I was glad to see Trader Joe’s came out with packs of vacuum packed “fresh” noodles that you can keep in the pantry, these so called THAI WHEAT NOODLES. Heat and serve. 3 packages noodles.
These are a typical Asian style wheat noodle, something similar to Japanese “Udon”
These can be used for anykind of Asian noodle dish. So why “Thai”? I would say these are just as much Chinese or Japanese as Thai however these noodles say Product of Thailand hence the name.
They’re about $2.50 for a 3 pack (21 oz) package. The noodles are pre-cooked, ready to use.
Each bag contains about 7 ounces of noodles. Frankly the amount seems just a tiny bit skimpy to me to make one portion. I wish these had even one more ounce, that is 8 ounces instead of 7, as that would make a more decent portion per person. I found one bag will just make a meal for one as a finished noodle dish, if you factor in other added ingredients. So I definitely suggest you “beef it up” and add things, like veggies, a protein, or what have you. Or add these to a soup.
My finished noodle dish with chicken, cucumber and scallions plus sauce
An example of one dish I made with these noodles is shown (see picture above). I had a some cooked chicken breast in the fridge which I used plus scallions and cucumbers. I basically used the recipe they have on the box for “Sesame Scallion Noodles” and added things to it. This dish turned out tasty.
Note that these noodles are already cooked so you don’t want to cook them too much more, or they might get mushy.
TIP: Opening the vacuum package you will find the noodles are clumped up together into an almost impenetrable brick that is not easy to break up! You will see I’m not kidding. To get them loosened up, I really had to work at them using chopsticks and tongs when I added the liquid sauce ingredients, as they state. But it was not easy.
TIP: HOW TO LOOSEN THESE – So the next time I made them I experimented using hot/near boiling water to loosen them up which really helps. Use very hot or near boiled water, and pour it over the noodles in a bowl. Let sit for a minute. I used my chopsticks/tongs and later fingers to get them as unstuck as possible, bit by bit. When the noodles were separated I rinsed them in cold water and drained them. Doing this worked better to prep them before adding them to the dish. One reader just says they use their fingers to pry them apart but some very hot water helps. Just be gentle so you don’t break them up into little pieces.
I placed the loosened drained noodles into a bowl and gave them just a drizzle of oil, and mixed it in as this will keep them from sticking together. Then do your other ingredients as they are ready to use (say in a stir fry). You can of course also use these noodles in any soup or perhaps a stir fried dish.
Some ideas for toppings would be some grilled chicken, beef or pork (Cha Siu?), grilled shrimp, or even just a fried egg on top with some Gojujang or other sauce. I would say these wheat noodles are basically a bit similar to “Udon” (though not as good quality as them) – so you could use them in Japanese cooking, to make a “YAKIUDON“. I did a kind of YAKI UDON with these and it worked OK. The box’s recipe for “SESAME SCALLION NOODLES” worked fairly well too when I made it.
TIP: The recipe for Sesame Scallion Noodles on the box is for one pack. So you will need to double the recipe (or more) if you are making two packs of noodles, or you will not have enough sauce. The recipe on the box is actually a good basic recipe that you can modify easily. I added a heaping tablespoon of crunchy peanut butter to it, to make it a bit more “Thai”. I also used a little Bomba hot pepper to make it spicy. Or use some Chili Crunch.
These noodles are handy and not bad at about a buck a portion, even if they don’t match up to the fresh noodles like this (not vacuum packed) you can find at many Asian grocery stores. One more thing I just thought of, you could say add these to Trader Joe’s GINGER MISO soup and come up with a noodle version of that (but do add more ginger).
I hope TJ’s keeps these around so check them out so they see they are selling. (update; these seem quite popular)
I would buy these again.
VEGAN
Here’s TJ’s info on them.
“Trader Joe’s Thai Wheat Noodles, a three-pack of ready-to-use noodle packets that’s as simple to eat as heat, serve, and enjoy. They’re made for us from scratch, by a supplier in Thailand, who cooks them to soft, chewy perfection, then vacuum- seals them to keep them preserved at room temperature until the very moment you need them for a soup, curry, or stir-fry” – Trader Joe’s
Nice Chinese recipe from Xaoying’s Kitchen with cabbage and noodles which you might get some ideas from. Turn on CC Subtitles for English subtitles. Note she is using uncooked noodles. These are pre-cooked so heat for less time (60 seconds?) and then rinse and season as she does.
TJ’s sells these bottles of liquid hand soaps in three different scents. This one is “Pink Pomelo Grapefruit” and it has a really nice citrus-y grapefruit smell. They also have a Lemon version, and that one says “Kitchen Hand Soap”. Not clear on why only the Lemon one would be for the kitchen / hands. Looking at the ingredients they seem more or less the same to me. My wife however specifically told me to get the her the Lemon “kitchen” version, for her in the kitchen. In fact, when I bought this Pomelo grapefruit one home for what I thought would be a nice little variety in our kitchen she looked at me like I was crazy and then told gave me a very clear “No Way” to this Grapefruit one for the kitchen. Why? It doesn’t say “Kitchen” on the label and the Lemon one does. I see the grapefruit one says it has Jojoba and Argan oils which I would think would be good for hands, no? The Lemon one doesn’t include these Argan or Jojoba oils, but then what do I know? Anyway all the 3 kinds of TJ’s hand soaps are good, make lots of lather and smell great. These go for $3.99 each for a large pump bottle (17 oz.). I would buy it again.
We really enjoyed this Trader Joe’s Pumpkin Cheesecake. Especially after our upstairs neighbor gussied it up with some whipped cream when she invited us to her Halloween dinner (hence the black spider napkin holder) and served the TJ’s pumpkin cheesecake for dessert. What I liked about this cheesecake was it they did not over do it in the “pumpkin spices” department, it’s pretty subtle and tasted first and foremost like cheesecake with just a little something extra, with pumpkin. Its very yummy. $7.99 for a rather large cake (30 oz). This could make an especially nice dessert for Thanksgiving, or anytime you can get this during the Fall/Winter season when it may be available. Frozen, defrost in fridge overnight or 4 hours and leave at room temp for about an hour or so. I would buy this again.
Trader Joe’s: “We couldn’t fit an entire pumpkin into the box but we did fill it with rich pumpkin flavor…blended into the tangy sweet goodness of cheesecake….perfect for holiday dessert….”
This is an excellent coffee and has become one of my new favorite Trader Joe’s small lot coffees.
I saw it in the NEW PRODUCTS area, and tried it. I found this to be an excellent coffee. It’s from Mexico of course and is one of their small lot, shade grown, 100% Arabica originating from the mountains of Huatusco, Mexico which is somewhere between Vera Cruz and Puebla.
I thought it made an outstanding cup of brewed coffee. Now the package says this is a “medium roast” – however I would disagree and say it’s darker than a medium roast
I’ve found Trader Joe’s descriptions (light, medium, dark) can vary quite a bit from coffee to coffee and are fairly inconsistent. To my eyes, this is a bit darker than “medium”. I would say its on the edge of being a (light) dark roast. Maybe about a “French Roast”? The beans are darkish and even slightly shiny.
(correction/ update; the new batch I just bought (2025) is exactly “medium roast”).
If you want a “medium” roast TJ’s Azmari Bunni is actually a medium roast or even a shade lighter. So let’s say this lovely Mexican coffee is roasted a little bit into the edge of a dark roast which actually seems perfect for these beans. The brewing method I used was making it in my Moka pot but this coffee will work for any kind of brewing method you prefer (drip, pour-over or even an espresso machine). This is a whole bean coffee of course so ideally of course you will grind up your beans at home just before brewing. In a pinch use the grinder at Trader Joe’s. When freshly ground you get an incredible aroma from these beans. It made a rich dark flavorful cup of Joe that I just loved. I find this coffee is delicious and excellent. I would buy it again gladly. In fact I may stock up a bit as these small lot coffees from Trader Joe’s can go bye-bye easily. TJ’s sells this for $9.99 for a 12 oz bag (whole bean. For this quality I’d say that’s not outrageous and a pretty fair price. PS I also experimented mixing this 50/50 with TJ’s BUUNI coffee, which is a medium roast, and together that was also quite excellent as a blend of a medium and darker roast, Middle American, South America and African coffees!
UPDATE (Dec 1 2022) : Sure enough a few weeks after writing this post, I can’t find any more bags of this coffee in either of my two nearby TJ’s (NYC) ! I really hope more comes in… Please leave a COMMENT if you see it in your local TJ’s (with location)
This was a really good product but sadly and very unfortunately Trader Joe’s stopped carrying them (discontinued). Argh!!! They were good. Many people aren’t happy about these being Axed judging from all the Comments left here below.
FYI – one of our readers kindly let us know these cleaning cloths on Amazon seem similar to the Trader Joe’s one. These cleaning cloths are made in Germany and come in a 12 pack, so cost about $1 each! They got good reviews too, Click the link for them on Amazon –https://amzn.to/4qEmlTt
For Archival Purposes…… here’s my original post about the Trader Joe’s Cloths…..
“SAVE PAPER, REDUCE WASTE”
These cleaning cloths are strong and quite absorbent. We’ve tested these out in our kitchen and are finding them to be pretty useful. They seem to me a bit like those orange “Chamois” cloths one finds at the dollar store? The good ones that is. These Trader Joe’s viscose cloths are convenient to buy and are not out of line priced at $2.99 for two cloths in the package (though I wish they were a little bigger). We’re mainly using them for kitchen counters and the like. They do absorb a lot even when wet. You just wring them out till damp and they absorb a ton of liquid again. These are useful and “eco”, saving some paper towel usage. I would buy these again.
UPDATE – Everyone complains about these being DISCONTINUED! (Argh!!!) I haven’t tried these but Amazon has some Amazon Basics” general cleaning cloths “even cheaper than the German ones….. that might be OK : https://amzn.to/3DIHmJy
Trader Joe’s Fish Nuggets are tasty and these taste like a real battered piece of fish. They are perfect for making fish tacos for one thing. The first ingredient is Alaskan Pollack. Don’t confuse this item (“Fish Nuggets”) with TJ’s “Fish Sticks”which are terrible, way inferior to these at a dollar less. I used these nuggets to make Fish Tacos for dinner the other night. BTW I didn’t bake these as it says on the package. I sauteed them in a cast iron pan till they were crispy on both sides.
We really enjoyed these when we made them into fish tacos. The popular TJ’s Fish Tacos recipe is easy to make. You take a package of these, Corn Tortillas (which I think will taste better than flour ones) and top with crunchy slaw made with the Cole Slaw Mix, some Greek Yogurt, and lime juice. Optional but nice would be some ripe avocado and your favorite hot sauce. I would recommend TJ’s Green Dragon and/or Peri-Peri hot sauce as being a good match with fish tacos.
TJ’s BATTERED FISH NUGGETS are now $5.99 for a 1 lb package. The other thing these might be good for is an English style Fish & Chips with some french fries?
“These tantalizing tacos combine the tart, tangy, and savory flavors of fresh Lime juice and crispy Battered Fish Nuggets with a mix of soft, crunchy, and creamy textures, courtesy of our Corn Tortillas, Organic Broccoli Slaw, and Plain Greek Whole Milk Yogurt. Endlessly customizable with your favorite hot sauce, salsa, or crema, one batch of these can feed a family of four and even more, depending on your hunger level.”
FISH TACOS
TJ’s Battered Fish Nuggets
TJ’s Plain Greek Whole Milk Yogurt
1 Lime
TJ’s Organic Broccoli Slaw or Cole Slaw Mix
TJ’s Corn Tortillas
Add yogurt and lime juice to the slaw mix; let sit a 1/2 hour to marinate. Cook up the fish till golden brown and put two pieces into a warm corn tortilla and top with slaw and a few drops of salsa or hot sauce.
Ground turkey is something I tend to buy fairly often at Trader Joe’s. For one, I find it versatile, not to mention more affordable than ground beef, as well as a healthier option. Perhaps many of you think the same. So I decided to check out this option Trader Joe’s frozen Turkey Burgers.
Is there any advantage of buying this versus buying a package of fresh ground turkey? Normally I would just buy a package of the fresh ground turkey. If I want them shaped as burgers, I will just form them myself, which would take maybe a minute to make 4 with little effort.
However I can see a few reasons some people might like frozen turkey burgers instead of buying fresh ground turkey. For one thing I imagine some folks (especially singles?) might find this more convenient. Say you just wanted one burger for dinner. You have that ready to go and are not left with extra turkey which you would have to use in a few days, or freeze for later use. Maybe some people don’t like touching ground meat and forming burgers, or just find this an easier option? Certainly one benefit of these frozen turkey burgers is the frozen burgers are a bit cheaper than fresh ground turkey. These go for $3.49 3.99 for a pound (4 x 1/4 lb). One pound of TJ’s fresh ground turkey will cost you $3.99 4.49 presently. So the frozen ones are a wee bit cheaper.
Cooking: Trader Joe’s instructions on the package state “Cook From Frozen” (as usual for them on frozen stuff). I am an experienced home cook. Cooks as a general rule, tend to not like to cook food from frozen. I think cooking from a defrosted state is best for meats generally.
Sure you can cook these burgers from frozen, but you don’t HAVE to. You can defrost these in an hour or two on the counter, which is what I do sometimes.
Another advantage to not cooking from frozen for me is, I can add ingredients into my burgers. I find this very useful as ground turkey is a quite bland. It needs to be jazzed up.
If its not frozen, you can add ingredients in, mix it up and form your own burgers. If I add say a few spoons of chopped fresh parsley and spices, mix it all in, form a burger (which is usually a little smaller and thicker than the way they come frozen). This way they not only have way more taste to them, they also conform to the hamburger buns which can be smaller than the diameter of the frozen pucks. Here are turkey burgers with chopped parsley added plus a bit of chopped pickled sweet jalapenos. And yes you want to add oil and/or butter when you cook these turkey burgers which don’t have that much fat.
I took out two burgers. I put them on a plate, covered them with a a bowl over them (mostly to keep the cats from going after them!) to just let them defrost. That took about an hour or two.
Sure a pinch you can cook from frozen if you want to. The cook time will be longer than if they are defrosted of course.
TIP: Turkey is bland. So I really season it to jazz it up. Add a good dusting of some spices. I love to use the terrifically useful TJ’s 99 CENTS TACO SEASONING spice mix which really jazzes up turkey. If you used that Mix, then don’t add salt as there is salt in the taco spice mix, plus they have some salt already added in the burgers. Also I made them as cheese burgers by putting grated Unexpected Cheddar or some other cheese on top which works great as that cheese is amazing melted (cover the pan for a minute to help melt the cheese). I put them on toasted Trader Joe’s Whole Wheat Hamburger Buns and dressed them up with some spicy ketchup (mix some Peri-Peri or Bomba into some of the Organic Ketchup) .
Our turkey burgers were yummy with toasted buns, lettuce and tomato and we quite enjoyed them and kind of could not tell they were turkey burger and not ground beef. The trick again is really seasoning these as if you don’t it will be very bland tasting. And melted cheese never hurts! By the way, the buns I used here are the PRETZEL BUNS, perfect for burgers and many other things.
“Exactly what the name implies. Very sweet orange slices which are full of wonderful citrus flavor. You can eat the whole slice, rind and all.”
Personally I think these are a terrific little snack with an old world taste and aesthetic.
I just love these. They are whole slices of orange including the rind and the peel which are sweetened and dried enough to be slightly chewy. They have a wonderfully intense orange flavor which includes just the slightest bitterness from the peel. These are so good I could eat the whole package at once but I usually stop myself at around 3 slices. OK maybe 4.
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, I can’t say these Trader Joe’s frozen mini wontons can compare to some handmade chicken and basil dumplings like I could get at a dumpling place like Vanessa’s, or Shiu Jiao Fu Zhou dumpling house. Stil these are kind of 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 I do on occasion, these may be the next best thing. They seem popular. I usually will see a few people grabbing a bag at Trader Joe’s. 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 (for me the broth needs more miso and way more ginger!) These are mini wontons so are smaller than regular size wontons or dumplings. These are just one bite each. They’re good made by either boiling or pan frying them. If you are doing them boiled, I like them served in a soup – a strong chicken broth (preferably homemade) or possibly one of Trader Joe’s broths or the Ginger Miso Broth (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 very weak so buy some fresh cilantro and add some 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.
If you are not familiar with BOBA TEA (aka bubble tea) it’s a popular (very TRENDY) drink that has very large pearls of Tapioca that sink to the bottom. The tapioca pearls have a very chewy texture that most people really enjoy. The pearls are so large that to suck them up it comes with a special ultra wide straw. These drinks are sold by specialty tea shops like “GONG CHA”that serve up a premium (and a bit pricey) Boba Tea Drink.
Trader Joe’s BOBA TEA kit is a (poor) approximation of what you might get from a specialty Boba Tea shop. I have had Boba Tea from quite a few different Tea shops and in short, Trader Joe’s Boba Tea Kit won’t put any of them out of business. The drink you get in a real Boba Tea shop is way better than this, however if you’ve never had it before this may give you an idea of what “boba tea” is. As my wife commented “this is a Trader Joe’s version”. She meant it as a knock as in “cheap knockoff of the real thing”. A specialty shop boba tea drink usually costs about $5-6 bucks each. This kit sells for $5.50 for 4 drinks. So yes a cheap knock off. Granted, its a high profit item (sugar, tea, tapioca)
Anyway if you can’t have it at one of these shops and just want to try boba tea in that case then his might be a good starting point. For one thing the tapioca pearls in Trader Joe’s are much smaller than the ones that the shops make which are huge and so chewy. This kit has 4 pouches of a concentrate with the pearls. You mix this package up with milk or tea (or combo of the two) plus a handful of ice to dilute its sweetness, and you need to add enough of these things in, otherwise it will be way too sweet. I put the defrosted pouch into a glass jar with a lid so I could really shake it up with the added ice and liquid. The kit even has 4 big straws. Not bad, but again really no comparison to a Boba Tea shop drink. I probably wouldn’t buy it again.
Trader Joe’s Rants & Raves (mostly raves, a few rants) 
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