The “So Delicious” Frozen Noodles I Could Eat Every Day (I Got You an Exclusive Discount!)
My freezer is currently overflowing, which is a testament to my love for frozen meals. And I don’t just mean basic things like frozen chicken nuggets and fries — although those are certainly in there, too. No, I mean restaurant-quality meals that have been shipped right to my door and can be made in mere minutes. I’ve been going back and forth between ordering from QVC and MìLà, the brand behind those popular frozen dumplings that you might’ve seen on social media.
After eating MìLà’s products for nearly a year, I’ve tried (and been wowed by) everything from its soup and potsticker dumplings to its dan dan noodles. When I saw that MìLà had dropped a brand-new offering for Lunar New Year, I jumped at the chance to get a taste. The limited-edition braised beef noodles are now my new favorite easy dinner out of all of MìLà’s items — and you can score them (and everything else on the site) for 15% off with The Kitchn’s exclusive discount code, KT15!
What Are MìLà’s Braised Beef Noodles?
If you haven’t yet ordered some of the brand’s other products, MìLà is a direct-to-consumer Chinese food brand that uses all-natural, top-grade ingredients. It started out as a Washington-based brick-and-mortar shop in 2018 before becoming an online store a few years later. It’s super popular for its aforementioned soup dumplings. The brand’s other items include noodles as well as sauces and ice creams.
The latest to join its impressive lineup is the Cantonese-inspired braised beef noodles, which are part of a limited-edition batch to celebrate Lunar New Year. The noodles are sun-dried in Guanmiao, Taiwan, which results in a bouncy feel and chewy texture, while the beef is oven-seared and slow-braised for hours before being added to the packet. It’s topped off with a blend of oyster sauce, chu hou sauce, soy sauces, and spices to give it that restaurant-quality effect. It doesn’t take nearly as long to prepare it, though: It’ll be on your table in only 10 minutes.
Why I Love the Braised Beef Noodles
I was already impressed by MìLà’s other noodles before, but this new addition surpassed my high expectations. As always, making the dish was a breeze (even though I forgot to let it thaw in the refrigerator beforehand). When I cooked it from frozen, all I had to do was toss the sauce packet in a pot of boiling water and then follow it up with the noodles. All in all, it took a little over 20 minutes before I could dig in — that’s nothing compared to braised beef noodles’ typical four-hour prep time.
When I did finally plate it, after mixing the cooked sauce and beef with the noodles, it instantly became my favorite meal from MìLà — and my favorite frozen meal, full stop. The melt-in-your-mouth beef is so tender that it’s hard to believe that it comes from a frozen meal that I made in minutes; in fact, my only minimal complaint is that I wish there was even more beef included because I couldn’t get enough of it. No salt or extra seasoning is needed after stirring all of the components together, thanks to the already rich and savory flavor of the sauce.
Because there are two servings included in one pack, I was full about halfway through, but I saved the rest for a tasty lunch the next day. In total, I got four meals out of it for $20, which ends up making each one just under $7. That’s a total steal, considering I would definitely pay at least $20 for a single serving at a restaurant. And until February 13, you can save even more with our 15%-off code, KT15. Because they’re on sale and not sticking around for long, I’m snagging more braised beef noodles (and dumplings!) ASAP.
Buy: Braised Beef Noodles (2-pack), $16.99 with code KT15 (normally $19.99)
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