Welcome back for my second meal review from my recent meal delivery kit service opportunity. If you missed my intro and review of my first Martha Stewart and Marley Spoon meal, you can find it here. Disclaimer: This is in no way an ad and I do not receive any commission or bonus on this (unless you purchase anything through an affiliate link – I’m not a Martha Stewart or Marley Spoon affiliate, by the way). These are just my honest thoughts on the meals and service. Also, all of our meals were for two, but there is an option to select “family” meals as well.

Last night, in honor of Chinese New Year, I tried their Sticky-Saucy Sesame Chicken (with Roasted Carrots and Jasmine Rice) from my recent Martha Stewart & Marley Spoon meal delivery kit. This recipe utilized many things I typically have in my pantry as it is, so I knew we would like it right off the bat.

I really like chicken thighs, but I don’t usually eat two in one sitting. Last night was the exception to the rule (and I paid for it in a .5lb gain today)! The Mr raved about it, I raved about it, we wanted more. Thank goodness there wasn’t more for our waistlines’ sake. The sauce too wasn’t so gooey-sticky that we had to use multiple napkins. Also the chicken skin was perfectly crisp and the released chicken fat in the pan is what is used to cook the carrots! Can I get an amen?!

The instructions mentioned “no need to peel” the carrot! Thank the Lord for fewer steps and fewer utensils used! It instead instructed to “rinse” the carrot (I would amend this to say “scrub” the carrot as I didn’t feel merely rinsing would be sufficient). Incidentally, I recommend keeping a veggie scrub brush handy for many reasons (and uses). We were given an inexpensive, but incredibly durable one for our wedding. I couldn’t find the exact one, but this one and this one are similar. It comes in handy for more than just produce scrubbing. The nylon bristles are gentle on produce, but stiff enough to scrub a cast-iron with (along with a little salt). I use mine all the time and it’s held up over 7 years! After using, I rinse it under warm running water and pop it in the dishwasher.

I usually rinse my rice in a colander since we don’t have a fine mesh sieve and I didn’t want to break out cheesecloth for such a small amount of rice, so I tried something I recently read in Joanna Gaines’ cookbook Magnolia Table. It’s something I have only done with beans, but decided to try with rice. To fully rinse rice, she recommends putting it in a bowl with water and swishing it around. The water will cloud up. This is the residue, dirt, impurities and starch. Drain the water and repeat this process until the water no longer clouds up. I did this and found it to be very effective and I didn’t lose any grains like I sometimes do with even the finest colander.

I will confess that I defected from the instructions slightly when it came to the rice. We rarely cook rice in a simple water & salt method. We always cook ours in a type of broth, so it’s no surprise here that I did add about 1/4tsp of vegetable broth base (Better Than Bouillon is our favorite) in with the cooking water and skipped the salting. It wasn’t enough to alter the flavor of the dish, but enough to enhance and not over-salt. Forgive me, Martha, but this just always makes better rice in my humble opinion.

This meal could have easily been a meal for 4 with the inclusion of a salad or other veggies on the side. It really was a very filling meal, but not so gut-busting that we couldn’t enjoy a walk around the nearby park after dinner. This is definitely a repeater meal, but with the inclusion of more green veg alongside it. This will not only be a little healthier, but augment and complement the flavors of an already great dish.

What is your favorite order at a Chinese restaurant?