Takeout Kit is a meal subscription box aimed at helping you explore international food at home. They provide all of the hard-to-find global ingredients you need to complete the recipe right at home.
Each month, Takeout Kit will send the ingredients to a globally inspired dish that ups the ante on your favorite takeout cuisine. According to Takeout Kit, all of their ingredients have a two-month shelf life, so you can cook your meal right away or wait until you have a free night to indulge.
Check out all of our reviews of Meal Delivery Services to see every meal kit subscription box option!
This box was sent to us at no cost for review. (Check out the review process post to learn more about how we review boxes.)
About Takeout Kit
The Subscription Box: Takeout Kit
The Cost: $32.99 for 1 kit per month, $65.99 for 2 kits per month, or $92.99 for 3 kits per month. Shipping is free!
ACTIVE DEAL: Save 10% off your first purchase on all non-subscription items!
CODE: ADDICTION10
The Products: The ingredients you need to make takeout-inspired meals from around the globe.
Ships to: U.S.
Takeout Kit's Tofu Pad Thai Meal Kit Review
Takeout Kit‘s menu assortment is quite extensive. Currently, you can choose from 16 offerings.
This month, I received the Tofu Pad Thai Meal Kit. You can read a bit of history on each takeout meal along with the region in which it originated on the info card provided.
On the flip side of your info card, you’ll find your recipe along with a visual guide to what supplies you’ll need (pots, pans, etc.).
Cook Time: 40 minutes
Serves: 4
Best by: November 1, 2018
Here are the ingredients:
Rice Noodles, 13.2oz
I couldn’t find these particular noodles online to purchase, but there are other comparable 3mm rice noodles out there. I’ve never cooked with rice noodles before, so I am getting a little nervous about getting the right consistency.
Roland Tofu in Water, 19oz - Retail Value $2.56 (currently out of stock)
Another ingredient I’ve never cooked with. Actually, 5/7 of the ingredients (not counting spices) in this meal kit are ones I have never been exposed to. I am getting excited to dig in! I’ve tried tofu, and it’s okay. I never ingested tofu on purpose (but its presence in a few meals ordered out took me by surprise), so just to be safe I am only going to use half of this can and supplement with a chicken breast as an additional protein.
Peanuts
Just your run of the mill, chopped peanuts.
Palm Sugar
Palm sugar is just an unrefined sugar known for having more vitamins/minerals as opposed to white sugar. Its flavor is a little richer than regular white sugar, too, and is used a lot in dishes like this.
Peanut Oil
Nondescript peanut oil for use in stir-frying the noodles, then the proteins.
Squid Brand Fish Sauce, 2fl oz - Buy a 24fl oz here for $10.99
Fish sauce just sounds gross to me, and after using it to cook with today, I can say that it is still gross to me; however, it is an integral part of the delicious sauce in this dish. Stay tuned!
deSIAM Tamarind Stir-Fry Paste, 1.1oz - Retail Value $5.65
I love Thai food, and this is the ingredient that really brings that unique stir-fry flavor out in this sauce. This kit contains two of these 1oz sachets.
Garlic, Green onion, Thai Chili Flakes & Lime packets
I love the little takeout container that housed all of these magical spices; the smell of these made my mouth water as I was unboxing. Lime packets were such a smart inclusion--I didn’t even know they made these! You just add two tablespoons of water to the four packets included and bam! “fresh squeezed” lime juice!
Preparing the ingredients:
Prep step one involves simply soaking the noodles in hot tap water for at least 20 minutes as you prep the other ingredients. By that time, I should be able to easily wrap a noodle around my finger (that’s how you know they are at the right pliability).
The next step involved draining the water out from the can of tofu, and some easy slicing of the tofu into quarters. So squishy...
The peanuts seemed like they were already chopped pretty small, but since I was trying to be diligent and follow the instructions this time, I tried to chop them a little more...Can you tell a difference?
The last prep step was adding two tablespoons of water to the garlic and lime. I also decided to add two eggs to the recipe as recommended for an extra protein.
Let’s Get Cooking!
Right off the bat, we are making our sauce! I’m not going to lie, the fish sauce threw me off at first. It was all I could smell, and I was a little concerned that it was going to be overpowering, but after the palm sugar started to melt I could smell the different ingredients (huge sigh of relief!).
The sauce started boiling really quickly and transformed into a syrupy consistency. Stirring constantly, I added half of the Thai Chili flakes into the sauce. I like a little heat, but I hate when it is overpowering (you can always add more to taste). I left the sauce on the hot burner and added about 4 tablespoons of sauce to the uncooked chicken and tofu to coat them (it recommended using two tablespoons, but that wasn’t nearly enough).
At this point, my timer for the soaking noodles went off, and they wrapped easily around my finger. I set these aside to drain for a few minutes.
I pulled out the closest thing I have to a wok and added half of the peanut oil in. On medium-high heat, I added the water/garlic mixture to the hot oil.
After a few seconds, I added the drained noodles with a splash of water to the hot wok. I tossed until I perceived the noodles to be dry, as per the instructions, and then poured the sauce into the pan and tossed to coat the noodles. I stir-fried the noodles for a few minutes and let them sit on the burner whilst I moved on to the next step. At this point, I could already tell that I wasn’t going to have any excess sauce, which is such a bummer--especially since I will have a lot of leftovers to reheat.
I followed the instructions up to this point--instead of using the wok to cook the proteins, I just used the empty saucepan, still glazed with a little sauce. No biggie! I added the remaining peanut oil to the saucepan and cooked the chicken and tofu together until they browned a bit. I didn’t want to dry out the chicken, so I only let it brown a little before adding it into the wok with the noodles.
I almost forgot my eggs! I fried them up quickly, then added them in with the noodle/protein mix. Putting the wok back on the burner on medium heat, I added half of the peanuts, green onions and more chili flakes to the mix.
It was a little rough trying to toss the rice noodles and incorporating all of the other ingredients. I got a little wicked with my stirring, flopping around heavy rice noodles that were stuck together, and tiny morsels of eggs, peanuts, and rice noodles were strewn around my stovetop (not unlike any cooking adventure for me).
After stir-frying and separating the noodles that were stuck together, it was time to plate and garnish! I used a generous amount of the green onions, peanuts, and a healthy splash of the lime juice to top my bowl.
Here is my finished masterpiece. I had planned to put together a nice place setting to photograph, but I just couldn’t wait to dig in; this meal was absolutely delicious. Today was a rainy day, and I was so looking forward to a carby comfort food.
As you can see, this meal made it to the Clean Plate Club! Yum!
Verdict: This meal was excellent! It had a great, authentic taste without having to buy anything fresh from the store--love to have such an easy dinner option just lying around! It took me about an hour from start to finish, but only because I was being extra and decided to add the eggs and chicken. Also, I had plenty of leftovers that I am looking forward to eating for the rest of the week! As with all meal subscription kits, I wish they included extra sauce, because it was, per usual, just barely enough.
As far as this subscription goes, I can really appreciate what Takeout Kit is doing. I found this box to be very thoughtful and well put together, and I love that you can keep this around for its two-month shelf life to prepare it when the timing is perfect. I also feel that Takeout Kit would make an excellent gift for that special foodie in your life who is otherwise impossible to buy for.
To Wrap Up:
Can I still get this box if I sign up today? Yes! Buy it here as a one-time box for $34.99.
Coupon - Use code ADDICTION to save 15% off your first subscription box!
Value Breakdown: This box costs $32.99 a month, including free shipping. This Takeout Kit serves up to four people, which comes to about $8.25 per plate. All of the ingredients add up to $22.37, which is far less than the cost of the box, but having all of these elusive ingredients at my fingertips to prepare this meal (plus free shipping!) makes me feel it is well worth the price!
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