The Problems Costco Shoppers Have With Its $20 Chicken Katsu
Costco is widely known as a convenient place to shop for bulk groceries, home goods, and even clothes. They also sell prescription eyeglasses, offer free food samples throughout the warehouse, have a full-service tire center, and who can forget about their $4.99 rotisserie chickens, signature Kirkland brand, and $1.50 hot dog and soda combo from their food court? Basically, Costco has almost anything you could imagine, and if an apocalypse ever happens, getting stuck in the wholesale store is your best bet.
With the constant hustle and bustle of the world comes a need for quick, convenient prepared meals. Costco is all about convenience and sells countless prepared meals, including a street taco kit, chicken pot pie, stuffed bell peppers, yakisoba stir fry kit, and so much more (via Costco Food Database). The main point of prepared meals is the minimal prep involved, but there is one item that doesn't quite fit the definition of a prepared meal.
That item is EastWest Cuisine's chicken katsu, which includes "seasoned and braised slices of chicken breast with rib meat, Katsu sauce and panko breading." The package also states that the chicken is fully cooked by sous vide, so you'd think it would come pre-breaded as well for convenience. However, that isn't exactly the case.
You have to bread the chicken yourself
One Redditor expressed frustration with the product saying, "I thought this would be a quick lunch meal while working from home. Pop it in the air fryer and eat. But nooo. It's DIY ... It seems kinda expensive for $20." Per Costco Food Database, Costco sells EastWest Cuisine's chicken katsu for $5.79 a pound, so the total price varies depending on the chicken breast's weight. Several other redditors agreed with the poster, with one user commenting, "I got this ages ago and was annoyed I had to make it myself. ... May as well buy it all separately, so not worth it." Another user said, "I thought it was pretty good, but not good enough to justify the work/price."
However, a few Redditors thought OP was in the wrong and should've read the packaging better. One user wrote, "It says right on the package breading is required. ... [T]alk about lazy. [N]ext time read the package before you buy it before you contribute to food waste." A second commenter said, "I put it down when I saw I had to bread it myself." A handful of other Redditors suggested making chicken katsu at home since it's cheaper and relatively simple. Two users commented, "Making katsu is actually very affordable and easy at home and not worth this price tag" and "Get thin cut chicken breasts. A $5 meat mallet, pound them out, get $3 breadcrumbs, $2 eggs, $5 olive oil. Make your own."