Trader Joe’s Rants & Raves (mostly raves, a few rants)

Trader Joe’s CHICKEN CILANTRO MINI WONTONS

You could easily describe me as a dumpling fanatic. I’m fortunate to live in a city (NYC) with a huge Asian population and can get really excellent dumplings, such as at “Vanessa’s Dumpling House” to name just one place. So having said that, while I can’t honestly say these Trader Joe’s mini wontons compare to to really good handmade chicken and basil dumplings I can get at a place like Vanessa’s, or Shiu Jiao Fu Zhou dumpling house, these are decent little wontons, and they are certainly convenient. So if you can’t go buy a big bag of frozen dumplings from Vanessa‘s or another Chinese dumpling maker as will I do on occasion, these may be the next best thing as they are so easy to buy at TJ’s. They seem popular and I usually see a few people grabbing a bag. On the web, I know there is some hack with these dumplings cooked in TJ’s Miso Ginger broth, which I tried and is pretty good – but for me that broth needs more miso and way more ginger! These are mini wontons and are smaller than regular wontons or dumplings. These are just one bite each. They’re good made by either boiling or pan frying them.

If boiled, I like them in a strong chicken broth (preferably homemade) or possibly one of Trader Joe’s broths or the Ginger Miso Broth (I would add more miso if you have that and some fresh grated ginger) They are good also cooked up as pan fried wontons. These will taste much better with a good dumping sauce. For me, that is mandatory. Also the cilantro flavor in the dumplings is weak so I recommend adding a good handful of chopped cilantro just before serving. Some people hate the cilantro’s flavor but I love it and it’s a very essential Asian taste. These Mini Wontons are $3.49 for a package (12 oz). I would buy these again.

https://www.traderjoes.com/home/products/pdp/chicken-cilantro-mini-wontons-099085