Yesterday was a bumper crop for new Costco items; I’ll be the first to admit that as much as I like trying new things, the essence of Costco savings is replenishing your stock of existing products while making sure you get the best possible price. That being said, yesterday we bought a bunch of new things, including what turned out to be absolutely delicious uncooked Chicken Pelmeni European Dumplings. Just to give you an idea, I had absolutely no idea what ‘pelmeni’ meant until I came back home and Googled it. Turns out they’re peroguies, with a fancy name.
Chicken Pelmeni European Dumplings
This 1.4 kilogram bag of dumplings costs $9.99 at my local Costco, and contains approximately 125 dumplings. Each dumpling thus costs about 8 cents each, and each portion of 9 dumplings costs less than 75 cents ($0.75). This is a great price for something that is so incredibly delicious.
Speaking of new things, I made video review of this product, my first ever! Check it out below, and make sure to subscribe to my Youtube channel to be notified of new reviews!
I really had no idea what to expect when I bought those, and even less when I cooked them, but I needn’t have worried. The meat is extremely tasty, meaty and filling, and the dough, soft and silky yet pleasingly chewy, a little like Asian dumplings. I made the choice of cutting each dumpling before eating it, just to check out the consistency of the filling, but they can and probably should be eaten in a single bite, as the chicken filling has a tendency to pop out when cut. It’s not a real problem.
Now it turns out that these were our main mid-day meal, rather than the appetizers they are almost certainly meant as. My wife had some soup, while I polished off some leftover pasta to go with the dumplings. I used both Oyster Sauce and Hoisin Sauce as dipping sauces. I found that while delicious, their taste were a little overwhelming for the delicate taste of the chicken, so next time I’m thinking a simple soy dipping sauce will work great, maybe with some green onions and whatnot.
One of the things I really appreciate from these little perogies is that the ingredients are really wholesome. No conservation agents, nothing unpronounceable. See for yourself:
Filling Ingredients:
- Chicken
- Onions
- Water
- Salt
- Black Pepper
Dough Ingredients:
- Wheat flour
- Water
- Canola Oil
- Salt
End of list. Incredible, isn’t it?
I go through the nutritional information in the video (see above), but in a nutshell, each serving is 220 calories, and overall, these are not really bad for you, eaten in moderation. There are few vitamins but some iron, they’re not too salty or greasy, et cetera. You could do a lot worse with something that comes out a bag in the freezer.
The cooking process, as recommended by the packaging, involves boiling the pelmeni and drizzling them with oil once drained, in order prevent them sticking to each other. It’s really fast and simple. The longest part really is waiting for the water to boil.
I will be buying these Chicken Pelmeni European Dumplings again; they are really good and will be great for stocking up our freezer. I hope they go on sale so I can stock up. These dumplings are also made in Canada, so you know you are supporting a local company and local jobs. Are they available at your Costco? If so, in what flavors? Let me know in the comments below!