Costco carries a lot of Asian-themed dishes that allow shoppers to enjoy takeout-style food fairly easily and inexpensively at home. This Crazy Cuizine Mandarin Orange Chicken is one I’ve seen online for years but wasn’t able to try because we don’t have it up in Canada. I was finally able to pick up a box on a recent shopping run down to the U.S. Was it worth the wait?
If you like the look of this, similar products from Costco include the Ready Cuisine Honey Garlic Pork, Ready Cuisine Orange Chicken, Hampton House Popcorn Chicken, Kirkland Signature Lightly Breaded Chicken Breast Chunks, EastWest Cuisine Kung Pao Chicken, Pinty’s Buffalo Chicken Flings, Kirkland Signature Chicken Chow Mein, Erie Meats Jumbo Chicken Breast Bites and the Kirkland Signature Yakisoba Stir Fry.
Location in Store
I bought this at the Costco in Kalispell, Montana and found it in the freezer section. The item number is 1143205.
Taste
The chicken wasn’t really crispy, but that could have been partly from the sauce. The amount of sauce seems matched to the amount of chicken. It easily coated all of the chicken after a few stirs with a large spoon. The sauce is a bit artificial-tasting but good. It’s sweet with a nice amount of tangy citrus flavor.
The chicken is also really good. The breading on the outside is pretty light, so the pieces are nice and meaty. They vary quite a bit in size and shape, but the meat is consistently good quality. I didn’t come across any gross bits.
The main thing holding this orange chicken back from being takeout-quality is the lack of crispiness. It would be even better if the chicken were nice and crispy under the sauce.
I ate my chicken by itself and it was good, but I think it would be great to serve over a noodle and vegetable stir fry. I’d also be interested to try it in a sandwich or wrap like the box suggests, but I’m not quite sure what I’d put in my sandwich or wrap with it.
Cost
The four-pound two-ounce box costs $16.49 USD which is around how much I’d expect it to cost. There are two bags of chicken in the box and two sauce packets.
Convenience
I thought it was interesting that the box recommended the oven over the air fryer and also that it didn’t suggest flipping the pieces of chicken partway through. I baked my chicken for 18 minutes at 400 degrees Fahrenheit without flipping it and it turned out well.
Next time I think I’d try my air fryer to see if the chicken gets crispier. The chicken needs to be kept frozen and the best before date is about a year and a half from when we purchased it.
There are many ways to use the chicken, in stir-frys, on noodles or rice and in sandwiches or even wraps. I think kids will absolutely like this because it’s sweet and lots of kids seem to love chicken.
Nutrition
Calories
One cup of orange chicken contains 260 calories, seven grams of fat, 500 milligrams of sodium, 35 grams of carbohydrates, zero grams of fiber, 14 grams of sugar and 13 grams of protein.
One cup is probably a bit less than I would eat but I’m pleasantly surprised by the sugar not being astronomically high. The amount of protein in a cup is a bit disappointing considering it’s a chicken product.
Ingredients
I’m not really surprised by the ingredients list but that doesn’t mean I like what I see. I’m not a fan of soybean oil, soy protein, dextrose, whey solids and carrageenan. Most convenient, frozen products like this contain lots of unhealthy ingredients so I try not to eat things like this all the time.
The orange chicken contains egg, milk, soy and wheat.
Scoring
Taste: 8.5/10
Cost: 7/10
Convenience: 9/10
Nutrition: 3/10
Overall
Give it a try!
This isn’t the healthiest meal but it’s convenient and tasty, I gave some to my parents and they loved the taste as much as we did.
Have you tried the orange chicken from Costco? What did you think of it?
Please note that this review was not paid for or sponsored by any third party. This product was purchased by Costcuisine for the purpose of producing this review. The opinions in this review are strictly those of Costcuisine. Costcuisine is not affiliated with Costco or any of its suppliers. In the event that Costcuisine receives compensation for a post from the manufacturer of a product or some other third party, the arrangement will be clearly disclosed (including where the manufacturer of a product provides Costcuisine with a free sample of the product).
Thanks for the info regarding the number of packets for both the chicken and the sauce. I scanned all six panels of the box and even went into the Crazy Cuizine website without finding those details!! Awfully important info for potential buyers!! I’m glad we didn’t purchase this on impulse and waited to get home and look at reviews. Two pound servings are a bit excessive for two persons to share!
I really liked this chicken. However, I cut up the larger pieces of chicken so that it bakes more evenly.
We’ve had a constant stock of this orange chicken for several years – it’s so good with rice and your choice of vegetable. Our results always result in crispy chicken before adding the sauce; I’m guessing your chicken didn’t come out crispy because of using parchment paper. Bake it on the bare metal baking sheet for the upper end of the recommended time (I think my wife actually cooks it for 20 mins) to crisp it up. You’ll need to use a spatula to peel the crispy bits off after cooking, but the difference between crispy orange chicken and soggy orange chicken is night and day.
I LOVE this. I use it for an emergency meal. I air fried them & toss them with half of a pack of sauce only. They are a lot healthier than the fast food shops because I can control how much sugar to add. They also use soy bean oil & chicken breast. Those fast food place use chicken thighs with the skin fat.