Product review: Hart & Soul recipe bases
Hart & Soul recipe bases are one of the newest products from the manufacturers of my favourite shelf-stable soups. These recipe bases will help you get dinner on the table in record time.
Hart & Soul recipe bases
These are the current The Hart & Soul recipe base ranges: Butter Chicken, Green Curry, Moroccan Tagine, Pad Thai, Massaman Curry, Laksa, Nasi Goreng, Panang Curry, Rendang Curry, Tikka Massala, Red Curry, Satay Curry, Stroganoff, Teriyaki Stir Fry. All of them come in 80g sachets that make 3-4 servings, with the exception of the Laksa which makes 2-3 servings.
All of the bases are refined sugar free (but not sugar free!), gluten free and dairy free. Some of them are vegan.
Each sachet comes with a recipe which includes the extra ingredients that will be needed to make the meal.
The bases are designed to minimise prep time in the kitchen, thus making it possible to get dinner on the table pretty quickly.
Ingredients
- Butter Chicken: Onion, coconut sugar, rice bran oil, ginger, spices (cumin, cardamom, nutmeg, turmeric, cinnamon, pepper, chilli, fenugreek leaves), garlic, salt, natural colouring (paprika oleoresin).
- Green Curry: Chilli, galangal, lemongrass, garlic, shallot, coconut sugar, rice bran oil, salt, spices (turmeric, pepper), onion.
- Moroccan Tagine: Onion, tomato, coconut sugar, rice bran oil, lime juice, salt, ginger, garlic, distilled vinegar, spices (cinnamon, cumin, pepper, turmeric), natural colouring (paprika oleoresin)
- Pad Thai: Coconut sugar, water, coconut milk, shallot, tamarind extract, salt, chilli, shrimp paste (contains crustacean), onion, natural colouring (paprika oleoresin).
- Massaman Curry: Coconut sugar, shallot, garlic, rice bran oil, galangal, lemongrass, salt, water, chilli, spices (cardamom, cinnamon, coriander, cumin, nutmeg), tamarind extract, onion, natural colouring (paprika oleoresin).
- Laksa: Lemongrass, shallot, rice bran oil, galangal, chilli, coconut sugar, fish sauce (anchovy (contains fish), salt), spices (coriander, cumin, turmeric), garlic, salt, dried shrimp (contains crustacean), coriander, natural colouring (paprika oleoresin).
- Nasi Goreng: Shallot, water, soy sauce (soybean, water, salt, rice flour, sugar), chilli sauce (chilli, water, garlic, salt), tomato paste, chilli, coconut sugar, garlic, rice bran oil, soybean paste, spring onion, salt, spices (turmeric), natural colouring (paprika), wakame seaweed.
- Panang Curry: Coconut sugar, lemongrass, garlic, shallot, galangal, salt, rice bran oil, chilli, spices (coriander seed, cumin, pepper), kaffir lime leaves, onion.
- Rendang Curry: Water, rice bran oil, onion, lemongrass, ginger, spices (turmeric, coriander seed, cumin, cardamom, clove, cinnamon, chilli, nutmeg, star anise, pepper), chilli, desiccated coconut, garlic, coconut sugar, galangal, peanuts, salt, shallot, kaffir lime leaf, tamarind extract, starch.
- Tikka Massala: Tomato (21%), onion, rice bran oil, ginger, garlic, water, coconut sugar, spices (coriander, cumin, cinnamon, cardamom, pepper, turmeric, chilli), salt, natural colouring (paprika oleoresin).
- Red Curry: Lemongrass, garlic, galangal, shallot, coconut sugar, chilli, water, rice bran oil, salt, spices (coriander seed, cumin, pepper), natural colouring (paprika).
- Satay Curry: Coconut sugar, peanuts (22.5%), rice bran oil, water, shallots, mung bean, salt, spices (coriander seed, cumin, turmeric, pepper), lemongrass, tamarind extract, chilli, galangal, garlic.
- Stroganoff: Water, onion, tomato, rice bran oil, mung bean, soy sauce (soybean, water, salt, rice flour, sugar), garlic, coconut sugar, starch, salt, spices (cinnamon, pepper, thyme, bay leaf, nutmeg), natural colouring (paprika oleoresin).
- Teriyaki Stir Fry: Soy sauce (water, salt, soybean, rice, sugar), water, coconut sugar, rice bran oil, starch, ginger, garlic, sesame seeds, salt, natural flavour, natural colouring (paprika), onion.
Nutrition information
The tables below show the nutrition information per serve for all the recipe bases. I have highlighted those bases that are highest in fat, sugar and sodium.
Note that the values given are per serve, considering you make 3 serves per package. You will need to adjust up or down depending on how many portions you make. In addition, also note the nutrition information is for the recipe base only, without considering the protein, vegetables and other ingredients the recipe calls for (e.g. coconut milk, oil, peanuts).
| Butter Chicken Per serve (26.7g) | Green Curry Per serve (26.7g) | Moroccan Tagine Per serve (26.7g) | Pad Thai Per serve (26.7g) | Massaman Curry Per serve (26.7g) | Laksa Per serve (26.7g) | Nasi goreng Per serve (26.7g) |
| 287 | 216 | 216 | 360 | 324 | 312 | 174 |
| 69.0 | 52.0 | 52.0 | 86.0 | 77.0 | 75.0 | 42.0 |
| 1.0 | 0.6 | 0.3 | 0.6 | 0.7 | 1.6 | 0.9 |
| 3.8 | 2.5 | 2.7 | 0.9 | 3.0 | 4.0 | 1.6 |
| 1.0 | 0.6 | 0.7 | 0.6 | 0.7 | 1.0 | 0.4 |
| 7.0 | 6.6 | 6.3 | 18.4 | 11.4 | 7.6 | 6.0 |
| 3.5 | 3.5 | 4.6 | 17.2 | 8.1 | 3.5 | 3.7 |
| 1.1 | 0.3 | 0.4 | 0.5 | 1.0 | 0.9 | 0.5 |
| 420 | 530 | 560 | 740 | 999 | 580 | 630 |
| Panang Curry Per serve (26.7g) | Rendang Curry Per serve (26.7g) | Tikka Massala Per serve (26.7g) | Red Curry Per serve (26.7g) | Satay Curry Per serve (26.7g) | Stroganoff Per serve (26.7g) | Teriyaki Stir Fry Per serve (26.7g) |
| 272 | 297 | 287 | 237 | 560 | 183 | 162 |
| 65.0 | 71.0 | 69.0 | 57.0 | 134.0 | 44.0 | 39.0 |
| 0.7 | 0.9 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 2.2 | 1.0 | 1.2 |
| 1.9 | 4.6 | 3.8 | 2.0 | 9.4 | 2.3 | 1.5 |
| 0.5 | 1.3 | 1.0 | 0.5 | 2.0 | 0.6 | 0.3 |
| 10.9 | 5.6 | 7.0 | 9.2 | 9.6 | 4.5 | 5.2 |
| 7.0 | 2.1 | 3.5 | 4.7 | 7.0 | 1.7 | 3.4 |
| 0.6 | 2.1 | 1.1 | 1.4 | 1.4 | 0.7 | 0.1 |
| 1260 | 280 | 420 | 620 | 340 | 270 | 750 |
Taste test
I tried all the recipes bases over a few weeks. I bought them on special at my local Woolies, so it was not a huge investment. I tried to use the vegetables, protein and garnishes recommended in the recipe whenever possible. I did use larger portions of protein for most meals and adjusted the cooking technique for a couple of dishes for better results.
I found the package very informative in terms of what extra ingredients you need to buy and the instructions were easy to follow.
All of the bases were pretty good in taste, although I liked the Asian ones better. My favourite was the laksa, followed by the green and massaman curry.
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Pros
- These bases are ideal for people who are not very confident in cooking a dish from scratch or don’t have a lot of time to cook
- They are made with better ingredients than other curry pastes and recipe bases in the market
- They are gluten and dairy free and most of them are vegan
- They help you avoid buying a lot of different spices that you might not use again to prepare a single dish
- They are shelf stable and budget friendly
- They are widely available in major supermarkets
- The instructions are easy to follow
Cons
- The number of serves (3) is not very convenient if you are feeding a couple or a family of 4
- Although the flavours are nice, you can argue they don’t taste exactly the same as the original dishes
- It would be good if they provided nutrient information when made with the suggested extra ingredients
- Even though these bases do not contain refined sugar, some of them are slightly high in sugar
More information
For more information head to Hart & Soul website.
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