Australian Hiker

Rating

Outdoor Gourmet Thai Green Chicken Curry Review

The Outdoor Gourmet Company is one of an ever expanding group of companies that produces dehydrated / freeze dried meals to the Australian market. As far as commercially preprepared meals go and as the name suggests, they are a high-end, high-taste product. I’m a big fan of nearly all the Outdoor Gourmet Company meals and while I will very happily eat any of them I have my favourites; the Thai Green Chicken Curry is one favourite.

Lets start with taste. The Thai Green Chicken Curry, while not as good as a restaurant prepared meal it does come reasonably close. You instantly recognise what you are eating, which is always a bonus, and its not like those cheap frozen meals that you buy to eat at home that usually bear little resemblance to the picture on the packaging. I’m a food-aholic meaning I will eat anything not nailed down but I am also reasonably picky and look for meals that leave me feeling contented. I’m also a fan of spicy food and I love curries that make your scalp sweat. This one certainly does that and leaves you feeling just this side of ‘lightly scorched’. If you are not a fan of of spicy food then I suggest you keep away from the Thai Green Chicken Curry.

Unlike other companies, Outdoor Gourmet focuses on providing meals for two. These meals are larger than their competitors offerings by approximately 8-9% which doesn’t sound like much but does help to explain the premium price.  I’m a big eater and after a two week long trip I am looking for extra calories so will pack the occasional two serve meals t0 load up on calories.

The obvious negative with any freeze dried meals, and in particular with Outdoor Gourmet offerings is the price. The normal price sits around the AUD $19.99 mark and at about $10.00 per person that isn’t cheap. Having said that, the products do have a long shelf life so you can stock up during the regular sales at the outdoor stores.

The argument that many offer against using commercially prepared meals is that you can prepare meals more cheaply in your own kitchen. While this may be the case if you make meals in bulk, unless you are a good cook the quality is often not as good. I love to cook but there are other activities (such as hiking!) to which I would rather devote my time.  Another way of thinking about this is how much do you pay for a greasy offering from the local takeaway for two people?

These meals are very easy to prepare and as long as you can boil water then you are set with preparation time requiring only ten minutes. I have yet to use cold water (and there is no reason why you can’t) however you would need to allow more time (a couple of hours to be ready for eating). The meal comes in a bag that is well designed and the bottom opens out to provide a flat base for those minimalists who want to leave the bowl at home. The option exists to tear the top off the bag to allow easy access to the food but you if you have a long handled spoon you won’t need to tear the bag. My other reason for not tearing the top off the bag is that you minimise any mess and after you’re done, you can re-zip the zip lock.

So if you are a lover of spicy food and you like to eat well, then give the Outdoor Gourmet Thai Green Chicken Curry a try, you won’t regret it!

We Like

• Three year warranty which means you can buy these when you see them discounted thereby reducing the price. You also know the meals will always be edible
• Minimal preparation time.  All you are doing is rehydrating these meals so once you add boiling water there’s only a ten minute wait
• If you eat from the bag there is only the spoon to clean up. In fact you may not even need to carry a bowl at all thereby limiting the weight you carry
• A variety of meals to choose from so it’s unlikely you will become bored with these unless you are on a really long hike
• No artificial flavours and preservatives. These meals are as close to ‘homestyle cooking’ as it gets. They just taste good!
• Freeze dried. This takes much of the weight out of the meals and helps to limit the impact on your body

We Don't Like

• The main negatives of any commercially preprepared dehydrated / freeze dried meals is the cost. The Outdoor Gourmet meals are not cheap at approximately $10.00 per person for a meal
• Two person meals only (or one person if you’re really hungry)
• It’s spicy! If you don’t like spicy food then the Thai Green Chicken Curry is not the meal for you

Best Uses

Great choice for an easy to prepare meal whether it be on a short or long trip

Buy One

You can purchase the Outdoor Gourmet Thai Green Chicken Curry online from Macpac, Snowys. Wild Earth or from

Wildfire Sports

Disclosure: Some of the above links are affiliate links, meaning, at no additional cost to you, we may earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase. Please note that our affiliations do not influence, in any way, the independence of our reviews. If we don’t like a product, you’ll hear about it from us!

Investment

AUD $19.99 RRP

The bottom of the bag opens out to provide a flat surface. Opening out the base will allow the meal to more evenly rehydrate. If you don’t open the base out, you will get ‘dry pieces’ in your dinner

Picture of the uncooked meal in the now open bag

The meal now rehydrated and the bag ‘torn down’

Disclaimer

This review was done with product purchased from a retail store by Australian Hiker

Last updated

21 April 2024

Shares

Related articles