(bright upbeat music) - Good greetings, my beautiful lovelies. It's Emmy. How are you? It's great to see you, and welcome back. Today, I'm gonna be tasting
some new self-heating meals I found at my local Chinese market. If you're not familiar
with self-heating meals, they are pretty amazing. They are a self-contained meal that contains everything
you need for the meal, and it heats it by itself. It's a chemical reaction, water and a chemical bag
that you mix together, and it heats pre-cooked
ingredients together so you can have a hot
meal with no electricity, no power whatsoever. It's kind of amazing. Now, the first time I was
introduced to this method of heating was when I tried my first MRE, which was many years ago. I was pregnant with my second
child. It was that long ago. And I will put that link
down below to that video if you wanna see my first experience with this kind of exothermic reaction. Since then, I've tasted many MREs and other rations that
use this technology, but also other instant heating,
self-heating meals, too. So let's go ahead and get started. So I am super excited about this one. Look at the size of this one. This is a giant self-heating meal. I've never seen them this size before, so I'm excited to see what's in this and how much food it contains. I found these two as well. This is by Zihaiguo,
which I've tried before, but not these two particular flavors. This one is the Vegan
Kung Pao Chicken Claypot, and this one is the Mushroom
and Vegan Konjac Claypot. So those sound interesting as well. This is the one that
I'm super excited about. Isn't this incredible?
Look at the size of this. So here we are, and this is fish filet with pickled soup. Neat label. And on the outside here
we have instructions. This is a product of China, and it has instructions both in Chinese and in English, which is great. So we'll take this off.
(lid cracks) Nope, I don't think we
even need to. Do we? Okay, so here is the contents. Oh, we should take this off of the lid because there's a little vent here, and if we don't take that off, it'll won't be able to steam out. So there is a vent here, so I think we should remove that top. So here is the fish. It's pickled. Its in this
vacuum-sealed package. And this is clearly labeled
the "vegetable package." And then inside we have the cooking tray and more ingredients inside. Very cool. So fish, vegetables,
chopsticks, spoon, noodles. Looks like a sauce packet. Oh, and here is the heater
portion. We do not eat that. So actually not that big of a meal, just a very large container. Hmm. Slightly disappointed by that. We're gonna put everything into this tray. And then how long do we cook it for? Wait for, oh, 15 to 20 minutes. So we do have to wait
about 15 to 20 minutes. It's not exactly fast cooking is it? So add our noodles and vegetables. Quite a lot of vegetables. (package crinkling) Look at that. I'll use these chopsticks so
I can show you what's inside. So the chopsticks assemble
in two pieces, like that. Okay, so looks like there's
some water chestnut, some mung bean sprouts,
some wood ear fungus. Ooh, some lotus root.
Isn't that beautiful? Look at that. Nice and crunchy. And some bamboo shoots in there, too. Okay, so now we're gonna add our fish. We'll add that right here. (sniffs) It smells fishy. It's dried fish. And the contents of our sauce packet. Mm, it smells good. (sniffs) It smells like soybean paste. Mm. Add that right in. Okay, so there is a fill line right there. So we'll add water to that line. (water trickling) Great. And then to here, we will add the heating unit. (unit crinkles) Right in there. And it just says to put water to cover. I guess there's a little line here, so maybe that's where we should
put it, at the top of that. Okay, so water to that line to cover. (water trickles) And then place this
right on top, like that, kind of like a double boiler, and then replace the lid. (lid shuffles and pops)
Okay, very tight-fitting lid. And now we wait. Don't hear anything happening
yet. Don't feel anything yet. 15 to 20 minutes before our
meal is done. Pretty simple. So while our big one is cooking, let's see what's inside this one. This is the Zihaiguo Kung
Pao Vegan Chicken Claypot. Oh, I hear some rumblings.
(pot hissing) Oh, it's starting to
steam. Can you hear it? (pot hissing)
Oh my gosh, so cool. Can you see that?
(pot hissing) Uh-huh, definitely doing something. Why is it quiet now? (water trickling) Yep, definitely was doing
something, and now it's stopped. Shouldn't it be, like, full
blast now? I don't know. All right, so it's
definitely doing its thing. It's not as powerful as
it was just a minute ago, but it's definitely simmering. You hear that?
(ingredients burbling) Okay. All right, do your thing. So this is a vegan
chicken, which is great. It's nice to have vegetarian
and vegan options. Here we go. And also, we'll remove the top on this. Okay, instructions are right there. And this is very similar.
Oh, this is cool. This contains the water already. Little spoon, spork. Look, it has a smiley face
on it. Can you see it? Rice. Ooh, I like this. This has a metal tray.
(tray clinks) Appreciate that for cooking. Seasoning packet. This looks like maybe the vegetables. And this is the heating unit, clearly labeled, "Do not eat." So same thing goes for this one: Pack it into there, set that aside momentarily, and then everything
else goes into the tray. Oh, it's telling you to put
the seasoning at the end once it's done. Okay, rice. (rice clatters) Oh, this looks like it's
converted rice, pre-cooked rice. (sniffs) Mm, vegetables. Ooh, look at that. That looks spicy. And this is vegan chicken. So this is probably wheat
gluten, I'm guessing, kind of a meat substitute
in a chili sauce, and I see peanuts. Looks delicious. Look at that. Premeasured water goes in. That's so easy. You can add water to that fill line that's right at the
bottom, right there, here. (water trickles) Pop this into here. (tray pops) I think this is very
clever that it's a hexagon so that it can't fall
into the round shape. All right, I'm gonna cover this up and let this cook for 15 minutes. Ta-da! Now this one is the Mushroom and Vegan Konjac Claypot
Rice Self-Heating Pot. I believe konjac is like a tuber, and it has a very
gelatinous texture to it. Not much flavor, but it can
have kind of a strong smell. But I think it's considered,
at least in Japan, kind of like a diet food. But let's see what it looks like in here. So, very similar design as the first one. Water, spoon with a smiley face, rice, cooking tray, sauce packet, vegetables, (package crinkling)
and heater. You get the gist, we're gonna put the
heater into the bottom. Set these aside, and then
everything else into here. And we're gonna put the
sauce in at the end. (rice clatters)
Great sound. Ooh, this too looks spicy. Ooh, look at that. Very red in color. (sniffs) Smell the chili in there. And the water. (water trickles) Okay. Ooh! (pot hisses and pops)
Oh my gosh. Whoa, this one popped.
So let me put this back. (lid squeaks)
Wow, look at this one. Whoa. So it heats up very quickly,
and then it kind of just stops. So same thing here, we're
gonna add our water to this. Place this on top, pop our lid on, and wait 15 minutes for our meal to cook. Pretty amazing, right? I'm gonna put my sauce packet right on top so it can warm up, too. And we'll put that on when we eat it. All right, lovelies, I'll
see you in about 15 minutes when everything is nice and hot. Alright, my lovelies, it's
been a full 15, 20 minutes since I popped the heater into this. And let's see how our meal turned out. This is fish filet with pickled soup, so it's gonna be nice
and tangy, I'm imagining. All right, let's see
what looks like inside. Ooh, pretty good, right? So we've got our vegetables, and our noodles have
definitely plumped up. Look at that. Everything looks hot. We have our lotus root, our vegetables. This is the fish. And everything is steaming
like it's well heated. All righty, let's give this a taste. All righty, let me give a
taste of the broth first. Itadakimasu. (slurps) Ooh, it is tangy. Mm, I like it. Mm, definitely MSG as well, that lovely elusive, savory flavor that makes things taste so delicious. And let's give these noodles a taste. They look like glassy noodles a bit. Maybe they're mung bean
noodles, I'm not sure, but slightly transparent. All righty, let's give 'em a taste. Here we go. Itadakimasu. (Emmy slurping) (coughs) Almost inhaled a noodle. The noodles are completely
cooked, nice and tender. (slurps) Not firm at all. And the soup is pleasantly
pickled, meaning it's tangy. Let's taste a wood ear mushroom. I love these. Here we go. (Emmy munching) Mm, have a great succulent
crunch, cartilaginous crunch. If you've ever chewed on ribs, and you get that kind
of cartilaginy crunch that's not like a firm, like bony crunch, but sort of in between, that's what wood ear mushroom
has in terms of texture. It's delightful. All righty, next we have
a slice of water chestnut. (munching) Mm. That's not water chestnut. Maybe it is, but it's softer than I
remember water chestnut being. It's not quite as soft as
a potato, but delicious. Everything tastes great. Everything tastes like that broth, which is sour, slightly
spicy, a little bit funky. So there's a precooked fish
packet in there as well. So let's give the fish a taste. It almost looks like dried
fish. Let's give that a go. (slurps) Mm! (munching) Somehow I was expecting it
to be salty, but it's not. The fish is a little bit
fishy, but not unpleasant. Not like a fermented fish, just a pleasantly kind
of fish stick flavor, and is cooked all the way. A little dry, but with the
broth, it's pretty good. But all around, really like this one. (slurps) Mm-hm, I like
that it's a sour soup, (slurps) a nice change-up to
what I typically have for soup. Ooh, let's try a piece of lotus root, also known as renkon in Japanese. This, of course, is a Chinese meal, but let's give this. I loved these as a kid because I appreciated
the holes in the pattern. I know there are people
that don't appreciate these perforations, but I
think they're just magical. All righty, let's give this taste. (munching) Mm. Lotus root has a great
texture, in my opinion. It's almost like a raw carrot, like a slightly cooked carrot. It still has a nice firmness to it. All righty, there is the fish
and pickled soup. Delicious. Next, let's try the Vegan Chicken Claypot. Okay, let's open this.
This one's really hot. Look at that. Doesn't that look great? Peanuts, vegan chicken, and
beautifully cooked rice. Look, steaming hot. Wow, that looks great. (sniffs) It smells fantastic. Now we're gonna add the sauce. Drizzle this right on top. Although everything looks fantastic. I'm not gonna put all of it on because things tend to be
a little bit salty for me. So I can always add more,
as my mama always says. So I'm gonna stir all
the way to the bottom to make sure we get all
of the rice underneath. It fluffs up beautifully, ends up filling the
entire little pot here. I have to say, the heating
units on these smaller ones seem to be more vigorous
than the bigger one. And this one seems hotter. While the other one was
pleasantly warmed, warmed through, this one seems piping hot. All righty, there it is with the sauce. Let's give it a taste. Here we go. Itadakimasu. Hmm! Ooh, I like that. The rice is piping hot and fluffy, tender. Mm-hm, I really like the
addition of peanuts in there. Adds a nice little crunch and nuttiness. Mm, this one's great. I like this one a lot. But really love the temperature. Everything is very, very piping hot, full of flavor and great texture. Fluffy, fluffy rice, and
a very generous portion. Delicious. Would definitely
buy this one again, mm-hm. The soup one, maybe not. I think a portion's a little bit too big. And I'm not always feeling
like soup, but rice? Oh, I adore rice. Love this. So good. (slurps) Mm-hm. And finally, let's taste
the Mushroom Claypot. All righty, let's see what's in this one. Ooh, as I said, these ones get really hot. Ooh, look at that. Very nice. Piping hot. And the rice is fully cooked. Pour the sauce. Then stir it in. Look at that. Beautiful. It's so hot. Like the other one, the
rice is fully cooked. And I'm really impressed
with how fluffy the rice is. The rice, have to say, has a slightly different
texture than freshly cooked rice because this is converted rice, meaning it's been cooked already and then dried so that
it can cook a lot faster. So it has a slightly different
texture, but not unpleasant. And how do I describe that texture? I'm not quite sure how to describe it. It's just not quite sticky,
it's just different. I don't know how to explain it. The pieces of rice feel smaller. (chuckles) That's the best
way I can describe it. But this is fluffy, hot. And let's give this a taste. This is the Mushroom Vegan Claypot. Here we go. Itadakimasu. (slurps) Ooh! (munching) Hm! This one, I think I'm
gonna put all of the sauce. I think this one needs a
little bit more than the other, but that also is very good. The rice is very fluffy,
and I'm really impressed with how piping hot everything gets. Super flavorful. This one,
too, is a little spicy. I noticed there's some pieces that have this kind of cross
hatch patterning on it. And I remember that this contains konjac, which is a tuber, but
it's vegan, vegetarian. (munches) Great bouncy
and meat-like texture, but it's not meat. But that cross hatch
pattern is often utilized when preparing things that
are a little bit more tough, like octopus or squid. So it's scored, and then when it's cooked, you get this beautiful kind
of pattern that appears, but it also tenderizes the meat. So it serves dual purpose of both looking aesthetically pleasing and also tenderizing the food. In this case, I think
it's supposed to simulate looking something like an
octopus tentacle or something. But delicious. (slurps) Mm-hm, I think of the two, I prefer the vegan chicken one as opposed to the mushroom konjac one, although I like the konjac very much. (munching) Super flavorful, great texture, and really great rice. Mm-hm. Mm! All righty, my lovelies,
there you have it, three self-heating meals that make a meal without
any effort at all, no electricity required, just some water added to these packets, and you've got food in about 15 minutes. Pretty amazing. All righty, my lovelies,
thanks so much for watching. I hope you enjoyed that one.
I hope you learned something. Please share this video with your friends. Follow me on social media,
like this video, subscribe. And I shall see you in the next one. Toodaloo, take care. Bye!
(bell chimes) (bright music) All right, now it's
time to finish my lunch. (slurps) Mm! Mm-hm. (munching) Mm! I'd better double check
that this contains wheat. Oh, there is some in the
sauce. I should be fine. Broad bean sauce. Yeah,
all righty. (splutters)
