Uncle Ben's Express Rice : Golden Vegetable product reviews

These are not very cheap but it is a convenience food. I often have the Golden Vegetable for my lunch. Sometimes I will add some salmon, tuna or frozen vegetables to it especially is I want to feed the kids too.

I always make sure I have at least one pouch of Uncle Ben's Express Rice in the pantry for an instant meal. It is great for the days that my husband (who does all the cooking) isn't home for dinner. It is instant only 2 minutes. It doesn't require any thinking or rummaging around for extra ingredients. This is very handy when you have hungry (grumpy) children.

By itself it isn't too appealing to the eye but taste good. I do find however that it looks more colourful and tastes better when I make my additions.

I got the Uncle Ben's Express Rice in Golden Vegetable flavour a little while ago for my work lunches. I usually have something hot for lunch, especially in Autumn and Winter. I usually mix in a tin of tuna or salmon or buy a piece of fish or chicken from the local bakery.

This flavour was not my favourite. The vegetables tasted a bit weird, almost old. And the seasoning was too light. I think of all the rice flavours in the range, this was definitely my least favourite.

I haven't bought this one again. I prefer there to be a great flavour hit with my rice snacks. Others in the range have vegetables that don't taste like these tasted and have great flavour concentration.

As usual, so simple to prepare...in 2 minutes this was in a bowl, ready to eat. LOVE that!

I managed to get through 3/4 of the pouch before I was too full to carry on. I did add quite a bit of salt to it also, as I found it quite bland. Average amount of vegetables in the rice, could have done with a few more.

Overall I found this flavour a little uninspiring...a little on the boring side... but in saying that I think it would be a great base to add ingredients to. As others have said, it would be a great fried rice base - just add your meat, extra vegetables and sauces/seasonings.

Another rice product that is more and more making me a fan of these rice products, they are just so economical and so easy to cook that I will be making sure that there are plenty of these stocking the cupboards for whenever I have the need/urge to use them.

This the Golden Vegetable is a prime example of how versatile a food dish rice is. It compliments pretty much everything from curries to a good old fashioned Kiwi bar-b-que.


I used this one as a side dish to some grilled steaks and some pasta salad and it went down a treat, so much so that people were wanting to know if there was seconds .

The more of these rice flavours I try, the more keen on rice I am becoming. I was quite taken with this flavour, though I admit that it was a little blander than others. However, far from being a bad thing, this actually makes it more versatile.

As a bed for a stir-fry or casserole it would be perfect, as the basis for a nice Chinese dish it would excel... just fry up some chicken and beef strips, maybe a bit of seafood, heat the rice through and throw it in the pan along with some sauce... delisho! But I tell ya, what I really thought this did great as, was as a filling for some Mexican burritos. I fried up some beef strips with my special family-secret spicy glaze, filled some flour tortillas with the meat, a couple of tablespoons of this rice, some tangy salsa sauce and some shredded lettuce, sliced tomato and finely diced jalpeno peppers... a bit of grated mozarella cheese on top... baked them until ready... magnificent!

Overall, quite a virtuoso of the rice world, this one, and so simple to heat and use... About the only way to make this easier would be to pack it in a self-heating bag, with a side-pocket containing a fork.

I was never a great fan of rice. Probably because as a kid I was always given plenty of plain white rice, boiled to death and full of starch, turning it into a soggy, flavourless, uninspiring rice pudding more than anything else. Eventually, thanks to a student budget lifestyle I eventually discovered chinese pan fried rice and so got a bit of a taste for it.
tasked with the opportunity to try out some of the recent releases of Meal-for-1 packs from Kaweka, I got the urge, and need, to have some other rice in the house. By chance my eye fell on these in the supermarket, and since they were quite cheap I thought I would give them a go. Really glad I did too!
The pack couldn't be any simpler to use. if you have a microwave, tear a small hole, zap it for 2 minutes, give or take a bit depending on your box's power output, and leave it for a minute more to finish jiggling it's water molecules. After that, just rip the rest of the top off and pour it out! If you don't happen to have a microwave handy, just use a small pot with a bit of water, and gently boil it until the rice has soaked up the water, tip it out and away you go!
So far I have tried the 'Golden Vegetables' and 'Pilau' flavours and both were really stunning, especially for heat'n'Eat type packets. So if you like rice, and want something quick, with plenty of flavour but far less hassle, then you should reach for a pack of Unc Ben's Express... if it got any easier, you could do it in your sleep!