Why Reddit Feels Cheated By Aldi's Broccoli

Packed with vitamins such as vitamin C and B9 and minerals including iron, potassium, and manganese, broccoli is a nutrient-rich vegetable offering myriad health benefits. It is also low in calories and relatively high in protein compared to other veggies (per Healthline).

The best method for unlocking its health benefits involves either eating it raw or steaming it for two to three minutes (via NPR). But when it comes to prepping and eating broccoli, not everyone opts for the bland, flavorless route. Some people may drizzle a little cheese over broccoli to jazz it up a bit and incorporate some creamy, salty goodness into the mix. Broccoli also shines in Asian cooking, from beef and broccoli stir fry recipes to kung pao chicken and broccoli.

The supermarket chain Aldi sells its own version of kung pao broccoli (sans chicken), a pre-packaged bag that is generally supposed to contain florets marinated in sweet and spicy ginger sauce. However, people on Reddit apparently felt cheated by Aldi's Kung Pao Broccoli after a contributor to the subreddit r/aldi uploaded a picture illustrating their disappointing experience with the product.

Twists on kung pao have been trending according to Nation's Restaurant News, which made Reddit user u/deckbubble's struggle particularly relatable after a photo depicting the contents of their Aldi Kung Pao Broccoli poured into a container revealed a pile of naked broccoli florets completely devoid of sauce. As it turns out, u/deckbubble wasn't alone. Fellow Redditors shared their own horror stories, including u/mallardducksrthebest, who exclaimed, "Yes, it was like that for me too! I was so bummed." Perhaps the worst outcome of all belonged to u/almondalchemist, who griped, "At least you got florets, I bought a bag and it was no sauce and just broccoli stems!"

Others endured a similar experience with a different Aldi broccoli product. One commenter, u/Mac452024, complained, "I had this happen with broccoli and cheese sauce...no cheese." Not everyone who purchased the item suffered their collective fate though. A comment from u/JSBachLove read, "I had a bag last night and it was sauced and spiced."

Redditors came to a consensus that it must have been a bad batch, and offered up solutions. One suggested taking the receipt and the picture to Aldi and requesting a refund or replacement, while u/Chubbdoggy recommended a recipe cook-around that could remedy the issue: "Make a quick sauce with some soy sauce, brown sugar, vinegar, sesame oil, and garlic. Boil a few minutes to thicken and voila." Probably not the prep time u/deckbubble had in mind when they bought the bag, but a nice gesture nonetheless.