“Have you heard about umami? You’ve most certainly tasted it, even if you’ve never heard the word. Umami is the word used to describe the fifth taste – in addition to sweet, salty, sour, and bitter. Taken from Japanese, the word translates to ‘pleasant savory taste’, and really, it’s just that. And it’s really just something you’re going to want to put on everything. To create this Umami Seasoning Blend, we began with kosher salt, and used a flavor base of porcini and white button mushrooms – earthy mushroom flavor really is the cornerstone of umami, which is why we named it Mushroom & Company. The ingredient list also includes onion, mustard seed, red & black pepper, and thyme… If you follow an eating plan like we do, also known as Anything and Everything, Trader Joe’s Mushroom & Company Multipurpose Umami Seasoning Blend will elevate the flavors of Anything and Everything, a sprinkle at a time” – Trader Joe’s
I’ve read some discussions on Reddit where people wonder if this seasoning actually “does anything”. Trust me, it does. Trader Joe’s Mushroom & Company Multipurpose Seasoning Blend is useful. It contains two kinds of mushrooms, porcini and button, along with other seasonings. Mushrooms contain glutamates. Glutamates give food that “umami” taste.
Sometimes when I’m making something and it just tastes a little flat, and I don’t know what to add to make it taste better, I frequently turn and try adding a bit of this seasoning (aka Magic Mushroom Powder) and it usually does just the trick of making things just taste better. Seriously you won’t know until you’ve tried this magic powder. For just one little instance where I use this really useful is ground turkey. I add this seasoning to ground turkey to improve it’s bland flavor, for example making turkey burgers. They are vastly improved with the Umami seasoning. Or chicken, fish, veggies, tofu, eggs or frankly anything for that matter.
As this blend does contains some salt, you want to use a little less salt than you normally might add, Use this and correct the seasoning to see if any additional salt is needed. However I don’t find this seasoning blend to be a salt bomb, it’s got a lot of other ingredients. I’ve even come up with using this seasoning to create a little veggie broth in a pinch.
Here’s what they have to say about their new SPICY DYNAMITE Sauce: “Made with a base of vegan mayo, the ingredients to our Spicy Dynamite Sauce read like a list of greatest gastronomic hits: Pickled chili peppers! Sesame oil! Garlic! Horseradish-mustard paste! It all adds up to one superlatively full-flavored profile, with notes of heat, sweet, and umami, and a captivatingly creamy texture. We like it on and with everything , and we mean everything: French fries, chicken nuggets, poke bowls, grilled salmon, roasted broccoli, baked potatoes, burgers, sandwiches, fish tacos, scrambled eggs—seriously, you name it, and this Sauce will work like Dynamite.”
First off, let me just state, this is SERIOUSLY spicy. Let me say that again. This is HOT STUFF.
Absolutely spicydelicious as Bourdain used to say. I really liked it. A vegan mayo with a lot of tasty ingredients that will spice up and add flavor to whatever you put it on. And you can put it on everything. I mean everything.
How spicy is it? Very. I quickly realized how spicy this actually was and that a little went a long way. So use sparingly. I just used a few small dollops of it and got the effect. I even toned it down, mixing it into other things, like yogurt and mayonnaise , ketchup, and liked all these sauce combos I made. TIP: When cold it’s quite thick and a little hard to control squeezing a small amount. So do that carefully lest you get too much coming out of the bottle.
This is a very good sauce with a lot of flavor. Just know that its going to bring the heat.
“A light, bright, lemon and almond based pesto with savory Grana Padano cheese and a touch of black pepper.”
“SIMPLY STIR A FEW TABLESPOONS WITH HOT PASTA AND SERVE WITH FRESH GRATED CHEESE”
Ingredients: Sunflower oil, lemon, water, Grana Padano cheese, almonds, sugar, lemon zest, salt, lactic acid, natural flavors, veg and fruit juice (for color) yeast extract, black pepper.
This was a LIMITED product which was released some time back and lots of people clamored about it and said this was a Must Try product. Later it seemed to vanish from the shelves for some time but it’s now back in stock once again (bought June 2025).
TJ’s says: “This enchanting concoction is light, bright, a little cheesy, a little nutty, and positively bursting with Lemon flavor—a dazzling example of culinary wizardry. Inspired by a pasta dish from Italy’s Amalfi coast (where lemon is a key element of local cuisine), our Italian supplier crushes whole lemons and combines them with sunflower seed oil, savory Grana Padano cheese, almonds, a touch of salt, a pinch of black pepper, and extra lemon zest for good, citrusy measure. When we say this limited edition, lip-smacking Sauce adds magic to mealtimes, it’s not hyperbole. Stir it into Organic Mafalda Corta Pasta with Fresh Mozzarella Cheese Pearls and chopped mint. Spread it on a toasted baguette and top with Sliced Prosciutto. Dollop it on grilled All Natural Thin- Sliced Chicken Breasts or shrimp kabobs. With each wave of your wand… er, spoon, you may even be inspired to incant “Presto, Lemon Pesto!”
“Lemon Pesto”? An interesting concept. Invented by the same Italian manufacturer who makes Trader Joe’s ROSATELLA sauce. Inspired by the Amalifi coast where lemon is a big thing.
Is this pesto a bit controversial? Perhaps. Some people call it “horrible”. I suspect they are using too much of it in their dish. The maintrick to using this LEMON PESTO successfully is to get the amount right, which will take a little experimentation. This is nothing like standard basil pesto. This Lemon pesto is kind of concentrated. You don’t want to use too much. Less is more. You will have to learn how much to add. Add a few spoons of it into hot (al dente) pasta, plus some of that magic ingredient, your pasta cooking water, cooking and tossing it all in the pan to get everything to come together.
Use too much and you can ruin the dish. So start with adding a big tablespoon, incorporate that, taste it and see how you like it. If you don’t think the flavor is strong enough add a bit more. Less is more with this lemon pesto, so experiment till you get the ratio of pesto to pasta right for your tastes (offhand I’d say two rounded teaspoons of the pesto to about 1/2 pound of pasta, plus a ladle of pasta water was about right for me) As good as it is, I still think a “lemon pasta” made using this pesto sauce will benefit from adding a squeeze of fresh lemon juice, maybe even grilling thin slices of lemon like I did, and sauteed fresh garlic.
As it uses sunflower oil, you definitely should add a finishing touch of a drizzle of some good EVOO. Finish with some fresh grated cheese, Parmigiano, Pecorino, Asiago…. whatever you like and perhaps some chopped basil, parsley or arugula to add an herbal flavor.
Here I used the lemon pesto sauce with TJ’s excellent ORGANIC LEMON TORCHIETTI pasta. The pasta and this lemon pesto matched very well together and is a combo worth trying. I tossed in peas too to add a little more protein.
The pesto can also be use as an ingredient say to put dollop of the sauce on top of grilled chicken breasts or grilled salmon or shrimp. Based on someone saying this can be used in Avocado Toast, I tried that and guess what? It worked! A bit of this in my Avocado made some very tasty Avocado Toast. I used a small amount (1/2 tsp) or so of the pesto, plus fresh lemon juice, mashed into the avocado, and a lot of black pepper.
Here’s a link to a recipe on Trader Joe’s site using the pesto and potatoes for a lemony potato salad. So feel free to experiment.
Here’s yet another addition to Trader Joe’s “Tinned Fish” selection.
Trader Joe’s Boneless Grilled Mackerel Fillets in Extra Virgin Olive Oil are wild-caught in the Mediterranean. The fish are filleted into big meaty long pieces and Grilled and even get a few grill marks you can see in the picture. These are canned for TJ’s in Tunisia. They have a nice, meaty texture and delicate flavor profile. They’re packed in Extra Virgin Olive Oil, so I assume the oil is Tunisian.
Trader Joe’s says: “These Fillets are a great substitute for smoked salmon on a bagel with cream cheese. Or in an omelette. Or taste terrific simply served on buttered toast. At lunch or dinner, they’re a terrific topping on a salad and a fantastic filling in a sandwich—especially when lightly fried, first. And for the tinned fish purists out there, they’re also great when enjoyed over crackers or crostini with cracked pepper, hot sauce, or a squeeze of lemon juice.”
A big plus? A whopping 32g of Protein per can
In the picture below I used the Mackerel Fillets as the fish part for a kind of sushi hand roll (makizushi). I made some sushi rice. Assembled that with mackerel fillets on top of Trader Joe’s SEAWEED SNACKS for the nori (Unlike real nori these will tend to fall apart)
Topped them with julienned cucumber and peppers. Squeeze of lemon, YUZU mayonaisse…. they were really yummy! You can also make the same kind of thing with Spicy Tuna, which is what I typically make these with but the mackerel fillets worked there too.
Mackerel is a healthy fish and sustainable. I liked these fillets. I would buy it again
Pair this with the new ROASTED TOMATO LABNEH? Might be perfect match with this fish.
For year I’ve been buying the little cans of anchovies in olive oil at Trader Joe’s, sold in a yellow can under the famous Italian-American “CENTO” brand for as long as I can remember. I try to always have at least one can in the pantry, as anchovies are so useful for cooking (trust me)
Today I saw that those yellow cans of anchovies come in a new can now sold under the TJ brand: “Trader Joe’s Anchovy Fillets In Olive Oil”. Even the sign below them not only says “Cento” they even wrote the (R symbol – for registered trademark)! Perhaps they just didn’t get around to changing the sign. I think they had a price increase from $1.49 to $1.79.
(and now $1.99 I think! Summer 2025)
In any case, anchovy fillets are great to have in the pantry. Have a least one there for whenever you need it.
Anchovies can add a ton of flavor to many dishes. They are just full of UMAMI. Even the Romans used them (well as garum) a kind of fish sauce made from anchovies, just like Thai Nam Pla fish sauce.
Don’t be afraid of anchovies. They’re an amazing ingredient. For example when you have “nothing for dinner”, just go in the pantry. Grab a package of spaghetti or capellini and a can of these anchovies. Start with 3-4 cloves of garlic, chop and toss in your pan, then pour in 2 tbls olive oil and let that sauté for minute. Now add in a can of anchovies (or half a can if this is your first time). Crush them up with a spoon. As they cook they will dissolve into your anchovy garlic pasta sauce. Toss in your pasta (undercook it two minutes) and a 1/2 ladle of the pasta water and let it come together mixing it well for a minute or so. Cook for a minute plus or until just al dente. Add chopped parsley, maybe some toasted breadcrumbs or panko. A squeeze of lemon. Voila a yummy dinner. Your welcome!
Anchovies match incredibly well with tomatoes and especially tomato sauce. Want to add something special to your jar of store bought sauce which will give it a ton of flavor and make it taste homemade? Try smashing a few anchovy fillets up with a knife into a paste and toss that into your sauce on the stove. Let them mellow for 5-10 mins on a simmer.
TIP: If I just use a few fillets from the can don’t use the whole can up I put the left over anchovies in a little glass jar. Cover with oil. They will last a month or two in the fridge.
Here is a recipe I found on the TJ website for UMAMI DRESSING using a can of anchovies.
Umami Dressing
1 package Anchovy Fillets in Olive Oil, drained and diced
3 Garlic Cloves, minced
Juice from two Lemons
2 teaspoons Dijon Mustard
1/3 cup + 1 Tbsp EVOO
1/4 teaspoon Sea Salt, or to taste
1/4 teaspoon Ground Black Pepper or to taste
In a medium bowl, mash the anchovies and garlic with a fork to form a paste. Add the lemon juice and mustard and stir until well incorporated. Slowly whisk in oil until it starts to emulsify. Taste and add salt and pepper as desired. Makes about 1 cup of dressing. Serving ideas: over bitter greens (radicchio, kale, arugula, Belgian endives) with freshly grated Parmesan, dress a Niçoise salad or as a dip for crusty bread
By the way, looking closely at the two cans, I see the yellow ones say Product of Morocco. The green ones say Product of Albania —
(google) “Albanian anchovies, particularly those sourced from the Adriatic Sea, are known for their high quality and are a popular culinary ingredient. Albania is a major exporter of fresh and processed anchovies, with some anchovy products being processed in Albania from anchovies caught in the Cantabrian Sea”
Trader Joe’s ATLANTIC SALMON WITH LEMON HERB BUTTER (FROZEN)
This is one of those thing almost everybody loves. You can probably tell just from the picture this is a nice hunk of salmon. Center cut boneless skin on Norwegian Farm Raised Atlantic Salmon fillet, with three round pats of tasty lemon herb butter. The package is seven ounces, so what I would consider a generous portion for one person. One piece could possibly make two smaller portions, as these days a portion of protein is now generally said to be about 4 ounces. But I could easily eat the whole thing myself!
The Lemon Herb butter consists of butter, lemon zest, parsley, chives, sea salt and pepper. It’s make a very tasty sauce. The herb butter really adds something, elevating this to “gourmet” level. Its quite tasty.
To defrost: ideally I leave the fish in the fridge for a slow defrost (the overnight thaw method) as this is the best method to defrost fish. In a pinch you could leave it out on the counter for a few hours, or submerge the package under cold water (quick thaw method).
Cooking: broiled or pan fried would be my Go To methods to cook the salmon but baking works too. (AirFryer? I don’t have one but people on the Net report its a good method)
What to do with the butter… One can either take the pats of butter off, then add them during the last two minutes of cooking. Or just leave the butter on the fish and cook it like that, for example under the broiler. This will give you more of a cooked “brown butter” sauce. You can baste with it during cooking as well.
Serving with a bit of fresh lemon juice too will elevate the fish even more. This will go well of course with maybe some rice or boiled potatoes and a veg and/or a salad.
TJ’s SALMON WITH HERB BUTTER makes a yummy dinner and is well worth your trying. Googling it I found a ton of web stuff and TikTok’s with people making this salmon. Its popular.
I would buy this again.
$6.99 (7 oz, 198 gr)
35 gr protein per fillet! 510 cals (all that butter) You could remove one or two pats if you want less calories.
“Great for salads. On a cracker. With Cream Cheese. Or Creme Fraiche”
TJ’s smoked rainbow trout will definitely satisfy fans of smoked fish (raises hand).
You will find this in the Refrigerated case near all the kinds of smoked salmon Trader Joe’s sells. These fillets of Smoked Rainbow Trout are delicious. At $8.49 a package (8 oz) yes it might be a bit of a splurge, however the quality is definitely gourmet level, and smoked fish ain’t cheap eats. We find it worth the occasional splurge as it is so good, and I can get stretch one package into two meals.
As with smoked fish a little goes a long way, I found I can usually come up with two meals out of a package. For instance, the first night I used one fillet as an appetizer, served on crackers, and that was very yummy. The next night, I used the other fillet and came up with a Japanese style rice dish for dinner. That in particular was really tasty., and a big hit in our house.
Open up this package and you will find a half side of a rainbow trout, skin on, filleted into two pieces, one thick piece plus the thinner tail half.
This trout has been delicately smoked with four fruit wood chips (Maple, Oak, Apple and Cherry). Which gives this an appealing smoky aroma. As a huge fan of smoked fish over a lifetime, I can tell good stuff and I would call this gourmet level. While not exactly cheap, TJ’s price for this is less. For instance I saw a similar package of trout at Whole Foods going for about $12.
The fish has the typical pellicule (glossy coating) from being smoked which is normal and of course edible. I found the trout to have a nice smoke from the 4 fruit wood chips they use; The smoke is not too heavy, its just right, it doesn’t overpower the trout, it enhances the flavor of the fish. I did find it the tiniest hair on the salty side but this is normal for smoked fish and its counter balanced when you eat the fish with other things which balance out the salinity.
You could prep the fish by taking off the skin, then breaking it up in bite size bits. I broke up the fish with my fingers. You will get smelly fingers but just wash with soap and lemon. If you don’t want to use your fingers you could try doing this with two forks.
Use the pieces any way you wish. One idea TJ’s has is serving this on top of a salad, which is a good idea. A similar variation I came up with is “smoked trout potato salad“. I served the smoked fish with a lemon mayo dressing on top of cold boiled potatoes. The combo was so good. The smoky fish matched perfectly with the potatoes. We really enjoyed this for a summer dinner. Next time I will toss in some capers too, which will make this even better.
PS – I made this in fact a few weeks after I wrote this. We loved it! This potato and smoked fish salad was delicious and so easy.
SMOKED TROUT AND POTATO SALAD
Boil up golden or red potatoes cut into large cubes in salted water till cooked. Drain. I added a cucumber and quarter of a large Sweet onion on top of the potatoes. I put one fillet of the trout on top which I shredded up into bite size chunks (I did it with fingers, or use two forks). Dressing: My dressing was half mayo, half Greek yogurt, lot of lemon juice and dill seasoning. Lot of black pepper.
You can easily make a smoked trout salad the same way, mix your fish up with some mayo, sour cream, or greek yogurt, lemon juice, maybe a little chopped celery or scallions…. Try that on top of a toasted bagel.
I thought this smoked trout would match perfectly with CREME FRAICHE as they suggest, and it did especially with a drizzle of lemon juice. You could use sour cream or even plain Greek yogurt instead, maybe with a little dill or dill pickle season blend. Or mayonnaise with lemon juice….
The trout would be great on a bagel with cream cheese too of course like smoked salmon.
The first night I did an appetizer with the trout. We spread creme fraiche on crackers and topped it with shredded up smoked trout. For the next night, I had saved one fillet for another dish. I came up with an idea to use the smoked fish for a Japanese rice dish with the trout. The finished dish turned out great. I used my traditional clay pot (donabe) as I love cooking with it. A rice cooker would work just as well, or even a heavy pot on the stove-top. Not liking to waste anything I even used the skin to make an easy fish stock (dashi) before hand to cook the rice in and add that flavor. The cooked skin went to the cats later as nothing should be wasted as per the Japanese philosophy of waste “Mottainai” (Mottainai: A Japanese Philosophy of Waste ).
All I can say is my wife, who is Japanese, loved my rice dish and deemed it delicious, which is saying something as she is not easy to please! A recipe follows below.
JAPANESE STYLE RICE WITH SMOKED TROUT – you can make this in a clay pot, rice cooker, or just any heavy pot on the stove. (DASHI/BROTH) Remove skin from the fish and put it in a pot with 2 cups water with 1/2 inch thinly sliced ginger. Bring to a boil and simmer for about 20 minutes (you can add carrots or other vegetables for additional flavor and put them in the rice later) Or you can use Dashi powder (Hondashi) for a fish stock.
Wash 1.5 cups of rice (short grain rice preferred but Jasmine rice will work in a pinch) Place drained rice in your pot and cover rice with broth by a 1/2 inch. Place the Smoked Trout fillet on top of rice. Add fresh ginger slivered or grated. Cover and cook the rice as you usually would, being sure to not overcook it (as a rule I would say cook 16 minutes, then turn off and don’t open lid. When the rice is finished cooking just let it sit 10 minutes with the cover on and don’t peek. When ready use a wooden spoon or spatula and gently break up the fish into the rice if it still has large pieces. Gently mix it all up adding a drizzle of soy sauce. Add 2 chopped scallions. Option: add edamame or peas or other cooked vegetables too if you like.
I would buy this again. This smoked trout is gourmet quality. Worth the occasional splurge of $8.49 a package I can get two meals out of a package.
By the way, once you learn how to make rice in it you will find that these traditional clay pots make the best and tastiest rice, especially if you love “o-koge” the slightly browned up crunchy rice from the bottom of the pot, which is popular in so many food cultures (Japan, China, Spain, Iran….) I adore that crunchy brown part.
“In recent years, tinned fish has undergone what can only be described as a full-on reputational renaissance— and if you ask us, it’s about time! We’re doing our part to promote this resurgence in piscine appreciation with the introduction of Trader Joe’s Grilled Sardines in Olive Oil. They’re wild-caught for us off the coast of Tunisia, then their fillets are split down the middle and lightly grilled before being stacked and packed in olive oil. Out of the tin, each gloriously grill-marked Sardine is firm and meaty in texture, with a savory and delicately smoky flavor, ideal for enjoying as a protein for a quick meal, as part of an hors d’oeuvre spread, or as a hearty, anytime snack.”
If you are sardine fan, you should try these new Trader Joe’s sardines.
They’re good.
Considering how canned sardines and tinned fish in general have caught on especially on TikTok the last year or two — enough to create fears of shortages — happily for us aficionados of canned fish (raises hand), Trader Joe’s recently came out with yet another variety of sardines, to stock along with their other sardines such as the really good one called “lightly smoked sardines”, a favorite of mine. That one is just one of their many sardine offerings I really like and have given a big thumbs up. I think with this new “grilled sardines” can, TJ’s may be selling four different cans of sardines ?
I really liked this new one. In this newest version, wild caught Tunisian sardines have been filleted, de-boned and then grilled. You can see a few grill marks in my photo, above. The sardines are packed in olive oil and have a slight smoky flavor. They are yummy. I find them very tasty and think these are good quality, especially for the price of two dollars a can. Compare that with some famous Spanish brands like ORTIZ (AMAZON) which are more like $6/can
I think if you’ve wanted to try sardines but haven’t yet, perhaps these new grilled sardines might be a good place to start if you’ve wanted to explore what this #tinnedfish and #cannedsardines craze/fuss is all about but maybe are one of those who are a little turned off by the way some canned sardines look?
When you open this can up instead of seeing little fishies, all you will see are non-threatening fillets of sardines with attractive grill marks. So perhaps this is a good sardine “starter” if you have been the least bit squeamish about eating sardines (don’t be! they are so good, plus so good for you) Me, I’ve been loving all kinds of canned sardines for years and years, long before they became cool.
These fillets are boneless but not skinless (TJ’s has some that are both). Though sardines with bones actually have more calcium so are really good for all of us – women especially of course. There’s a tiny bit less less fish in this can then some other ones for example TJ’s “lightly smoked” can of sardines (here 77 grams vs 85 grams in those) but its not a big difference.
Ingredients: sardines, olive oil, salt, natural flavor. PRODUCT OF TUNISIA
A can contains 15 grams of protein (the lightly smoked sardines have even more, 21 grams of protein)
TIP: the other day i experimented and instead of anchovies, I put a tablespoon of these into a tomato based pasta sauce for my classic pan fried potato GNOCHHI. It really worked almost as if I used anchovies, and gave the dish that same kind of UMAMI flavor.
These make a great snack, appetizer, or lunch
Trader Joe’s Recipe for easy dish of these grilled sardines on a bed of the Grecian eggplant -sounds good.
This is a recent, new addition in the area with the fresh salmon. Trader Joe’s has come up with a pre-seasoned ready to cook version with spices already added to their popular fresh Atlantic Norwegian farmed salmon. The fish marinates in the package and get imbued with the flavors. OK so what’s “blackened” mean anyway you ask? Well “blackened fish” is a preparation and seasoning trend that came out of New Orleans years ago, where it was made famous by the late N.O. chef Paul Prudhomme. The spice blend gives food a dark burnished or “blackened” color when cooked. Years ago it was a huge cooking trend especially as Prudhomme’s famous “Blackened Redfish”
The typical spice blend for blackening is a mix of thyme, oregano, paprika, cayenne, onion powder, garlic powder, sugar, salt and pepper.”
Trader Joe’s says this:
“Over the years, we’ve received many requests from our customers for pre-seasoned salmon, to make it even easier to go from the fridge to the dinner table. That’s precisely why we’re introducing Trader Joe’s Blackened Salmon to our fresh meat and seafood section.
These boneless, skin-on fillets come ready to cook with a mélange of savory (and slightly spicy) seasonings, including garlic, onion, smoked paprika, chipotle peppers, and demerara sugar all over it. As the fish cooks in an pan, oven, broiler, or especially the air fryer, this layer of seasonings creates a flavorful texturally satisfying Blackened outer crust.” https://www.traderjoes.com/home/products/pdp/blackened-salmon-seasoned-boneless-fillet-078215
It all sounded interesting to me and decided to check out these Blackened Salmon fillets to review.
As they say one can broil, pan fry or bake it as per the package and mention it works especially well cooked in your air fryer! (I don’t have one so can’t say)
I cooked the salmon pan frying it skin side down in a hot cast iron pan for 3-4 minutes, then put it under the broiler. Doing it this way can get the skin a bit crispy. I only gave it another 2 minutes on the top side under the broiler. As these fillets were on the thin side I was very careful not to overcook it. Personally I hate overcooked fish. My cook on fish is always to do it “just until it flakes”. In salmon’s case I like to still end up seeing the tiniest bit of pink. My wife sometimes makes me put her piece back for another minute, which to me is over cooked but I do hers as she likes.
So how did this “Blackened” salmon taste? Very good actually, the two of us found this seasoned salmon to quite tasty. I didn’t think they put a ton of seasoning on the fish so it wasn’t overdone with the spices and had just enough seasoning to add some nice flavor but not overpower the salmon.
I served the salmon with pieces of lemon and to go with it, some buttery mashed potatoes and a salad. This combination made a perfect yummy dinner that we both really enjoyed. In fact I could have easily eaten another piece of salmon! It was that tasty.
Trader Joe’s charges a bit more (of course) for the pre-seasoned salmon. $10.99 a pound whereas the regular fresh Atlantic Norwegian salmon goes for $9.99. I could not help thinking is it worth my paying an extra dollar per pound for a few spices? Literally all they do with this was sprinkle a tiny bit of seasoning and we know this added cost is for this additional “labor” as well as a little bit of spices (1 gram?).
I like this “blackened salmon” but I bet the reality is I will probably save a buck or so and buy the regular salmon as usual and add my own seasonings – which I normally do anyway. I can try to approximate their mix of “thyme, oregano, paprika, cayenne, onion powder, garlic powder, sugar, salt and pepper” and let it marinate with the spices for a hour or so before I cook it.
Certainly some people will prefer the slightly easier route of having it already seasoned which is why TJ’s came out with this in the first place. In any case I’d say this seasoned salmon is worth trying so check it out.
Trader Joe’s THAI PEANUT SATAY SAUCE is a new addition to their line of Thai and Asian sauces and condiments. (Jan 2024)
TJ has this to say: “Made for us by a supplier in Thailand, our Peanut Satay Sauce starts with a base of rich coconut milk, peanuts, and aromatic red curry paste, to which our supplier adds a mix of savory seasonings including lemongrass, shallot, garlic, galangal, and tamarind paste. In addition to making a delicious dipping sauce for grilled, skewered proteins of all kinds (we’re especially fond of it with shrimp, pork loin, or tofu), it also makes a fantastic condiment for burgers and lettuce wraps, and a superb sauce for serving over Thai Wheat Noodles. And for an effortless and flavorful salad dressing, simply add a bit of Rice Vinegar to a few spoonfuls of Satay Sauce in a bowl, mix, and enjoy.”
I got a jar to taste and review recently. My initial take is it’s pretty good. Thai food can be very bold with flavors. For my taste buds while this Satay Sauce is kind of tasty, I just wish it had more “oomph”. That is way bolder with flavors so that it really tasted “Thai”. Personally I wanted more more of everything (more peanuts, more galangal, and way more red curry paste)
Its OK but just way too much on the tame side, and Thai food is not tame in the least. I’m pretty sure a Thai baby could handle this and I don’t mean just in the heat level. So while I wish it was a little bolder never the less this new sauce is kind of tasty — IT CAN BE IMPROVED.
So I I say it has potential. If you fix it up a bit, adding a thing or two. Certainly a squeeze of lime juice for a little more sourness. It’s not spicy, so if you like spicy, just add a bit of your favorite spicy condiment. For instance Peri-Peri or Bomba to jazz it up. Want it more peanut-y? I sure do. I mixed in a few spoons of crunchy peanut butter and it got way better. Crushed garlic too.
But even if you just use as-is, this can be OK in a pinch (if you are not Thai). Satay usually means grilled items so you can use this for grilled proteins or the like. Say with chicken, shrimp, fish, pork, beef or grilled tofu for that matter. You can marinate them in some sauce for say 30 minutes, then grill it. You can also brush some sauce on at the end of grilling for a nice glaze. It can burn so be careful.
The Satay Sauce can be used in a number of ways. At it’s simplest you could just use it on the side or spoon some on top. Say with grilled chicken, meat, fish, shrimp or tofu. Here I served the satay sauce with a grilled chicken breast, and it works great with chicken. Or anything for that matter.
Salad Dressing – “For an effortless and flavorful salad dressing, simply add a bit of Rice Vinegar to a few spoonfuls of Satay Sauce in a bowl, mix, and enjoy.” – Trader Joe’s.
Is THAI SATAY sauce good for noodles? Very much so! This sauce will definitely be good with say your Thai Wheat Noodles or Squiggly Noodles dishes. Add a bit of soy sauce and a squeeze of lime juice too and maybe some chopped cilantro. And again, I would mix in a few tablespoons of crunchy peanut butter.
Thai Peanut Noodles: Mix the sauce into your cooked noodles. Add a nice amount and also a a little soy sauce, some lime juice, and if like spicy maybe some Sriracha, Bomba, or Peri-Peri. Mix in a few tablespoons of crunchy peanut butter. I would add vegetables of ones choosing: maybe shredded cooked carrots, peppers, and green onions. Cilantro too if you like it. If you have some crushed peanuts on top that will help.
So I think one could come up with something tasty using this sauce, especially if you experiment a bit with it. Adding some stuff.
It’s $2.29 for an 8 oz jar.
I would buy it again (I just wish it were more authentically Thai)
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