Note: For a more current taste review on a tweaked bag design and ingredient list, open up Mong Lee Shang – Hot Vegetarian Imitation Beef Jerky (Recipe #2).
Back in 2012, I bought this Mong Lee Shang bag of hot beancurd jerky at a popular supermarket that specializes in Asian food named Ocean’s. They are located in Brampton, Ontario, Canada. This hot beancurd flavor is technically not jerky. Although it actually states “Vegetarian Beef Jerked” on the bag itself, this is purely a vegan bag of jerky, meaning meatless. This bag was a whopping 5.6 ounces/160 grams.
This jerky is distributed by a company named DYI Hong Co., Ltd. also located in Taiwan. The web site for Mong Lee Shang is broken, I have no way of knowing if this jerky is still produced today. As a result, I am unable to give any background on this company.
Ingredient Review
Ingredients: Mushroom 85%, Spices 6%, Sugar 7%, Salt 2%
This is the only bag I recall, where the ingredients are broken out in percentages. Overwhelmingly, this mushroom jerky is comprised of mushrooms, which are extremely healthy. However, mushrooms are sprayed with multiple chemicals, so organic mushrooms would be much better. Known to be a good source of Vitamin B and D, plus minerals, and especially selenium, which is known to have multiple functions in our human bodies.
The sugar level is on the high side at 7 grams of sugar per 28 grams of jerky. Our preference is 3 grams of sugar or under. The salt level is very reasonable at 213mg of salt per 28 grams of jerky.
This jerky qualifies to be sodium nitrite free. Instead, only salt is the main preservative. Also good, this jerky has no MSG added.
Decent (7/10) – Ingredient Rating
Taste Review
The pieces of jerky were quite small, some pieces were like shreds. I did not find them all that hot, but I could not finish much in one sitting. While the texture was dry, the smell and texture put me off on this jerky.
The price was cheap however, where I paid $5.99 for this 5.6 ounces/160 grams bag, which works out to 93 cents an ounce. The actual flavor listed on the bag is hot vegetarian beancurd, but beancurd means tofu, which was nowhere to be found in the ingredient list. In any case, this flavor is not appealing.
Bag Review
Some things on this bag are translated into 6 different languages (English, Mandarin, French, Dutch, Italian, German). The best before expiry date is only listed in Mandarin, which is of no help to me. The label is imprinted directly on the bag.
All standard bag categories are met in this bag, except it is not resealable. Overall, it is an interesting bag, with multiple drawings of mushrooms. Apart from the best before date, everything else seems to be translated into English as a bare minimum.
Leave a Comment