Ever since the start of COVID, restaurants across the world have been pivoting to generate income and stay afloat. Meal kits instantly became huge and it seemed that everyone and their sister were cranking them out. While not a groundbreaking concept anymore, I think it’s fair to say that some are definitely better than others. When I heard that Chotto Matte Toronto was turning to meal kits, I was instantly intrigued. I’ve been to the restaurant a few times, and while the food is on the pricier side, in my opinion, it’s utterly delicious, unique, and worth it.
If you’ve never heard of Chotto Matte, then allow me to bring you up to speed. The restaurant, with locations worldwide, showcases the best of Japanese and Peruvian cuisine, called Nekkei. Basically, it’s delicious and while I’ve been ordering takeout from Chotto Matte, I was so excited to finally be able to cook some of the restaurant’s most popular dishes in my own home.
I’m a major foodie who loves cooking at home but I have to admit I was a bit intimidated by the task at hand. However, once I saw the detailed instructions, perfectly bottled sauces, and pre-marinated meats, I breathed a sigh of relief. While you are technically cooking it all yourself, all the heavy lifting has already been done for you which is nice.
Everything was so easy to prepare and the only thing that required chopping was the chives for garnish. Each protein had such unique flavours thanks to the accompanying sauces and purees. At first glance, the portions might look small but if you follow the directions and cook it all up as one meal, it really is quite the feast.
My personal fave from this Chotto Matte meal kit was the Black Cod Aji Miso. If I’m ever buying fish to cook at home, I always lean toward salmon but I’ll definitely be springing for cod from now on. The flavours of the sauces in the meal kit worked so beautifully with the perfectly-cooked fish — thank you very much. A close second was the Asado De Tira (Slow Cooked Beef) that was so tender and melted in the mouth. I hardly even needed a knife because it was fall-apart tender. The flavour of the jus and the purple potato puree was so delicious. It’s a flavour combo that I’ll be dreaming about.
While the whole experience of cooking the meal kit was seamless, I do have one tiny grievance. Some of the elements included in the kit are quite spicy and while this definitely isn’t a family meal kit for kids, I feel like there should have been some indication that some sauces/purees are on the hotter side. Apart from that, it was an extremely easy and tasty dinner to put together!
