Rootworks Thai Red Curry Meal Kit Is Average & Overpriced

Curries derive their flavors from multiple minutes of slow cooking. That means when cravings are at an all-time high, you need an alternative. 

Rootworks Thai Red Curry Meal Kit is a ready-to-use curry mix, where all you need to do is add protein/veggies, as desired, and voila! A steaming hot Thai curry rice meal bowl is ready. 

But were the results as promising as the claims? We find answers to this in our Rootworks Thai Red Curry Meal Kit review.

A glimpse at the product details you need to know about : 

What are we looking for? A fresh-tasting meal that is convenient to put together. We want a meal that has a delicious, authentic taste of Thai Curry.

To review the Thai Red Curry meal kit, we have established the following criteria:

1. Taste

Thai cuisine relies heavily on aromatics and spices like galangal, kaffir lime leaves, lemongrass, and coconut milk as key ingredients. Red Thai curry paste is known for its spicy kick. Can this pre-made curry paste offer the same flavors as homemade? Are the tastes of galangal and lemongrass noticeable? How does the rice complement the dish? Is the spice level and seasoning well-balanced? Lastly, we assessed the freshness of the coconuts used.

2. Texture 

Ideally, Thai curry is served with jasmine rice. What type of rice does this curry come with? To check the texture of the rice we checked the quality/length of the grain, the bite (undercooked or mushy and overcooked), and how well-separated they are. These shouldn’t be too sticky or oily.

As for the curry, we focused on the consistency. Are the portions of rice and curry given apt? 

3. Convenience 

Convenience is the sum up time and effort needed to put together the meal. How was our experience with Rootworks Thai Red Curry Meal Kit? 

4. Value For Money 

Considering the convenience and the minimum prep-time involved, is this meal value for money? Or would we be better off ordering in from a restaurant? 

5. Other Information 

Here we recorded details on the main ingredients, packaging, and shelf life.

Spice Your Meals With Try These Masalas. Check out the list here.

Pricing + Packaging 

Rootworks Thai Red Curry Meal Kit has a brown and mustard color box packaging. The curry and the cooked rice are placed in separate packs inside the box. Priced at Rs. 495 (for 300 gm), it has a shelf life of 18 months. 

A 300 gm box is sufficient for one person. 

Main Ingredients 

The main ingredients are as follows : 

Thai Curry Paste: Coconut milk (47.30%), Water (32.05%), Red curry paste (Water, garlic, shallot, chili, lemongrass, sugar, galangal, salt, kaffir lime leaf, ginger – 9%), Coconut sugar (Coconut flower syrup, Sugar – 3.3%), Rice bran oil (2.5%), Sweet basil leaves (2.1%), Thickener (INS 1442 – 0.95%), Red chili (0.9%), Sugar, Salt (0.5%), Kaffir lime leaves (0.4%), Yeast extract (0.3%), and Color (INS160c- 0.05%). 

Jasmine Rice: Cooked jasmine rice (98.3%), and Rice bran oil (1.7%). 

Jasmine rice – Also known as Thai fragrant rice, these are long grain rice with a sticky texture.

Galangal – It belongs to the ginger family and has a peppery, spicy flavor profile. 

Kaffir lime leaves – These are aromatic Asian leaves mostly seen in Thai, Indonesian and Cambodian recipes. It adds a nice fresh and zesty flavor to the dishes. It is a key ingredient in popular recipes such as Thai green curry. Thai red curry and tom yum soup. 

Lemongrass – This fragrant herb seasons any dish beautifully and has a commendable citrusy flavor profile. 

INS 160 c – Known as Paprika extract, this is a natural food coloring (E160c) in the form of a viscous, dark-red liquid. Natural food colors are slightly less vibrant than artificial ones.

Our Review Process 

We made use of 70 grams of vegetables, including carrots, mushrooms, and zucchini. 

To assemble the curry, we heated the oil in a pan, added the veggies, and stir-fried for 1 to 2 minutes on medium heat. 

For the rice, we started by opening the corner of the rice pouch (around 1-2 cm). We then microwaved the rice for roughly 1 to 1.5 minutes on high. 

Later, for serving, we carefully removed the grains with a fork. 

Mishry’s Observations 

Taste 

The curry has a dominant flavor of coconut, kaffir lime and lemongrass. In terms of the seasoning, the salt and spice are added in the right proportion. However, after a few bites, the sweetness might take the front wheel and overwhelm some.

Speaking about the overall flavors and freshness, our experience was pretty average.

Texture 

These are thick, long-grain rice with a sticky texture. 

Even though we heated the rice according to the directions, it still had a firm bite, indicating that it was slightly undercooked. 

Convenience 

All in all, the cooking of this curry paste is hassle-free and simple to put up. You just need to sauté the veggies in some oil and add the pre-made curry. The cooking time is merely 3 to 4 minutes and the meal is ready to be served. 

We give it a thumbs up for the ease of preparation. 

But is the pricing justified? 

Looking at the pricing, quantity, and quality offered, this product is not value-for-money. Why, you ask?

Putting it in simple words, the meal is easy to cook and tastes average. But spending 495 bucks on a packaged Thai curry kit seems way too much when you consider the quantity. It would rather be a good idea to order in from a nearby Thai restaurant. Today most restaurants offer a hearty Thai curry meal with Jasmine rice for Rs. 500 or maybe even under that.

Related Read : Kurkure Multigrain Curry & Herbs Flavor quick review.

Here are some interesting FAQs on thai red curry meal kit.

Taste and texture wise, this Red Thai Curry Meal Kit was decent. Given the overall quality and quantity, we believe the pricing could have been better. 

At this price, we would rather order in from our local Thai restaurant for a superior quality.

Our reviews are unbiased and all samples used during the reviews were paid for by us. Read our entire ethics statement here.