Review: Ajinomoto - Chicken & Bacon Fried Rice

Ajinomoto's Chicken & Bacon Fried Rice features fried rice with chicken, bacon, eggs, carrots, edamame, and leeks.

A 9.87-oz bowl was $3 on sale.

For fried rice with bacon, this tasted curiously muted with not much that I could detect in the way of bacon. I thought there'd be some bursts of salty smokiness but it just wasn't there.

Interestingly, the eggs supplied a good amount of flavor as they were seasoned which was a nice change from the typically plain stuff you usually get in fried rice.

The chicken was nice as well and fairly tender. It was cut from the legs and had a bit of soy sauce to it.

The veggies turned out decently. The edamame in particular stood out for its distinctive flavor and slight crunch.

Given the moisture and texture of the rice and accompanying ingredients, the Chicken & Bacon Fried Rice comes off more like having been cooked in a clay pot or rice cooker in that it feels more steamed than fried. It also lacked any bold flavorings and felt rather muted. There was also a slight fish taste going on.

Overall, Ajinomoto's Chicken & Bacon Fried Rice was turned out decently enough but lacked in any fried feeling (which is a general problem with frozen fried rice) and, more importantly lacked in any strong flavors of which the lack of bacon notes was most glaring.

Nutritional Info - Ajinomoto Chicken & Bacon Fried Rice
Calories - 520 (from Fat - 190)
Fat - 21g (Saturated Fat - 5g)
Sodium - 1630mg
Carbs - 66g (Sugar - 3g)
Protein - 16g