I saw this in NEW ITEMS about a month ago and grabbed one to try. This sauce is made by Red Boat, a company that makes a famous top Asian fish sauce. Trader Joe’s sells tha. Its a well known top brand fish sauce. Something I always like to have in the pantry. Its Pure Umami.
Red Boat says: “In Vietnamese, kho means to braise and this dish is on regular rotation in all Vietnamese households but is rarely served in restaurants. Our Pham-ily created this sauce so you can enjoy this delicious meal, just like in our mom’s kitchen, in less than 30 minutes.”
We know Trader Joe’s likes what they call “simmer sauces”. They have at least two versions of Thai ones and an Indian sauce too. You can use these and just add a protein and veggies, pour in a bottle of your simmer sauce, let it simmer for about 20 minutes and voila you can have a very easy and tasty dish. This sauce made a delicious meal for us.
I used this sauce to make a braised dish with chicken and lots of vegetables. What I did was I sauté chicken (skin on, bone in thighs), tofu, carrots, onions, mushrooms, garlic and ginger for 10 minutes. Then I poured in the sauce and let it simmer. Though they say “simmer for 30 minutes”, I wanted the chicken to be falling off the bone so I let it simmer for more like 45-60 mins.
The resulting dish was excellent, redolent of fish sauce (nam pla) of course but it had many other flavors with lots of Umami. It had a bit of sweetness as well as a bit of heat. We thought the dish was so good, that we just scarfed it up! I used a lot of vegetables and bone in chicken so of course it had all the flavor from those as well, however you could easily make a less complicated easier dish with this sauce using boneless chicken, TJ’s Carnitas Pork, shrimp or fish or even tofu and mushrooms for that matter and come out with a lovely dish, full of Asian flavors. My intentions was to make enough for at least two meals so I used the whole jar plus 1/2 a jar of water as I wanted a huge amount of sauce for all the meat and veggies I used, and I got that which we enjoyed with rice.
Ingredients: Water, Fish Sauce, Organic Coconut Sugar, Canola Oil, Ginger, Shallot, Corn Starch, Green Onions, Citric Acid, Black Pepper, Sunflower Lecithin, Crushed Red Pepper, Yeast Extract.
I’m not sure if this was a one off trial run for Trader Joe’s or something they will keep in stock. If you do see this sauce it is worth getting if you want to make a great Vietnamese home style dish easily. In a pinch one could make the sauce using Red Boat fish sauce, coconut sugar and other ingredients (shallots, garlic…)
TJ’s had the sauce for $4.99 which is even cheaper than on the Red Boat website.
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.”
ALL NATURAL. No additives. One ingredient only. Peanuts.
If you asked me for one item I buy religiously at Trader Joe’s I would absolutely answer “Peanut Butter!”
It may not be revelatory news but TJ’s does have good peanut butter at very good prices. I probably get a jar every other week.
Big brands like SKIPPY or JIF, have regular peanut butter which have extra ingredients such as sugar or some sweetener plus hydrogenated oils, those added to keep it from separating. But “Natural” peanut butters on the other hand contain just peanuts. Of the assorted varieties TJ’s carries my favorite is this one: The “Crunchy/Salted” which has a blue label. (Side note: Smooth being for kids and crunchy for grownups? I consider the day I graduating kid-dom was when I decided to go Crunchy! To me, Crunchy has more peanut-y flavor from the peanut-y bits).
Any All Natural peanut butter tends to separate at room temp, meaning you will see a little oil at the top when you buy it but this is No big deal. Just stir it.
TIP: Put the jar in fridge for 10 minutes. After you open it, take a butter knife and get it to the bottom of the jar, then stir slowly 10 or 15 seconds until blended. Keep it in the fridge, it will stay blended (PB does actually say “refrigerate after opening”).
Though the price has gone up (from $1.99 to 2.29 and at present, $2.49). Still pretty decent compared to other stores/brands as their prices having gone up more.
I prefer this All Natural version however Trader Joe’s does sell a “No Stir” PB too. TJ’s regular Natural Peanut Butter is $2.49 (1 lb). It comes in a number of variety combinations, Smooth, Crunchy, Salted or Unsalted. They also sell an Organic version of Peanut Butter ($4.49)
Peanut butter has many uses. It’s terrific as an ingredient especially in Asian dishes; Try a Satay Style Peanut Sauce on some grilled chicken for example; The recipe follows
This was in NEW ITEMS. Verdict? It’s handy, handy, handy to have in the kitchen. Made of cotton and cellulose. They’re like a thin sponge. Absorbent. Reusable. “Ideal replacements for paper towels ” = Eco. We’ve used them for washing dishes, cleaning countertops, wiping cabinets. Large at about 8 inches square but just leave them like that as you can easily fold it up in half or quarters. They seem durable. They come five in a package ($4.99 so figure about a buck apiece, not too bad. Hopefully one will last at least a month or so? We’ll see. I even found another use that these are perfect for: namely using it to open a jar (one on the top and for really tricky jar, another on the bottom.
“Wife Approved” (she gave these a thumbs up. These are good and I would buy again along with TJ’s Amazing Cleaning Cloths which sell for $2.99. Those are also super handy, and when they wear out I used them for rags, floor cleaners, etc.
Trader Joe’s has a few different varieties of jarred pestos, sold near the pasta sauces. The first jarred pesto I had tried was the standard classic, basil pesto, Pesto Genovese, which I found decent. They later came out with a red version of that they called “pesto rosso” which was just OK for me however I see it’s popular and sometimes even sold out, so people seem to like it. Here’s another one based on olives.
If you are a fan of olives as I am, you may like this latest addition to the pesto’s they have. This new addition is called “Olive and Basil Pesto Sauce” with olives as the first ingredient. You get more “olive” than “basil” flavor so basically I say think of this as an olive tapenade with a hint of basil. Its a chunky paste of chopped olives plus other ingredients and its just chock full of umami. I tasted it on a spoon right out of the jar and thought this is like a tapenade and liked it.
I tried this olive pesto first just mixing it into cooked spaghetti and thought that yes, just mixing this with pasta will make a decent tasty pasta. I added some fresh garlic too and that of course this made it even better. Finish the pasta with some good olive oil too while you are at it (I suggest adding both the garlic and EVOO) Finally top with fresh grated cheese (Parmigiano, Pecorino, or Grana) and voila, you will have a very easy and quite tasty dish.
Next I tried this olive pesto as an ingredient with other things. I mixed a few generous tablespoons of this into some fresh tomato pasta sauce I had made and found it made it even tastier with the extra umami boost it got from olives. If you are using a jarred sauce you could just put a spoon of this on the finished pasta too. You could also put this on say fish or shrimp or grilled chicken to jazz it up a bit. As this is an olive tapanade and made for bread, I tried just putting this on good bread and of course it was quite good that way too. This will work great for making bruschetta, put a nice amount on some lightly toasted bread. This is decent olive tapanade, especially if you add in fresh garlic and EVOO. Chop up some fresh basil and you will really be going in the right “homemade taste” direction. The label has that this is a Product of Greece, where of course they have lots of olives.
TJ’s Olive Pesto is $2.49 a 6 oz jar. Its quite useful to have in your pantry. I would buy it again.
I loved the idea and the design when I saw this waiting on line at TJ’s to check out. It’s a little tote bag which is a tote bag! It tucks into itself to look like a miniature Trader Joe’s bag. Unzip it and it unfolds into a full size grocery bag made of nylon (strong). Small enough for your purse or pocket. It was $2.99.
NEW ITEM: This is the latest “small lot” coffee on offer at Trader Joe’s (Sept 2023).
Many of these Trader Joe’s Small Lot coffees are really good, some times even terrific, with yes an occasional dud. Many times these coffees are Single Origin, Single Estate coffee beans. The good stuff, like those you would find at some trendy Williamsburg roaster / shop, you know where small hand lettered bags of single estate beans can go for perhaps $30? If are the kind of person who would like to try lots of interesting and unique coffees but doesn’t want to break the bank, many times these Trader Joe’s Small Lot coffees can be a great way to explore the World of Coffee. I found this latest Trader Joe’s Small Lot coffee offering to be a terrific robust tasting coffee.
This one is is from the mountains of the Dominican Republic and is called “Jarabacoa” with 100% Arabica beans in a Medium Dark Roast. Trader Joe’s description on the bag of this coffee has this to say….
“In Jarabacoa, third generation farmers have dedicated themselves to the production of coffee beans. ‘Honey processed’ and sun dried to impart a subtle sweetness, the beans are given a medium dark roast for a robust cup when brewed, brimming with notes of chocolate, brown sugar and blackberries”
I found this description to be right on. This coffee was as listed “medium-dark” (actually the picture may make it look darker). The beans are a shade past “medium” with just a little bit shiny in places, however I would not call this overly roasted, such as Starbucks is famous for doing to their beans. In fact this medium dark roast seems just right to me. A little bit under say a French Roast with a bit of that robust flavor those have if you like that sort of thing. Personally I love and really enjoy medium dark roasts, in addition to lighter roasts.
The beans smelled wonderful when I first opened up the bag, releasing the most heavenly aroma, and when I ground it up of course it smelled even better, perfuming the whole kitchen. I brewed up those freshly ground coffee trying it in both a Moka pot and another one as a pour over. The resulting brews were really tasty. I found the coffee rich and dark and oh so good. As they said it had a subtle sweetness to it with yes, hints of chocolate and blackberries. It tasted better with each sip. I finished my cup, then I actually debated making another cup immediately. Yes I found it that good.
The Jarabacoa Dominican coffee has become my new favorite Trader Joe’s coffee at the moment. I’m really enjoying it. TJ’s is selling a 12 oz bag for $9.99. This is not bad as some recent small lot coffees that had were more, about $12 each.
Would I buy this again? Well I actually ran back the next day and got 2 more bags to have in the pantry “just in case” …. these small lot New Items coffees frequently go bye-bye pretty fast. I’ve lost out on some coffees by waiting too long only to find they ran out.
“Normally, the sticky-sweet outer layer of the coffee fruit is washed off, but these beans are “honey processed,” so that layer is left intact. Because they spend less time in water, the sun-dried beans ferment less and retain more natural sweetness. Trader Joe’s Dominican Republic Jarabacoa Small Lot Coffee wears its honey process on its sip. Immediately, a taster can detect a subtle sweetness, accompanied by notes of chocolate and hints of blackberry.”
I recently saw these in my Trader Joe’s NEW ITEMS section:
“Reusable Silicone Food Storage Bags”
These looked similar to Ziplock’s silicone storage bags (“Endurables). I had just seen a commercial for those on TV. These look similar. Both are “food storage bags” made out of a sturdy thick food grade silicone that can be used over and over. Green by design. Less waste. The bags have a zipper type pressure seal and are clearly designed to be re-used over and over and over. I like the Eco concept of that.
They’re Oven/Microwave safe, and can go right from the freezer or fridge to the oven or microwave. I even grabbed a few screen shots from Ziplock’s website to show some usage ideas they have, such as a salmon steak going from the freezer to being baked in the oven right in the bag!
Being reusable, one would buy less plastic bags that just become more plastic waste which our planet and oceans don’t need any more of.
Trader Joe’s sells these for $9.99 and you get 3 bags, a small, medium and large one; the large one being a 33 oz size and the small about 8.5 oz size. I didn’t buy them yet but thought I would just point these out if you want to check them out.
These pictures are from Ziplock’s website just to give some ideas of how they are used….
Want to make a Thai Style Yellow Curry yourself? This makes it quite easy.
TJ’s says: “We’ve honored the modern recipe of a zesty, ginger-forward sauce packed full of onion, garlic, red chilies, and of course garlic! All of this is blended together with creamy coconut milk making for the rich, velvety sauce we all know and love. With this sauce you can make a traditional yellow curry dish in no time! Cook up some meat, poultry, tofu, or veggies until done, stir in our Thai Style Yellow Curry Sauce, simmer until heated through, and serve on a bed of rice.”
I made curry recently and used this yellow version, however there is a red version of this curry sauce too. Both are decent. Overall I find the yellow one is slightly better myself but maybe you need to try both and settle on your preference of which you like better.
I usually sauté my protein and vegetables for 5-10 minutes in a little oil, then add this sauce. I rinse the jar out with a few ounces of water to get every drop. Then just let everything simmer for 20-30 minutes.
A trick I’ve learned is I usually also will add about a 1/2 can of TJ’s coconut milk. This helps two ways. It gives me more sauce, enough for a big pot of curry, as when I make this I want to get at least two meals. The other way is additional coconut milk will also tame the heat down a bit, as my wife’s preference is for not too spicy.
This sauce has a good Thai flavor profile. They list lemongrass and galangal for example, both which give authentic Thai flavor. This sauce is moderately spicy. It’s not blow your head off spicy. Again if you had more coconut milk that will mellow things more.
An 11 oz jar is $3.49. Now for that price I wish they gave you at least 16 ounces because honestly 11 ounces is barely enough sauce. Ah well.
You will definitely want some Thai Jasmine rice to go with your lovely curry. As far as your Main, Protein, etc. almost anything will work, like chicken (breast or thigh), Fish, Shrimp, Tofu, Hard Boiled Eggs….
Another way to make an easy Thai curry was taught to me by a Thai friend. This is how many Thais make a fast easy curry at home, by using a good real Thai curry paste. You sauté the curry paste a bit in oil for a few minutes then add your ingredients and then coconut milk. One good brand of Thai curry paste is Mae Ploy. They sell green, red and yellow versions. These pastes are very concentrated. Honestly that tub could last a year.
Thai curries are delicious and worth making. This sauce makes it super easy. The Mae Ploy paste plus coconut milk is going to make a better dish will than this Trader Joe’s “thai style” sauce however just opening this jar is a bit easier and will still turn out something like a Thai curry.
Trader Joe’s Rants & Raves (mostly raves, a few rants) 
Recent Comments