesn't really bother me, as I like both stem pieces and florets, but some people won't appreciate the lack of florets. Plus, the picture clearly shows both. Of course, it could just be a random thing - that this package simply didn't get any florets when the broccoli pieces were being handed out. I'd be willing to try other packets to see whether mine was just a fluke or not. There are also plenty of carrot slices, although those were very small. Mostly what you see, though, are the thick whole grain rice pieces, and the longer, thinner vermicelli (pasta) pieces.

It's important to note that while the name of this product's flavor is "chicken broccoli", the little letters underneath the name explain that this is a "whole grain rice & pasta blend in a chicken flavored sauce". In other words, don't look for little pieces of chicken in this product, there are none. The ingredients list both chicken powder, and chicken fat.

The package lists both stove-top directions and microwave directions. I chose to use the microwave. Following the directions exactly, I simply placed 2.5 cups of water in a bowl, added a tablespoon of margarine (which is optional), and the contents of the package. I set my microwave to high power, and cooked it uncovered for 15 minutes. The package notes that microwave ovens vary and the time might need to be adjusted. Sure enough, after the 15 minutes, there was still a lot of water left in the bowl, and the rice was not yet soft. I put it back for another 5 minutes.

After the 5 minutes, the rice was soft. There was still some water left in the bowl, but that's OK. I let it sit for another 5 minutes, and the water was mostly absorbed. As I like my rice side dishes to be on the wet side, I was content. If you prefer a dryer side dish, you can always heat it for a few more minutes.


So - How Does It Taste?

In a word, "delicious". I was very pleased with the flavor, and the texture of both the rice and the broccoli pieces. The rice was a bit firmer than I'm used to in a packaged side dish, but this is not a bad thing. The vermicelli pieces were soft. The broccoli pieces were delicious. I'm very happy that they're big enough so that you can really taste them. The chicken flavoring is very subtle. In fact, I'm not sure that I'd know this is a chicken-flavored product, if I hadn't read it on the label. Mostly I taste rice, a nicely seasoned sauce, and broccoli. The carrots, as I had suspected, must be added just to add coloring. They have no taste whatsoever. So for those people who don't like carrots, you don't need to avoid this product. Of course, if you like carrots, you'll be disappointed as they add nothing to the taste.

Recommendation

I would recommend this product for any lover of rice side dishes. With its large pieces of broccoli, and nice mixture of seasonings, it's delicious. The fact that it's more nutritious in terms of fiber and certain vitamins, than other brand's items makes it a hit in my home.


I was pleased to receive this product from Fleishmann-Hillard in exchange for an honest opinion posted in a review on Epinions.com.


Knorr Sides Plus Veggies : Roasted Chicken Rice With Harvest Vegetables
Knorr Sides Plus Veggies : Roasted Garlic, Olive Oil, and Broccoli Rotini


Recommended: Yes