Maya1000

Any ideas on where to buy a good chicken curry that you can just heat up and eat? Thanks in advance.

BristolUK

I guess it depends on whether you mean "Indian" Curry or "Chinese" Curry. I don't know if this is a North America thing or Canada thing but the Chinese ones here are not great. Szechuan (spelling varies) are closer to the UK Chinese style.

Lots of storebrand versions available here and I would think the same where you are, including the prepared food counters.

Perhaps look for Butter Chicken which, despite the name, is a curry.

I know you want a ready made one, but I'm just wondering if that's because, like me, you don't like complicated recipes. I look at some recipes and by the third line with umpteen ingredients that I may not be able to source or never use again I give up.

I'm a great fan of cook-in sauces, usually in a jar. Like these. Dead easy...onions, mushroom, chicken, some other veg, whatever...into a saucepan and simmer or casserole dish in the oven. There's your supply to heat up.

And those Golden Curry packs - Japanese. Just add a block to any mix of chicken in a bland sauce to turn into a very acceptable Chinese Curry.

Bisto curry granules mixed with hot water make a decent "chip shop" curry sauce too. Secret tip...microwave for a few seconds to thicken it.

robin1234

Do you have Trader Joe’s anywhere nearby? Their frozen Indian dishes & curries are pretty good in my opinion. They have a butter chicken and so-called “fiery chicken curry.” I haven’t had the “fiery” one but here’s a review..

https://freezermealfrenzy.com/2019/1...-curry-review/

BristolUK

I've only ever seen his peanuts here.

Do you know you can still get these?

robin1234

Usually, the picture on the package looks better than the actual, IRL food. I sincerely hope that is not the case with this Vesta dish.

spouse of scouse

I don't know if Vesta meals are still being made, but the chicken curry one made a fairly regular appearance when I was first married. It didn't poison him, although on reflection I wish it had

BristolUK

For their time I thought they were quite good.

spouse of scouse

I was 17 at the time of my first marriage, I thought the chicken one was great. Probably wouldn't eat one now and I certainly wouldn't make one for scouse, he's 'allergic' to stuff like that

robin1234

Pity about the problematic DM interface, but there’s a lot of memories of yesteryear in this article. The first ready-made M&S sarnies! As for fish fingers, I still love ‘em.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/a...esteryear.html

Winston_the_Great_Dane

I second this recommendation - the TJs frozen chicken Tikka masala is pretty good

Nutmegger

You just made my day, yet again!!!!!

For the OP, this entails a bit of work, not just nuking, but Maya Kaimal's sauces are excellent and I always use them when I'm not cooking from scratch. She also has a couple of cookbooks, with many tasty recipes. Maya Kaimal simmer sauces

dickyrose

I know you didn't want to actually make a curry BUT, there is a recipe book called "the Classic 1000 Indian recipes" book. On page 116 ( in my copy) is a recipe for a Beef Madras which is foolproof. The ingredients are not overwhelming, any idiot can make it from scratch. You can easily omit the ground ginger and substitute chicken or lamb for the beef and the ghee for any oil you want. Any idiot can do it! Not that you are an idiot or a fool. Seriously the book is a revelation.

Steerpike

I 'third' this recommendation. TJ's frozen Indian meals are not bad. I have a frozen TJ's Lamb Vindaloo in the freezer for 'absolute emergencies'. Come to think of it, it's been in there for over a year - maybe I need to have an emergency! It's not exactly 'hot' for a vindaloo, but - very tasty.

Steerpike

When I was a young kid growing up 'up north', we would occasionally have a 'Vesta Chow Mein with Crispy Noodles'. I see they are still available! I pretty much grew up on a steady diet of 'pie and chips', 'sausage and chips', 'fish fingers and chips', 'mince and chips', etc so this was definitely something 'different'! I credit them with setting me off on a culinary journey that I'm still on today.

That's a great article! It even mentions the Vesta Chow Mein I referred to above! I haven't had a fish finger since I was about 10, but I must confess - I'd love to try one. Can you buy anything reminiscent of a classic old fish finger these days? If I recall correctly, they had a thick, breaded coating. I did love them as a kid (unlike the fried fish of 'fish and chips' fame - I never liked the idea of battered fish and still don't).

The article also mentions the first ever UK KFC opening in Preston - of all places! I remember riding my bike to that location soon after it opened and picking up an order. Never realized it was the first one!

BristolUK

Ginger and ghee...that's already too complicated. I'll bet there are seeds too

In Canada they are called fish sticks so maybe the same where you are.



A quick google suggests they are indeed fish sticks for you, with the addition that the fish is often identified as cod, haddock, tilapia etc