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.
Trader Joe’s has recently introduced their own HOISIN SAUCE.
What’s hoisin (hoy-sin) sauce you say? Hoisin is a classic Chinese sauce . I’m pretty sure I first learned of it eating Peking Duck, as its the traditional classic slightly sweet sauce spread on the pancakes with the duck and scallions.
“Made from fermented soy bean paste and brown sugar, making it vegan. Highly versatile condiment for stir fry sauce. Mix into sauteed mushrooms or noodles“
“Like any truly great #HoisinSauce, ours expresses a certain sticky sweetness, savory character, and velvety texture that make it exceptionally versatile. It’s made with a base of fermented soybean paste, black sesame paste, and brown sugar, and seasoned with aromatic spices like star anise, garlic powder, coriander seed, and Szechuan peppercorns.”
Most people know hoisin sauce from eating Peking Duck served in buns or pancakes. Naturally it matches well with duck but also chicken, pork and perhaps even a bit on a hamburger. You can use this with other ingredients (garlic, ginger, soy sauce) to add to Asian dishes, like stir fried dishes, and noodle dishes, etc or meats. Its versatile and good to have in the fridge for making Asian dishes.
A good versatile Asian sauce to to have in the fridge. Will last a long time.
“Our newest Cream Cheese Spread is celebratory, creamy, super savory, and full of flavor for all your summer schmearing needs. Trader Joe’s Red Bell Pepper, Garlic & Parmesan Cream Cheese Spread is a zesty combo with a heavy-handed sprinkle of Parmesan cheese, is flecked with red bell pepper, and studded with minced garlic throughout.”
( FYI it says “Limited”) so you may or may not find this…)
When I just tasted it on a spoon by itself. It seemed a bit on the strong side, predominately tasting of parmesan cheese. Of course its meant to be a spread, so I put a shmear of this cream cheese on a cracker. They were very good together. I used this spread the next morning on a toasted bagel spread with this stuff, topped with lots of slices of cucumber. That was quite good. It was good on bread and many things. In fact, I can easily see using some of this added to a pasta dish, thinned out with a bit of pasta water to make a creamy sauce. I’ve learned recently that some Italians actually use cream cheese mixed into pasta to make it creamy! I think this could match well in a sauce with sauteed cherry tomatoes.
So I do think this is worth a try if you see it. I would buy it again and experiment some more with it on different things, IF I can find it.
Many people wonder how to use Trader Joe’s Soy Chorizo, so here’s one idea that I use it for quite frequently. I cook up potatoes and onions and add the Soy Chorizo to it for a very tasty (vegetarian) version of the famous Mexican dish “Papa con Chorizo” (potatoes with chorizo).
Here’s my recipe . We substitute Trader Joe’s soy chorizo for real pork chorizo making this dish vegetarian. Some people may not even know that its vegetarian when they taste it. In fact, though I’m not vegetarian I like this quite a bit as its a bit healthier. I make this dish about every other week as an easy dish which is good to have on hand in the fridge as it can make a few things. This is especially good as a filling for quesadillas, tacos or burritos, it works really well with eggs too mixed into it. You can make up a whole package of the Soy Chorizo to have on hand for the week.
INGREDIENTS
Trader Joe’s SOY CHORIZO
Trader Joe’s TACO SEASONING (optional)
Potatoes (waxy potatoes are best, like Red potatoes, Yukon Gold or similar) 1 pound
Onion (medium – diced)
Fresh garlic (optional, chopped)
(optional – fresh cilantro)
I usually make this for about 2 people/portions. Adjust amounts as needed
RECIPE – Soy Chorizo with Potatoes
Boil about a pound of potatoes cut in half in lightly salted water. Cook for about 12 minutes or so or just until done, meaning when a knife goes in pretty easily.
Drain and rinse them with cold water until they are cool enough to touch. Cut the potatoes up into bite size pieces.
In a cast iron or non-stick skillet, sauté an medium size onion (diced) in about a tablespoon of olive oil for a few minutes (add a few cloves of fresh chopped garlic too if you like). Toss in the diced potatoes. Let potatoes and onions sauté together on medium heat until the potatoes take a little bit of color which may take about 10 minutes or so, stirring gently every 3 minutes. Sprinkle on some Taco Seasoning (optional) if you like. If you are not using it, just add a sprinkle of salt and pepper.
Next add your Soy Chorizo. Lower the heat. Gently mix in and combine the Soy Chorizo into the onion and potatoes. How much chorizo to use is up to you. I usually add about 1/2 the tube for about about a pound of potatoes but you can add more or less as you see fit.
Saute the mixture on low heat for about 5 minutes or so and it’s ready. If you like cilantro, sprinkle on a big handle of it, chopped up, which brightens the dish really nicely.
Optional: Eggs work great with this mixture. If you want them at the end just mix in 3 beaten eggs and let the eggs cook slowly until done. Serve immediately with warm tortillas or make quesadillas with this as your stuffing.
PAPAS CON CHORIZO is a tasty mixture which is great for tacos or burittos and my favorite, cheese quesadillas. To make those,use flour tortillas, (or corn if you like) and sprinkle some grated cheese on the tortilla in a lightly oiled pan. Top with the potato mix, fold in half and cook for a few minutes on each side until the cheese is melted. For even cheesier ones, also put a little grated cheese under the tacos and let them get golden brown and a little crusty. These are really my favorite. And if you want to use corn tortillas instead, those will also be great with this filling.
Besides tacos or tortillas, mix this potato mixture into scrambled eggs for a great dish.
(Update Jan 2025: M.I.A. for some time. Are they Out of stock or possibly Discontinued?) March 2025L Well its official from Trader Joe’s. UNFORTUNATELY THIS PRODUCT WAS DISCONTINUED ) Too bad as these were really good!
Trade Joe’s has quite a few, cooked, ready to eat, chicken items in the refrigerated section. Some of those are chicken breasts that have been already sliced . These however are whole cooked boneless chicken breasts, plain and simple, ready to use how ever you like. “All Natural, Minimally Processed…”
So convenient when you don’t feel like cooking but want a fast, easy protein. My review of these is that these boneless breast are super tasty. They are as juicy as possible, as they have not already been cut up, plus they are sealed up with the cooking juices. These are of course super convenient to have in the fridge. They will last at least a week, maybe more. For longer term storage you can freeze them and leave them overnight in the fridge to defrost.
Of course you are paying a bit more here per pound for boneless breasts as naturally one pays for the convenience of having it prepped and cooked. However the taste and quality is quite high. I even am pretty sure too these have been cooked Sous Vide (more on this later) Inside the package are four vacuum sealed pouches containing one perfect looking 4 ounce boneless breasts of chicken like you can see here. They even have grill marks on them, meaning they got some time over a grill.
Some people look down on boneless chicken breast, and think of them as dry and flavorless, but I promise you the way this is cooked proves otherwise. These are perfectly juicy.
My hunch how they make these: I believe these are cooked two ways: First they grill the outside a tiny bit to get those attractive grill marks but then they vacuum seal the breasts and cook them Sous Vide.Naturally I am just guessing but these kinds of pouches look exactly like how sous vide food looks. I also say this especially at how perfect the cook is on these boneless breasts. These are perfectly cooked. Juicy, tender, flavorful. If you are in the food game, let us know in the Comments if you too think these are cooked sous vide.
I gave one of these to my neighbor to taste. She thought they were delicious and immediately said she would be sure to buy them the next time she goes to TJ’s.
“Fully Cooked” – To me this is cooked just perfectly a point. In French cooking “à point” means “exactly right” meaning being “ideally cooked, no more, no less”. These breasts are just cooked just like that. Not overcooked. They are plump and juicy and there is a bit of natural cooking juices in the pouch – which you should be sure to save! This little bit of juice/stock can go over the chicken.
I sliced up a breast and ate it right out of the package as again, these are “fully cooked”. The cook on this is what you might call “medium rare”. If you’re someone who says they like chicken breast cooked until its “well done” you may not find it . Trust me it is. Its Perfect and is done like this so you can reheat it as they state. I put the sliced breast meat on top of a salad and it was delicious. Especially with some Magnificsauce on top. The package states you can “Reheat” this by simmering the pouch in water (or microwaving it). They suggest “simmering for 10-12 minutes”. It comes cooked “a point” so honestly I wonder if simmering this for 12 minutes might ruin it by overcooking it. I would simmer for 5 minutes tops ! Maybe if this is actually sous vide, 12 minutes might be OK. But once again it is already fully cooked. Though “just cooked” in the center which is personally the way I make boneless breasts. Your call on this point.
So I found these breasts very good and very tasty. The downside is of course the price is $9.99 for 1 pound of chicken however of course you don’t have to lift a finger to cook or prep it. You are paying for the convenience of having it ready to use, plus lets face it in a nice deli that sells cooked boneless breasts I’m sure would pay that much a pound if not more for cooked boneless breasts of this quality: perfect.
So when you want a perfect breast of chicken all ready this is very convenient.
The nutrition label says one breast is 150 calories with a whopping 27 Grams Protein and only 4.5 gr of fat. Sounds pretty healthy, no?
Roasted Eggplant Curry “Northern Indian dish from Punjab. Bharta means Charred grilled/smoked smashed vegetables”
NEW ITEM: Trader Joe’s recently added one more very good “Authentic Indian Recipe” entrée to the frozen Indian dishes they carry.
Baingan Bharta (a spiced roasted eggplant dish) is dish I’ve had many times in Indian restaurants and one I really enjoy. Trader Joe’s version of Baingan Bharta is quite decent, almost like something you could get at a restaurant, though maybe not quite as smokey. But TRADER JOE’S VERSION 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 dish, BAINGAN BHARTA, joins two other very good frozen entrée vegetarian dishes Trader Joe’s carries which I’ve reviewed and buy regularly: the excellent PALAK PANEER and CHANNA MASALA. I love having any of these in my freezer. For whenever the mood strike for an easy yet very tasty Indian meal. Just FYI, the ones I mention are the ones that are “entrées” meaning just that dish and they don’t include basmati rice (some dishes do) I 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 frozen puck in a non-stick pan and heat it on low heat, covered, till its defrosted and heated thru, stirring every five minutes. It may take 15 minutes like this.
This dish of course goes well with Basmati rice and especially some Naan or other bread to scoop it up. I made a quick Raita with greek yogurt and cucumbers on the side. Naturally a nice chutney will go well too and 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.
“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 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.
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.
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 Green Onion Pancakes are like what you might get at a traditional Dim Sum meal…quickly fried, these savory disks become crispy and flaky. Eat as a snack or part of a meal. Try using them in place of a naan or a tortilla to wrap meat or vegetables” (from the package)
Trader Joe’s Taiwanese Green Onion (Scallions) Pancakes are a very popular Trader Joe’s product… and for good reason. These are quite tasty, easy to make and pretty inexpensive. Made simply and eaten As-Is these can be quite tasty. But these Scallion Pancakes are also easy to “hack” and turn into something more.
Just add an addition or two and you can make them into something a bit better and more substantial. For instance, the easiest hack could be as simple as “put an egg on it”. Just add a egg, fried or scrambled on top.
(Here is what my pancake looked like after cooking. Golden brown and delicious!)
VEGAN – PRODUCT OF TAIWAN
Honestly if you’ve never tried these before, run over to Trader Joe’s right now and get some. That is if you can find them! These sometimes get SOLD OUT, because as mentioned they’re quite a popular item, and at $2.49 for a package of 5 pancakes, let’s face it, these are one of the more affordable frozen items at Trader Joe’s. Basically just fried dough with some green onions but yummy.
TJ’s Scallion Pancakes make a pretty quick, pretty easy appetizer, snack, side dish, lunch. With some tweaking, they can become the platform of a complete dish, depending on how you serve them and what you eat with them.
How easy are Trader Joe’s Scallion Pancakes to make? All you have to do is take a frozen pancake and put it in a pan with a little oil. Let it cook for a 4-5 minutes until browned. Turn it over. Cook another few minutes.
In Chinese, these pancakes are called Cong You Bing (蔥油餅) which are savory pancakes made from a wheat dough, oil (or better still lard!), green onions and salt. Often sold from street vendors. Cheap and very popular. I’ve eaten these made fresh in front of me from Chinese street vendors or stalls in Flushing, Queens.
Naturally one can’t quite compare TJ’s pancakes to one handmade in front of you. However, these are still tasty, not to mention very convenient for whenever the mood strikes.
I do have one complaint about Trader Joe’s “green onion pancakes”. These don’t have nearly enough green onions. Not by a long shot. There should be a ton and these only have a small handful.
Authentic Chinese / Taiwanese scallion pancakes are made with a ton of scallions, and these Trader Joe’s pancakes skimp on the green onions. Probably to keep them cheap. However this is easy to fix and correct. Just add some chopped scallions when you serve them.
Ideally I suggest whenever you are going to make these be sure to also get a package of scallions ($1.29) too so you can scatter a handful of chopped scallions over your pancakes, and/or put them in your sauce. Personally I love fresh cilantro with these as well as well as extra scallions.
The simple way to enjoy these is to just make them as directed and eat with some kind of a dipping sauce. I’ve put an easy recipe for a basic Asian sauce further down. But in a pinch even just mixing up a little soy sauce, garlic, ginger and Chinese black vinegar (or rice vinegar) can work. Or even easier, use some Asian Trader Joe’s sauce you like such as the: “Gyoza Sauce”, “Sweet Chili Sauce”, “Chili Crisp” and a little soy sauce.
Recently my wife and I ate these for dinner (picture above). We added a fried egg for extra protein. Along with the pancakes we ate fried rice. That combo is great. I happened to have fried rice which I had made the night before. You could use a frozen Trader Joe’s versions, for example their popular JAPANESE FRIED RICE.
HOW TO MAKE TRADER JOE’S GREEN ONION PANCAKES:
STOVE TOP METHOD – (Cook right from frozen) Pour 1 tsp of vegetable oil in a nonstick or cast iron pan, set to medium heat. After a 30 seconds of heating, swirl the oil, then add a pancake to the pan (be careful, it can spatter). Try to resist the urge to touch or move it for a good minute or so, after which you can check the bottom gently using a spatula to lift it to see the underside. You want to let it get all nice and Golden Brown. (see my first picture). You can rotate a pancake to get even browning.
The first side might take about 3-5 minutes (from frozen). Cook till it looks “*golden brown and delicious”. When your first side is done just flip it over carefully., to let the other side cook.
Don’t press hard with the spatula to keep them flaky. Keep an eye on it. The second side which will take less time to cook as its no longer frozen. When the second side is done (two minutes?) and looks golden brown, remove it and put on a paper towel to drain any excess oil.
Keep pancakes warm (cover with towel, or put in oven on Low or Warm)
If making more than one, now get the next one cooking. (TIP – Each disk is about 7 inches in diameter so if you want to make a few at a time, you might to use 2 pans or a griddle.
When you are ready to serve them, you can cut them up into eights or quarters. Enjoy asap while they are warm and crispy, along with your dipping sauce (recipe below)
AIR FRYER – I’ve seen people online say these can be cooked in one.
Microwave? No way, they need to get crispy and browned! Thats not an option with these.
Now while these are perfectly fine just naked and “As-Is”, as mentioned, you can add things. For example, as I mentioned you can top them with a fried or scrambled egg. You can fold the pancake like a taco with the egg in the middle and eat it like that (in a paper towel) which is actually a typical way one might get these served on the street in China or Taiwan. So instead of Naan or a Tortilla use these.
Pancakes topped with sautéed shitake mushrooms and seasoned ground pork
You can be as inventive with these as you like. For example, use these as a base and add toppings.
Cooked seasoned ground beef, pork , chicken, mushrooms or tofu? Maybe left over rotisserie chicken pulled into shreds? Perhaps some grilled shrimp. Or grilled tofu. Grilled portobello mushrooms. You can even put cheese on them for a cheesy Chinese pancake.
Here’s one easy HACK / combo I came up with: SILK ROAD PANCAKE WITH KEBABS. These pancakes matched well with TJ’s Middle Eastern Beef Kebabs for a “Silk Road” combination which is perfect with these. Add a cooked kebab to a pancake,, then eat folded up like a tortilla. Add your favorite sauce (garlic spread, greek yogurt, chili oil…)
Typically these pancakes are usually served with a dipping sauce. You can easily make an Asian dipping sauce (see below for a simple basic recipe). Any store bought sauce you like can work too. Say TJ’s “Soyaki” or Gyoza Sauce or Sweet Chili sauce or the like. TJ’s Chili Onion Crunch, of course too is a great too. My favorite real deal addition for these pancakes is the original chili crisp, Lao Gan Ma, to which I have a serious addiction (If you don’t have any Asian markets here’s a link to it on Amazon : Lao Gan Ma )
BASICASIANDIPPING SAUCE:
2 tbl TJ’s Low Sodium Soy Sauce
2 tsp Chinese black vinegar (if you don’t have it you can use rice vinegar or even balsamic)
1 lg clove garlic, crushed
1 tsp brown sugar or honey
Optional – Fresh grated ginger. A drizzle of Sesame Oil (if you like spicy mix in some Chili Crisp or Lao Gan Ma)
Add chopped scallions.
Checking the Nutrition label 1 pancake contains 330 calories.
Trader Joe’s GREEN ONION PANCAKES, $2.49 (five pancakes) I would buy this again.
Need some ideas to use these as a starting point for something ….? Check out these ideas…..
Those may be even better but are different. Korean PaJeon have lots of scallions and vegetables. So they cost a bit more but are terrific and may even be easier to find in stock. I think the Taiwanese scallion pancakes seem to have gotten so popular they get sold out kind of fast as some people buy 5 or more packages (you know who you are, so please leave some for the rest of us!)
UPDATE-1 (Winter 2023) – Haven’t seen them for months. Sold Out / Out of Stock at two different TJ’s I go to. Beginning to wonder if these are too popular for their own good?!
UPDATE-2 (Mar 2024) – FINALLY! Seeing these back in stores! Yeah! Hopefully you find them.
PS – Believe it or not I’ve actually made these Scallion Pancakes from scratch a few times. Sure, it’s a bit of work but frankly these are not very hard to make yourself. Of course they are even better, so think about making them. All you need is flour, scallions and oil. Check out these recipes (links) and think about giving it a try one day!
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