Taste testing 7-Eleven Japan’s five frozen curries to see which ones nail it

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Frozen curry may not sound appetizing, but 7-Eleven can make anything great.

We love what 7-Eleven Japan is putting down lately, whether it’s delicious smoothies you can blend yourself or Zero Cider Triple drinks.

In recent news, our Japanese-language reporter P.K. Sanjun noticed an advertisement for 7-Eleven’s frozen food section and saw that they’d apparently renewed their frozen curries in April.

Since he hadn’t tried them before, he decided to see if they were any good — though he didn’t exactly have doubts. Here are the five types he rounded up.

▼ Keema Curry for 397 yen (US$3)

▼ Butter Chicken Curry for 375 yen

▼ Massaman Curry for 397 yen

▼ Green Curry for 397 yen

▼ Stir-Fried Crab Curry for 375 yen

He decided to try all five for a ranked taste test. The recipes for the keema, butter chicken, massaman, and green curry were renewed in April, but since he hadn’t tried the stir-fried crab curry before, he decided to try that one as well.

▼ He wasn’t planning on just eating it plain either.

▼ And what curry doesn’t go well with cheese?

He also found another pleasant surprise — they had sides to go with them! They sold jasmine rice for 159 yen a pack and cheese naan for 268 yen each. He could recreate an entire curry restaurant experience in his own home.

▼ They’re super convenient to make, too. Right in the microwave!

Everything just needed to be heated up, with the exception of the cheese naan, which also called for a toaster. Still, it’s pretty convenient as far as frozen food goes.

With all of the curries and fixings prepared, P.K. Sanjun was ready to rank these curries from least mind-blowing to most delicious.

▼ Ranking: begin! What curry do you think this is?

Coming in fifth place was the butter chicken curry. He rated it as such because he wished it was more on the sweeter side. That doesn’t mean it’s not good, but if you’re like him and enjoy a sweet butter chicken curry, you might be disappointed. The mild taste and spices made up for it.

▼ Next was a Thai-style contender.

In fourth place was the stir-fried crab curry. This Thai curry is also a sweeter curry and consists of crab, eggs, and more. P.K. Sanjun had had the real deal in Thailand before, so he was excited to see it sold at 7-Eleven. The soft-shelled crab and flavor were good, but weren’t mind-blowing. He’s not complaining, though, especially considering the price.

▼ Can you tell what this is just by looking at it?

In third place was the Massaman curry, a Thai dish inspired by Indian and Malay curries. The lemongrass-enhanced curry was very easy to eat, and he thought it tasted better than some restaurant versions. Pretty impressive for a convenience store! If you can’t handle a ton of spice, though, note that P.K. Sanjun would describe this as having a medium spice level.

▼ We can’t say we’re surprised this popular variety made second place.

Coming in second place was the keema curry. He could really taste the onion and ground meat umami flavors that define a good keema curry. If you want a really meaty tasting curry, this is the one to get. It wasn’t too spicy, and they didn’t skimp on the meat like some other places tend to do. A+, 7-Eleven.

▼ The color gives this one away.

And finally, taking first place in P.K. Sanjun’s ranking was the green curry. It tasted sweet at first, then dissolved into a pleasant spicy aftertaste. There are a lot of places that can get this delicate balance wrong and tip too far in one direction, but he thought 7-Eleven did an excellent job with this one. It also had a good variety of fillings like shrimp, eggplant, and peppers in big chunks. He definitely recommends you grab a pack.

▼ Don’t forget the side dishes!

The jasmine rice and cheese naan were pretty good, too. The cheese naan wasn’t as rich as it would be at a restaurant, but for home eating it’s perfectly fine. The jasmine rice paired nicely with all of the curries as well.

▼ Can you believe these are less than 400 yen each?

In conclusion, P.K. Sanjun didn’t think any of the frozen curries were flops. They all taste pretty good, and you can get them all for less than 600 yen even if you add in a pack of jasmine rice. Give them a try–you’ll be pleasantly surprised!

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