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Trader Joe’s

REVIEW – Trader Joe’s Bibimbap Bowl (Frozen)

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July 31, 2016 | 3 Comments
Box of Trader Joe's Bibimbap Bowl
Korean Bibimbap Bowl from Trader Joe's

Trader Joe's has had this frozen bibimbap bowl for a while, but I haven't tried it until now.

I've usually had bibimbap only at Korean restaurants, which comes in a warm bowl of rice with BBQ beef, fried egg, and vegetables with some red Gochujang sauce. My mom is Korean so I've also had different variations of leftover Korean food with rice mixed together.

The Trader Joe's bibimbap comes frozen with everything in it, and the frozen rice has a "styrofoam" look to it. The instructions were very easy -- just peel back the cover 1/2 an inch and microwave it for three minutes. The sauce is just thawed out under warm water.

I only added about half the sauce packet after the bowl was microwaved because I didn't want it to be too sweet. The red sauce had a sweet and spicy chili taste, and the beef had a sweet, Korean BBQ flavor. Combined, it did have an overall Korean bibimbap taste and feel. The beef was somewhat minimal - I counted about 8 small pieces of beef, maybe 10, if you include the broken bits. The bibimbap could have actually used some more of everything: more beef, spinach, carrots, egg and bean sprouts. But it was tasty, especially if you want a quick bibimbap and don't want to drive out to a Korean restaurant.

Unfortunately, my stomach was also hurting after eating this. Not sure if it was the sauce or something that came frozen in the bowl... it tasted fine, but I wasn't feeling so good afterward.

Overall Rating:
OK
Food: Trader Joe's Bibimbap Bowl (Frozen)
Source: Trader Joe's, Tucson, AZ
Rating: OK
from Trader Joes
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REVIEW – Trader Joe’s Green Curry Shrimp Gyoza (Frozen)

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May 21, 2016 | Post a Comment
Box of Trader Joe's Crispy Green Curry Shrimp Gyoza
Crispy Green Curry Shrimp Gyoza from Trader Joe's

I tried some frozen Trader's Joe's Green Curry Shrimp Gyoza. I followed the microwave instructions because I only wanted to try a few first and didn't want to wait 14 to 16 minutes waiting for it to bake. The instructions say to microwave the gyoza for one minute. I microwaved only three first, and they looked a little underdone after one minute so I microwaved them for two minutes.

I assumed that the shrimp gyoza would be more soggy and not as crispy when microwaved compared to being baked in the oven, but I was pleasantly surprised that they still had crunch… I guess it's because they are pre-fried in palm oil.

The overall taste and texture of the shrimp gyoza was pretty good. The shrimp inside wasn't super hard or rubbery. I could taste a nice combination of a little spice, sweetness, and pepper with the taste of shrimp. The taste reminded me of the "Thai" taste in Trader Joe's Lemon Grass Chicken Stix, except that the taste of the shrimp gyoza was a lot better, and it didn't have the overwhelming pepper taste.

After eating the three gyoza I microwaved, I was definitely craving more.

Overall Rating:
Good
Food: Trader Joe's Crispy Green Curry Shrimp Gyoza
Source: Trader Joe's, Tucson, AZ
Rating: Good
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REVIEW – Trader Joe’s Chicken Chow Mein (Frozen)

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February 10, 2016 | Post a Comment
Bag of Trader Joe's Frozen Low Fat Chicken Chow Mein
Trader Joe's Frozen Chicken Chow Mein packets
Bowl of cooked Trader Joe's Frozen Chicken Chow Mein packets

We tried Trader Joe's Chicken Chow Mein as a side to Trader Joe's Spicy Beef & Broccoli. For cooking the chicken chow mein, we followed the microwave instructions on the back of the bag. The instructions state that it's optional to add 1-2 tablespoons of water for moister chow mein so we added 1 tablespoon of water to it. We also used only half of the chicken chow mein sauce.

The diced chicken was OK, but it was a little dry on the inside. The noodles were a little on the chewy side, but both the chicken and noodles went well with the sauce. The sauce tasted like a sweet garlic-y soy sauce, and as usual, I think it would have been too sweet (and garlic-y) if we had used the entire sauce packet. The vegetables were pretty good and had a nice crunch, given that they were frozen and microwaved. Overall, it was a pretty decent frozen chow mein.

Overall Rating:
Good
Food: Trader Joe's Frozen Low Fat Chicken Chow Mein
Source: Trader Joe's, Tucson, AZ
Rating: Good
from Trader Joes
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