These Frozen, Store-Bought Egg Rolls Are From A Popular Chain, But Are Nothing Like The Ones You Get In The Restaurant

When you're craving Chinese food, but don't want a sit-down meal, the frozen food aisle can be godsent. After all, there's a plethora of frozen meals, appetizers, and sides that will immediately satisfy your craving since they're inspired by dishes from popular Chinese restaurants like P.F. Chang's. Ranked the fourth best Chinese restaurant by the Tasting Table staff, P.F. Chang's is known for its diverse menu that pays respect to the cultures and cuisines of various Asian countries. But, like most chain restaurants, P.F. Chang's has a hefty list of underrated menu items you should absolutely try and items you should completely avoid. Unfortunately, this hit-or-miss reputation also applies to its collection of frozen foods. Although some taste just as good as the restaurant version, others completely miss the mark when it comes to flavor and texture. One item that's guilty of the latter is P.F. Chang's mini vegetable egg rolls.

These egg rolls differ so much from the restaurant version that they'll make you question whether or not P.F. Chang's actually made them. Hence, they were ranked the worst store-bought egg rolls by our team. Based on appearance alone, these egg rolls look nothing like the ones you get at the restaurant. Instead of being plump with fillings, the ratio between the vegetable filling and the wrapper is so uneven that it looks like your egg rolls were packed the same way bags of chips are: Air first, and the bare minimum filling after that. Plus, these egg rolls taste awful.

Of all the things you should know about P.F. Chang's, the most important is that all the food is made from scratch daily. Although the company tried to replicate this level of food quality with the egg rolls, it completely failed. The wrapper, which is supposed to be crunchy and flavorsome, tasted like a piece of fried cardboard, and the filling of carrots, green onions, cabbage, ginger, and garlic puree completely loses the delicate balance of flavors it has when made fresh. Since these aren't made fresh, they lack the mouthwatering factor that makes them so appetizing when you order them at P.F. Chang's.

Even the sweet and sour dipping sauce is off-putting. Made with a combination of tomato paste, ginger puree, distilled vinegar, salt, dextrose, water, apple juice concentrate, and cornstarch, you won't taste anything sweet or remotely sour. In fact, the only flavor you'll notice is ginger. It's so strong that it will overpower the delicate flavors of the vegetables and make the egg roll taste even worse. Thanks to its strange consistency that resembles applesauce, this dipping sauce adds nothing besides confusion to this already lackluster appetizer. If you insist on eating these, pair them with a robust dipping sauce that will add some much-needed flavor. 

Although you get eight egg rolls for roughly $4, they aren't worth the price. Yes, the company proudly boasts on its website that its appetizers will "tempt you with robust tastes and textures," but this couldn't be further from the truth.