UPDATE: MY TRADER JOE’S HAS A SIGN NOW THAT SAYS: “ASK AN EMPLOYEE FOR KIMBAP. LIMIT OF TWO PER CUSTOMER” – ergo try asking for if if you don’t see it on the shelves*
For months I’ve wanted to try this (relatively) new product Trader Joe’s introduced, ever since I first heard about it. But I could never find it in stock!! This went on for maybe six months. I never saw it in stock. Well it seems this is one of those Trader Joe’s products that blew up and went VIRAL due to social media.
“Trader Joe’s sold out of kimbap, its latest viral offering, thanks to TikTok”
In fact, I read that Trader Joe’s started to put up signs to limit any customer to buying just 2 packages.*
I could never buy it! But finally saw it yesterday and I literally I grabbed it. A day or two later, when I went back I actually saw some on the shelves so they had it so hopefully they’ve increased supply.
I’m not Korean. My wife is. So I have eaten a good amount of the real McCoy – freshly made KIMBAP (also called gimbap). I love it, just like I love all kinds of sushi or any Rice and Seaweed combination which is a match made in heaven.
A few years back my wife had a “secret little place” – a small window storefront in NYC’s Koreatown / 32nd Street area. At the time she worked nearby there. She would bring home kimbap from that little shop from time to time. I’ve since learned the kimpab shop is called “EM-O”. The kimbap from there is fantastic. If you ever have a chance to go there I suggest trying one from there (though they used to be about $7 each and now I understand they are about $11)! If you taste one from there (or a restaurant) you will have a basis for comparison for this stuff from TJ’s. No, this is not close BUT ….
Trader Joe’s came out with (frozen) kimbap, that is Made in Korea. Apparntly Costco also sells a similar item too.
“Known in Korea as gimbap, from gim for “seaweed” and bap for “cooked rice,” kimbap is similar to—but decidedly distinct from—a mega-sized maki sushi roll. Whereas maki is typically made with vinegar-seasoned rice and focuses on one filling (like a single variety of vegetable or fish), kimbap is made with sesame oil-seasoned rice, and can contain all kinds of combinations of savory fillings. Trader Joe’s Kimbap, for example, takes a veggie-forward approach. Our supplier, a kimbap expert in the Republic of Korea, arranges an assortment of sauteed greens, crunchy root vegetables, and crisp pickles around a base of braised tofu, wraps it all in a layer of rice and seaweed, then slices it into two-or-three-bite-sized rounds.”
My wife who is skeptical about all Trader Joe’s items was naturally quite skeptical that this frozen kimbap could be any good. Interestingly we both had the same reaction. “This stuff is better than I thought it was going to be”. So a qualified thumbs up. Sure its not like a freshly made kimbap from a special place that mades them.
However it was better than we thought. Its actually tasty. I don’t know if TJ’s Kimbap would impress most Koreans who grew up on their Mom’s kimbap but, as clearly the popularity of this has indicated, this might do in a pinch to satisfy your cravings. Especially I think if you do one of the things they suggest on the package. Grill the slices for a few minutes in a little bit of sesame oil. We had it both ways and liked the grilled ones better than non-grilled so I think that a little grilling will improve it and is worth your trying. Naturally the big difference between the freshly made stuff that you might get in a restaurant or made by your Korean grandma is just that, it was made fresh a few minutes ago. So like Sushi, of course that fresh handmade rice roll will be ideal eaten right then as the rice will be soft and slightly warm while the outer wrapping of seaweed will still have a nice crispy texture and crunch as you bite into it. Which this doesn’t of course. Naturally the process of freezing it and and then defrosting/microwaving it gives you a little mushy texture in both the rice and seaweed wrapping.
However even having said all this, Trader Joe’s Kimbap is still kind of tasty. Again we thought it would be terrible and we both said “this is better than I expected” (and again one of us is Korean/Japanese).
Koreans make many varieties of kimbap; it can contain lots of things, for example some are made with beef bulgogi however this Trader Joe’s one is a vegetarian version made with braised tofu and vegetables which include a few things like Burdock Root a crunchy root vegetable.
INormally kimpab is eaten at room temp. The package says to microwave it from frozen and not to defrost it, so I did as suggested letting it sit afterwards in the package for a minute. The rice came out just a tiny bit mushy and I thought next time I may try a 15 seconds less microwave time. One day I might just try defrosting this and see what that does in spite of what they say.
You can eat it right away as is. However they suggest on the package to pan fry it a bit with a drizzle of toasted sesame oil. Let the slices grill on low for about 5 minutes per side. You can give it a little more flavor sprinkling toasted sesame seeds or FURIKAKE on it. Maybe make a little GOCHUGANG sauce to drizzle on our serve on the side to. I think this would match well with other food items (grilled chicken, shrimp, beef) or maybe even TJ’s vegetarian beefless BULGOLGI
One user on Quora, recommended putting a spoon of spicy tuna on each piece which should like a great idea.
$3.99 per package. I would buy it again. If I can find it that is!!!
MADE IN KOREA
If you are interested in HOW TO MAKE KIMBAP and maybe someday want to try it DIY; here’s a link I found:
My wife bought this to try though we are not lactose intolerant nor vegetarian. Taste wise it was very MEH. Neither of us thought it was good and we both thought “don’t buy this again”. Still if you are lactose intolerant (or vegetarian) perhaps this recent addition to the frozen dessert options at Trader Joe’s is something you might be interested in.
BAINGAN BHARTA – Roasted Eggplant Curry – Northern Indian dish from the Punjab region.
NEW ITEM: Trader Joe’s recently added one more very good “Authentic Indian Recipe” entrée to the frozen Indian dishes they carry.
Baingan Bharta is a spiced roasted eggplant dish. Baingan mean eggplant. Bharta means charred grilled vegetables. I’ve had this many times in Indian restaurants. If I see it on the menu, I will order it.
Trader Joe’s frozen version of Baingan Bharta is quite good, almost like something you could get at a restaurant though maybe not quite as smokey. This does have a bit of the classic smokey taste this dish is well known for, and it is very nicely seasoned with lots of authentic spices and flavor.
This Indian entrée joins two other very good frozen entrée vegetarian dishes that Trader Joe’s carries which I’ve reviewed and buy regularly: (1) the excellent PALAK PANEER and (2) a very good CHANNA MASALA. I love having any of these in my freezer., for whenever the mood strikes for an easy and very tasty Indian meal.
Just FYI, the ones I mention are the ones that are “entrées” meaning just that dish – they don’t include basmati rice (as some dishes do). I prefer to make my own Basmati rice . Plus I like that that Trader Joe’s put this dish in an Eco Friendly (reclyable) paper base instead of plastic as some other dishes use.
HEATING: Use Microwave, Oven or Stovetop (even though they don’t say that). I made it on the stove and it worked fine just heating in a pan. You can leave it out on the counter for maybe a 1/2 hr, to defrost slightly then put the frozen puck in a non-stick pan, cover it and heat it on low heat till its defrosted and heated thru, stirring every five minutes. It may take 15 minutes in total.
This dish goes well of course with Basmati rice and some Naan or similar bread to scoop it up. I made a quick Raita with Greek yogurt and cucumbers on the side. Or buy the Tzaziki at TJ’s.
Naturally a nice chutney will go well too with this dish. One can not go wrong with TJ’s excellent Sri Lankan ORGANIC MANGO CHUTNEY
Cook up this entree up with Palak Paneer or a package of Channa Masala and some rice or naan and you have an Indian feast that will easily serve two for about $7-8.
$3.49 for 10 oz. I would buy this again.
Spice level – to me not very. Your mileage of course will vary. If you do find it too spicy, you can tone it down with a little plain yogurt.
“Our latest foray into the world of frozen entrées inspired by Indian cuisine combines the mild, slightly sweet flavor and creamy consistency of roasted eggplant with aromatic alliums like onion and garlic, savory seasonings like turmeric and fenugreek leaves, and a nice level of heat, courtesy of fresh green chili peppers. Hearty, flavorful, and satisfying, each bite of Trader Joe’s Baingan Bharta is layered with a pleasantly complex mix of tastes and textures. And though the eating experience may be complex, our take on this iconic Punjabi vegetarian dish (also known in some parts of the world as baigan chokha) is surprisingly simple to prepare: just heat, serve, and enjoy”
You can learn about this dish here which includes a recipe if you are feeling ambitious!
Here’s a review of Trader Joe’s Wild Caught Alaskan Sockeye Salmon, which you will find with the fresh fish (Label states “previously frozen” (I believe they process and flash freeze the salmon as soon as it comes off the boats in Alaska.) Boxes of frozen fish arrive at Trader Joe’s; they put it out to slow defrost in the refrigerated case overnight daily (proper slow defrost)
I had asked my wife to pickup some salmon at Trader Joe’s for dinner recently. Instead of the Norwegian Atlantic salmon we usually get and I thought she would buy, she picked up some Wild Caught Alaskan Sockeye fillets. Yes, it cost a bit more. But we really liked the wild salmon and thought it’s worth the occasional splurge for this “upgrade”.
You can pan fry, broil, bake or BBQ it. I decided I would broil it in a Japanese style, with WHITE MISO. It was delicious done this way, which is a great way to make salmon, or any fish, if you never tried it. The miso gives it a lot of “umami”.
Normally as I mentioned, we tend to get Atlantic Salmon, farmed from Norway. Which I honestly think is also very good and of a very high quality. So lets discuss, Wild vs Farmed Salmon taste-wise: Most of us are probably now more familiar with eating Atlantic salmon farmed from Norway or elsewhere, compared to wild caught Sockeye salmon, which is more expensive.
Alaskan Sockeye Salmon is different from Atlantic salmon. First, while the two fish are related species, they are actually different fish. If you compare the two fish visually, the two salmon varieties look shockingly different (see pictures below). Second, is the simple fact that a wild Sockeye hunts food. It swam thousands of miles over its lifespan. Therefore it is more muscular with denser flesh. It has a more robust taste than farmed Atlantic salmon. A Sockeye’s body (and flesh) is DEEP RED with a dense texture. It has less fat. So doesn’t exhibit the white marbling (fat) which Atlantic salmon has. Sockeye is not just leaner, its thinner too. You want to cook wild salmon more carefully as it has no visible fat so is less forgiving about overcooking.
TJ’s wild caught Alaskan Sockeye cost $13.99/lb. That is $4 more per pound than the Norwegian farmed Atlantic Salmon at Trader Joe’s (currently $9.99/lb) However even $14/lb is probably a decent price for wild caught Alaskan Sockeye. I have a feeling say at Whole Foods similar wild Alaskan Sockeye salmon probably costs more like $20lb or more….
Our $16 package of salmon was a little over a pound of fish and was cut into two fillets. This was actually a whole side of one salmon filleted, with one thick piece (the head end, visible in the photo above). Under that was a thinner piece (the tail end) not as attractive of course. The tail piece is thin. Wild salmon is thinner than farmed, and leaner so you need to be more careful cooking it and it will take less time to cook.
RECIPE: BROILED SALMON WITH WHITE MISO: I coated the salmon on both sides, slathering on a coat of Trader Joe’s WHITE MISO PASTE and sprinkled it with fresh black pepper. Do not add salt as the miso has plenty. I let the fish marinate for about an hour at room temp. If you don’t have that much time, give it 20 minutes. To cook it I put both pieces in a cast iron pan skin side down. I dotted the top with a few dots of butter, then broiled the fish on just the top side for about 5 minutes, or just until the flesh flaked apart easily. I didn’t flip this wild salmon over to cook the skin as I would normally do to get the skin crispy. I was worried about overcooking it.
The fish was delicious cooked this way. We ate one piece (1/2 lb) and I saved the other so I managed to get another meal out of the one package. I cooked up both pieces and kept that tail piece of salmon for the next night where I used it for a Japanese style “donburi” rice bowl (a rice bowl topped with shredded salmon meat mixed with some white miso. Put the flaked up salmon on top of warm rice and sprinkle with FURIKAKE flakes. The salmon this way was also delicious and was a good way to use that tail end of the fish.
Personally I love the taste of wild salmon which has a more robust flavor than Norwegian farmed Atlantic salmon (however I do enjoy that as well.)
I’m not someone who will only eat wild fish. If we all did that, there would be no fish left in the oceans. I like both kinds of salmon as each have certain qualities, the main difference being the fat content. The fat marbling seen in the farm raised salmon does keep the salmon nice and moist when cooked, making it easier to cook without overcooking it, If you enjoy salmon, try both kinds to compare them. Some people might even decide they prefer the milder flavor of farmed salmon with it’s richer, fattier flesh (remember in fish, fat is a good thing with its Omega-3’s).
I would buy this again.
Just FYI, Trader Joe’s also has frozen Wild Sockeye Salmon in the freezer section. I think it’s a dollar less per pound…. (you can do a slow defrost yourself, overnight in fridge. )
Here’s my “honest review” of Trader Joe’s “Palak Paneer,Spinach and Paneer Cheese Seasoned with a bit of curry and chili“.
It’s so good that Vegetarian or not, you should try this!
Trader Joe’s PALAK PANEER is good. Make that very very good. In fact I’d say this is one of my top 5 favorite frozen items Trader Joe’s has. This and at least one other Indian entrée, the equally tasty CHANNA MASALA. Both have a pretty authentic real McCoy Indian taste. Pretty much comparable to what you might get if you ordered takeout from an Indian restaurant.
Trader Joe’s really has some pretty decent frozen Indian dishes. I buy these frozen entrées constantly when shopping at Trader Joe’s (update: now along with the also good new eggplant entrée dish Baingan Bharta) I like to always have these dishes in our the freezer along with a package of Naan of course. If I have those in the freezer I know I can have a delicious really easy Indian meal ready quickly that tastes pretty much as if we ordered in from a restaurant and for a lot less!
PALAK PANEER is a surprisingly good vegetarian dish consisting of spinach cooked with spices and the Indian cheese called paneer.
Paneer is a fresh Indian cheese that is great to cook with as it is firm and doesn’t melt.
Some of the Indian dishes at TJ’s include a portion of rice. A few do not. This dish doesn’t have rice ; it’s an entree only and you get more of the spinach dish here. For me preferable. I just make my own rice. You can make some Basmati rice, which is not very hard, actually that is pretty easy and only about 15 minutes.
TJ’s Palak Paneer is cooked with a lovely combination of spices and a bit of chili giving it an authentic Indian flavor. My only complaint if any is I wish they put more more paneer in this, as I love that. But at least there is just enough so that you don’t feel like they cheated you (side note: one reader writes to say they did used to give you more paneer back when…!
The dish has a little kick from chile but just a tad. I find the spicy level just right, i mean its a little spicy, but just a little bit. It is NOT crazy spicy though of course this is a personal taste preference. If you want it spicier, that’s easy to do, just add something spicy like (Bomba or Peri-Peri)
We eat this whenever we are in the mood for some “real Indian” food because it just that. How can you tell something Indian at TJ’s is any good. Well I have seen Indian people buying the Palak at Trader Joe’s along with some other dishes.
Sometimes alongside this Palak Paneer, I like to make TJ’s CHANNA MASALA (spiced chickpeas). Also quite good, and the chick pea dish and this spinach dish make a good combo with Basmati rice.
If you serve up these with Naan or Paratha for bread and some rice you have a tasty balanced Indian dinner that almost tastes like you ordered it from a decent Indian restaurant, and for a lot less. Maybe 8 dollars for a feast that serves two well? If I’m not too lazy I will make some raita to go with these (just slice up cucumber and mix with garlic and Greek yogurt to make a cooling Raita to go with the above dishes). For a shortcut, you could just buy some the Tzatziki. That will match well too.
TIP: Though they don’t mention Stove-top as a cooking method I have made this that way. Take the frozen slab out on the package and put it in a pan with a tablespoon of water. Heat on low, covered, stirring every 5 minutes or so for about 15-20 minutes till nice and hot.
$3.99 (10 oz)
I would buy this again.
Again this entree does not include rice; some of TJ’s Indian entrees have rice and some don’t. You get more entree when they don’t include it, so I’d rather make my own Basmati rice and get twice as much of the éntree.
Trader Joe’s Korean Scallion Pancakes are savory pancakes made primarily with scallions (green onions) as well as other vegetables.
These are a bit similar to TJ’s popular TAIWANESE GREEN ONION PANCAKES however the KOREAN SCALLION PANCAKES, (“PaJeon” in Korean) contain a lot more scallions than Trader Joe’s Taiwanese scallion pancakes, plus more vegetables such as onions, carrots, king oyster mushrooms and other goodies as you can see in the picture. These pancakes are quite tasty and Trader Joe’s version (made in Korea) are pretty good!
To make these pancakes, you make a egg and flour batter then add vegetables to it, then pour this into a pan to pan fry. I’ve have had them many times in Korean restaurants and those are delicious, really crispy. Naturally I can’t compare Trader Joe’s frozen scallion pancakes to those I’ve had in Korean restaurants but never the less, I enjoyed these. Trader Joe’s frozen PAJEON are quite tasty.
Even my wife (Korean/Japanese) enjoyed them and said they were good for a frozen version. You will enjoy these, especially if you can get them really crispy – which is the trick to making good pajeon.
The package suggests defrosting them before cooking doing either an overnight defrost in the fridge, or you can leave them out on the counter for a 1/2 hour or so, which is what I did. In a pinch they say you could do them from frozen. I didn’t try that way. Just plan a little bit ahead if you can to take them out for at least 20 minutes. The bag does say leave overnight in fridge to defrost, or about 30 minutes out on the counter. Meaning you should cook these defrosted if possible for the best results.
HOW TO COOK TRADER JOE’S SCALLION PANCAKES: Add a teaspoon or two of oil to a non stick, cast iron pan or very heavy skillet. If you happen to have a bottle of toasted sesame oil use that for the oil for the most authentic Korean taste.
Get the oil hot on medium heat then carefully add your (defrosted) pancakes. Let them cook for about 2-3 minutes on the first side checking the bottom occasionally for browning. You want to get them as golden brown as possible. You can press them gently with a spatula to help get them browned everywhere.
When the first side looks ready, flip them over and cook the second side, again getting the PaJeon as golden brown as possible, maybe another 2-3 minutes. When they look ready remove and drain off any excess oil on a paper towel.
Eat them asap while they are hot and crispy.
Other Methods: The package says you can bake them in the oven as well but I didn’t try that method yet. Perhaps then these can be done in an Air Fryer.
To serve these, cut the pancakes into quarters or slices (I actually cut the pancakes up before I cooked them as you can see above). Either way works. You want to eat these with a nice Asian dipping sauce, so get that prepped before you start cooking these. If you have some Gochujang , sesame oil and garlic in the sauce that will give you a real Korean flavor however any Asian dumpling sauce will work.
You could even top them with a fried egg. Or you could put some cooked shrimp on top. So be creative. Pajeon are hugely popular in Korean cuisine and can also be made with additional ingredients such as shrimp, beef, pork, tofu, seaweed, and other vegetables. Seafood pajeon are called haemul pajeon, kimchi pajeon are known as kimchijeon.
What to enjoy along with these to make a full meal? We ate them with fried rice and these go well with that. Maybe TJ’s Japanese Fried Rice or Bulgogi Fried Rice? Add KIMCHI on the side or mixed in for sure.
All in all, I found these SCALLION PANCAKES quite tasty. I would buy them again. They are about $4 for 4 pancakes. A bit more than the plainer Taiwan pancakes but these have way more ingredients.
(FROZEN) Trader Joe’s “Mushroom Medley” is one of their really great frozen products. It’s an assortment of mushrooms that have been cooked with olive oil and garlic. You can just use these exactly the same as if you had spent time cooking up a big bag of assorted mushrooms.
I love it so much I like to always have a bag in my freezer. I can use these to come up with lots of things fast and easy. For example just by adding these mushrooms to pasta or gnocchi or polenta I can make a very tasty dish, super fast. Of course they are good for other things besides pasta or gnocchi too. Sometimes I’ll use these to come up with a mushroom sauce for say chicken. Or add some of these to eggs and make a nice mushroom omelette or maybe a frittata. You could mix some into a can of tomato sauce. Or put on a pizza. You can use just what you need in the package and put the bag back inside a Ziplock bag.
They include a variety of different mushrooms. Beside “regular” mushrooms they have some oyster mushrooms (pleurotos ostreatus), porcini (boletus edulis) and slippery jack mushrooms (suillus luteus) to give you a variety of tastes and textures. Other ingredients include extra virgin olive oil, sunflower oil, parsley, salt and garlic. It can use more garlic so usually I will add that as well as a nice slug of good EVOO.
One example of a pasta dish might be something like cooking up a shaped pasta like farfalle, penne or rigatoni, trofie or gnocchi. Then mixing the pasta into a pan with the (defrosted) mushrooms till they get nicely coated. I usually add fresh garlic plus butter and olive oil and mix in a few tablespoons of the pasta water for a lovely sauce.
This makes a very tasty nice mushroom pasta dish. You could use a long pasta instead of a shaped one (like spaghetti) but in that case I might chop up the mushrooms first perhaps.
Another use might be to toss these into cooked rice or Harvest Grains Blend for a mushroom grain dish. So again, these are very versatile and useful!
One of my favorite/go to dishes is to use these to make GNOCCHI & MUSHROOMS. Crisp fry up a package of Trader Joe’s regular gnocchi while these mushrooms are cooking with a good slug of butter. When the gnocchi are golden brown, I just toss in these mushrooms and grate some Pecorino or Parmigiano on top. Voila, a gourmet dish equal to a restaurant that serves two for dinner and costs under $6!
Another one would be pairing these with the great ORGANIC PAPPARDELLE noodles. Sauté some garlic with olive oil, add the mushrooms and mix them with the pappardelle. Easy and delicious.
You don’t have to use the whole package; take out what you need and put the rest back for later in a ziplock into the freezer.
These are a must try.
Trader Joe’s frozen Mushroom Medley is $3.99 (12 oz)
I was pleasantly surprised by Trader Joe’s frozen “Middle Eastern Style Kebabs, Seasoned Beef Patties” at how good these are.I thought these are good enough that one could imagine either you made them yourself or from a Middle Eastern joint. I found these quite tasty. Flavorful with lots of nice spices. These are what you would call KOFTE kebabs. Ground meat with veggies and seasonings. Now, I’ve made these style of kebabs myself in the past often, and honestly TJ’s version almost tasted like something I might have made myself.
The Trader Joe’s Beef Kebabs are well seasoned with an authentic Middle Eastern style flavor – they have coriander, cumin, allspice, cloves plus other spices.
The ingredients listed in these are nice and simple, and sound pretty much like what I would use if I made them:
I was even surprised that my wife , who is really tough on Trader Joe’s frozen foods, liked these! She said they were tasty. In fact she even asked if I had made them or bought them from TJ’s (hah!) That’s a good review.
Wrapped up in the LAVASH flatbread, with a yogurt garlic sauce, lettuce and onions…..
COOKING: Personally I think they benefit from a getting nice and browned up. As brown as possible. I cooked them in a pan on the stove – in spite of them not even listing this as way to make them. Trust me you can cook these in a pan which for me its the best way, especially as I cooked other things at the same time in the same pan. I added a handful of sliced onions and a tablespoon of olive oil. Some sliced garlic will not hurt!
When it was all done I I warmed up my flatbread in the same pan after I took everything out.
Other ways they list are oven, grill and air fryer too and microwave ( I say don’t just nuke it!)
I just put a little olive oil in a pan and cooked them on medium low until they were hot and nicely browned, which took maybe 7-8 minutes per side. You can also make them in the oven or in an air fryer or on a grill. Microwave? I wouldn’t though the package says so. Reason being I think they will be far better getting a bit more browning from actual cooking.
These can be a great lunch or dinner. I served the kebabs on flatbread with veggies and a sauce. Actually the first time I used flour tortillas as my flatbread and those work fine or serve them with Pita or Naan or best perhaps might be TJ’s LAVASH flat bread. I topped them with thinly sliced red onions, tomatoes and parsley. Then put sauce on top. Cucumbers, red or yellow peppers, or some greens all will work great with these kebabs.
SAUCE: I made an easy sauce of Greek yogurt and garlic – or just use use TJ’s Tzaziki sauce which is basically that with a little cucumber added. Or spread your bread with TJ’s yummy garlic spread. A few drops of lemon too will send these skyward.
On the side, I made some a delicious Yemeni rice dish, a recipe I found on YouTube, which I put below if you want to try that. It tastes amazing with these kebabs but even just some Basmati or Jasmine rice will be great as well.
I think these are one of the better frozen foods I’ve found at Trader Joe’s, along with many of the frozen Indian dishes.
They were about $6.50 (12 oz) with 6 kebabs in the bag (update: about $7.49 now)?
These would be great to have in the freezer to come up with a quick dinner easily.
I would buy them again.
Want to try your hand at making these style of “kofte kebabs”. Here’s a recipe for a Lebanese beef kofte. You might even use the Organic Ground Beef if you made them yourself.
“Our Chicken Karaage [ka-RAH-geh] is crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, made with a Japanese-inspired recipe. It begins with bite-sized pieces of boneless, skinless, leg meat that have been tenderized and flavor-infused after marinating in rice wine (mirin), soy sauce, and white wine vinegar—along with garlic & ginger powders.”
Trader Joe’s frozen Chicken Kaarage is another addition to the growing list of Trader Joe’s Asian frozen prepared frozen food offerings, especially chicken dishes.
Some people on the internet rave about this KARAAGE (kara-ag-eh) .
My honest review? Now as with all of Trader Joe’s Asian foods you really have to know what the “real thing” tastes like to be able to judge. Real Japanese Karrage consist of some marinated chicken which gets a light coating of cornstarch then is shallow fried till golden brown. Basically think of it as Japanese fried chicken. It’s delicious.
Is Trader Joe’s KARAAGE like what you might get at a Japanese restaurant? I’m afraid not people. However for what this is, I think its not bad. The crispy chicken is actually pretty tasty and juicy. The main problem with this is obvious: just has way too much breading. I put this stuff in front of my (Japanese Korean) wife who looked it it and told me they looked like “chicken nuggets”.
Pros – The marinated dark meat chicken is actually tasty, just as long as you get a big piece with enough chicken to match the breading. Dip it in a little of the mayonnaise based sauce they give you, to which you added fresh lemon juice. Ditto mixing in a little TJ’s YUZU hot sauce.
Cons – Way too much breading. The big pieces are OK however you also get many small pieces where the breading totally overwhelms the chicken. You will even find little pieces basically of just breading with almost no chicken! Should have better quality control (but that would cost). Plus this lists many ingredients.
Though the instructions don’t say you can cook these on top of the stove in pan. I cooked it that way on medium heat first covered for 5 minutes then removed the cover and cooked for maybe 10 minutes, turning on all sides till golden brown and crispy. That’s the way I cooked them in the picture here. Or cook it in an Air Fryer or in the oven.
Defrost the sauce in warm water for 5-10 minutes. Cut an end and squeeze it out.
What to eat with this? This might match well with frozen Japanese Fried Rice and some edamame.
Trader Joe’s GRILLED CHICKEN STRIPS Seasoned White Chicken Meat.
Simply grilled white chicken meat. Simple and straightforward, just strips of (cooked) chicken breast and I’ve found they can be handy to have on hand in my freezer. Say I wish I had a few strips of of leftover chicken to put on something like a salad. Or perhaps I need a little chicken as an ingredient, say for a fast chicken/cheese quesadillas.
Except I don’t have any leftover chicken. No wait, I have this in the freezer. I take out a few strips, put them in a pan with a pinch of water, cover and voila. In just 6 minutes I’ve got some strips of chicken I can use however I want.
I find this has been at times quite useful to come up with a fast protein. To top a salad or greens, a bowl of rice or other grains, or for a protein bowl. To match with vegetables or a taco, or what have you. High protein, low calorie.
This seems pretty natural ingredients-wise, just chicken and a few seasonings, no chemical names. The chicken has a slightly smokey, grilled taste. It has grill marks which I guessing means they got a little time on a grill or open flame.
Gluten free. Minimal ingredients. Chicken, salt, pepper, onion, garlic… Sodium level is not bad at all. No added fats. The Nutrition Label says 100 Calories per 3 oz serving which has a whopping 20 grams of Protein!
(frozen)(cooked)
Cooking Directions: (Stovetop) Place chicken in a nonstick or cast iron pan. Add 2 tbls of water. Cover the pan and cook on low-medium for about 6 to 8 minutes, until done. TIP: Personally I add a little olive oil or butter to the pan, as I find a bit improves the flavor.) I always do the “stovetop” method but there are directions as well for microwaving them too. Just be careful and don’t overcook them lest you end up with over cooked tough white meat.
My take is cook just until the point of done-ness, or “à point” – as they say in French. Basically we’re letting it go from frozen to defrosted and then cooking just a little bit. The moist environment helps, which is the point of adding a little water, and remember to open the cover and let the steam out when its done.
Many of the strips are perfect however you will find some broken or small pieces, probably happening during shipping and stocking. C’est la vie. TJ’s Grilled Chicken Strips are $8.99 (1 lb). You’ll find them in Frozen near chicken products
“They pair well with all kinds of veggies and starches, and take particularly well to customizing with your favorite sauces and seasonings—we’re partial to tossing them with a bit of Korean Gochujang Sauce, ourselves. They’re a great topper for salads, pastas, and pizzas, phenomenal as a filling for tacos and quesadillas, lovely when layered into sandwiches and wraps, and an easy addition to casseroles and baked enchiladas.”
Trader Joe’s Rants & Raves (mostly raves, a few rants) 
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