This review is for Yangs BBQ Chicken Teriyaki Gluten-Free version. 

Yangs 5th Taste is a company that makes Asian-inspired dishes for schools, foodservice, and retail. While I tried the school version, a very similar version is available in retail stores.

Please note: the retail version contains wheat, while there are two school versions available, regular (contains wheat) and gluten-free.

Where to Buy Yangs BBQ Chicken Teriyaki

The retail version is available in certain grocery stores, such as Safeway and Foodland.

If you’re looking for the gluten-free school version, you’d be hard pressed to find it anywhere but a school or a distributor that sells to schools. You might be able to contact a local distributor to see if they’d sell you a case, but a case has 240 servings in it.

Packaging

The retail version comes in a bag that contains 1 lb of chicken and 2 – 2.5 oz bags of sauce. I like that the sauce comes in two separate bags in case you want to cook a smaller amount.

The school version comes in a case with 6 – 5 lb bags of chicken and 6 – 32 oz bags of sauce. Therefore, you can cook in batches of 40 servings, which is a reasonable increment for schools.

Furthermore, the school version sauce comes in bags that are semi heat-resistant, so you can heat the sauce in their bags for easier prep.

Preparation Instructions

The instructions state to thaw the chicken and sauce first for a quicker cook time. Additionally, thawing results in a more even cook on the chicken, as cooking from frozen can overcook some pieces before the center gets heated through.

We’re told to put the school-version bags of sauce in hot (not boiling) water for 15-20 minutes or in a steamer for 10-15 minutes.

I worry about staff not reading the instructions and using boiling water. I’m assuming they tell us this because the bags won’t withstand the heat of boiling water, so that would create a mess if not careful.

Alternatively, the retail instructions state to combine the chicken and sauce, cover and bake until heated. Actually, I’ve made the school version using this method as well, and while it takes longer, it does work just as well.

First Impressions

My first impression of the Yangs BBQ Chicken Teriyaki was that it’s real chicken. Unlike a lot of pre-packaged items you see, the chicken is just chicken.

It’s considered a “whole muscle” product, which sounds gross, but it means they they keep the chicken meat intact, instead of grinding it up and adding a bunch of ingredients to it.

The chicken meat they use is leg meat, which is more flavorful than white meat chicken.

I was a little disappointed with the school portion size. For reference, 2.4 oz of meat & sauce credits for 2 oz meat/meat alternate. I weighed it out… and then weighed it again because I thought there must be a mistake. Therefore, you may want to increase the portion size for older students.

Taste & Texture

I like the taste and texture of product!

It reminds me a lot of Trader Joe’s BBQ Teriyaki Chicken. In fact, the ingredients and nutrition of Yangs retail version look suspiciously similar to TJ’s version, so it wouldn’t surprise me if they were the same product.

There are blackened bits on the chicken where it has been barbecued, which gives it that extra something-something and makes it stand out from standard grilled chicken. However, kids can be overly sensitive to anything that appears burnt, so this may be an issue for some kids. We don’t have this issue in my district though.

The chicken is just pure chicken meat, and the texture is no different than regular chicken legs.

Even though it’s already cooked, you don’t get that funky taste that pre-cooked chicken sometimes gets. You can’t tell the difference between this and chicken cooked from raw.

The sauce tastes like a standard teriyaki sauce. Hence, it’s not overly sweet, and you can taste hints of ginger and citrus.

Yangs BBQ Chicken Teriyaki Ingredients

Here are the ingredients for the school chicken teriyaki:

Lets talk about a couple:

Chicken Leg Meat

As previously mentioned, this product uses chicken legs, which is a dark meat product. It appears to be seasoned with a little bit of the same sauce that appears in the packet.

This means if you have a child with a soy or ginger allergen, they cannot safely consume just the chicken because it does contain the same allergens as the sauce.

Extract of Mushroom

This is an interesting ingredient you don’t see added to many foods. 

Mushroom extract can be added to soy sauce to help add umami flavor without using MSG.

Yangs BBQ Chicken Teriyaki Nutrition

Here is the nutrition label for the gluten-free school version:

Total Fat

Since it uses dark meat chicken, you’ll notice a little more fat than white meat chicken; however, it’s still considered a pretty lean meat option. That little bit of fat helps add moisture, and actually adds more zinc and iron too!

Protein

15 grams of protein is an impressive amount for just 115 calories! 

Sugars

This does contain 6g of sugars per serving, and it’s safe to assume it’s all added sugar. In order to keep elementary students within the recommended 10% calories from added sugar, you’d need to keep the average meal below 16g.

While 6g is on the higher side for a meat entree, you can easily balance it with no-sugar entrees later in the week.

School Uses

A serving credits as 2 oz meat/meat alternate in the school nutrition program. Since it doesn’t include the grain, you can serve it in so many fun ways:

• Teriyaki chicken with rice
• Teriyaki chicken with chow mein noodles
• Teriyaki chicken wraps
• Asian chicken salad with crispy chow mein noodles and mandarin oranges
• Asian chicken tacos with a lime cole slaw
• Teriyaki chicken pizza or flatbread
• Banh mi: teriyaki chicken on a sub with cucumber and carrot

A Dietitian’s Recommendation

This is a high quality, tasty entree option!

Despite being a pre-made item, the ingredients don’t contain anything extra that I wouldn’t included in the dish if I were to make it homemade. Therefore, this is one of those items I feel good about serving to kids, and they really like it!

Procurement Tips for Schools

For school nutrition programs, here is a suggested specification:

Chicken, dark meat, unbreaded, teriyaki sauce in separate packaging, one serving to credit as 2 oz M/MA

Comparable products for “or equal” consideration

• Yangs 15554-8
  • While I reviewed the gluten-free version, their regular version is a popular option too. It just wouldn’t be safe for children that can’t consume wheat or gluten.
• Asian Food Solutions 73001
  • This one has a lot more added ingredients to their chicken, like isolated soy protein and binders/preservatives, like lactic acid and xanthan gum.
  • The added ingredients do increase the portion size to get to 2 oz M/MA: 2.85oz.
  • AFS also has sesame as an allergen but is still gluten free.
• Schwan’s Minh 69018
  • Very similar to the AFS product, it contains ISP, lactic acid, xanthan gum, and sesame.
  • This one is not gluten-free.
• Chef’s Corner COM-0130B/CMDY-0130B
  • Similar to the other two alternatives, this one contains ISP and xanthan gum. It also has caramel color and carrageenan. 
  • This code is gluten-free. They also have a non-gluten-free version.

Additional Descriptors to Consider

gluten-free

If you have a need for gluten-free options for students, then adding that it must be gluten-free is a reasonable addition to your description.

This would eliminate the Schwan’s product as a contender.

no MSG

If you have students with MSG sensitivities, you may want to consider adding this descriptor. The alternatives listed do not contain MSG, but if you need it to be MSG-free, this protects you in case someone submits a pre-approved equal request.

no sesame

If you have students with sesame allergies, you may want to add this as a descriptor. This would knock out Asian Food Solutions and Schwan’s but would keep Chef’s Corner.

Summary

Yangs BBQ Chicken Teriyaki Gluten-Free is a great meat option for school or for home. It’s a versatile, high-quality product!