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Fish

REVIEW – Trader Joe’s Wild Salmon in Yogurt & Mint Sauce (Frozen)

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December 10, 2015 | 4 Comments
Box of Trader Joe's Frozen Wild Salmon in Yogurt & Mint Sauce
Trader Joe's Frozen Wild Salmon in Yogurt & Mint Sauce cooked

A frozen box of this Wild Salmon in Yogurt & Mint Sauce with Orzo pasta, Spinach, and Zucchini from Trader Joe's had been sitting in the freezer for a few months, and no one had eaten it yet, so I decided to finally try it for a quick lunch.

The microwave instructions on the box state to peel back a corner of the tray, microwave it for 6-7 minutes, and let it stand for two minutes. Since it had been in the freezer for a while, I microwaved it for 7 minutes.

I'm not a fan of yogurt, so salmon in a yogurt and mint sauce didn't sound great. Fortunately for me, it didn't have a strong yogurt taste. Unfortunately for me, it didn't have much taste at all.

Well, the salmon did taste like salmon, but it was very dry. Eating the salmon combined with the Orzo pasta and yogurt / mint sauce helped a little, but it wasn't enough. The sauce didn't really taste like anything, and it was all just very bland. The salmon tray also came with two cherry tomato halves, and when I tried one, I had to spit it out because it was too sweet. I could only finish about half of the salmon and pasta tray before I threw it all away.

Overall Rating:
Blegh
Food: Trader Joe's Wild Salmon in Yogurt & Mint Sauce with Orzo Pasta, Spinach & Zucchini
Source: Trader Joe's, Tucson, AZ
Rating: Blegh
from Trader Joes
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REVIEW – Kirkland Signature: Chilean Sea Bass from Costco (Frozen)

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December 8, 2015 | 12 Comments
Bag of frozen Kirkland Signature Chilean Sea Bass from Costco
Cooked plate of Kirkland Signature Chilean Sea Bass from Costco

Last time we went to Costco we saw one of our favorite types of fish: Chilean Sea Bass! The Kirkland Signature Wild Caught Chilean Sea Bass was frozen and ~1.5 lb for $40. When we get Chilean Sea Bass, we usually buy it at another store that sells it for $36 a pound, so this seemed like a fairly good deal.

The frozen Chilean Sea Bass came in individually wrapped and sealed portions, which was very convenient. There were five frozen portions in the bag, and we ended up cooking three of them following the cooking directions on the bag loosely.

Kirkland Signature Chilean Sea Bass from Costco sealed portions
Individually sealed portions

The Chilean Sea Bass turned out nice, buttery, and flaky -- delicious! It wasn't dry or rubbery at all. We are very happy that Costco is now carrying these, as they make for a quick, easy, and delicious meal.

Below are instructions on how we cooked it.

How We Cooked the frozen Chilean Sea Bass (on a tray on a gas grill):

1. Thaw it.

  • The "regular" thawing instructions recommend thawing the portions unwrapped for 8-10 hours in the refrigerator, and the "quick thaw" instructions suggest thawing them in their packaging under cool water for 15-30 minutes, replacing the water every 5 minutes. We had about 4 hours before we were going to cook the Chilean Sea Bass and had forgotten to thaw the portions, so we tried a combination of the regular thaw and quick thaw instructions on the back of the bag.

  • We ended up thawing the three portions inside their packaging under cool water for 5 minutes one time. Then we unwrapped them and put them on a plate in the refrigerator for the remaining 4 hours. The biggest piece was still a little frozen, but the other smaller pieces we had were almost thawed all the way, so we just went ahead and cooked them.

    • 2. Spray a foil tray with Pam, and place the three portions of Chilean Sea Bass on it.

    3. Add a sliver of butter on top of each piece (or whatever seasoning you want).

    4. Turn all three burners on the gas grill to High with the lid closed for 15 minutes. After the 15 minutes, turn the middle burner to Low.

    5. Put the tray of fish on the middle burner, and flip each piece of fish approximately every 3 minutes. We ended up flipping each piece ~4 times and cooked them for a total of about 12 minutes.

  • Note: The instructions on the bag state to cook them for 5 - 7 minutes and flip them once. We probably had to cook them longer because ours weren't thawed all the way.

    • 6. Take it off the grill and serve!

    Overall Rating:
    Delicious
    Food: Frozen Kirkland Signature Wild Caught Chilean Sea Bass
    Price: $39.99 for 1.5 lb bag (5 portions)
    Source: Costco, Tucson, AZ
    Rating: Delicious
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    REVIEW – Asiana Korean Restaurant (West Chester, OH): Dumplings, Kalbi, & Salmon Teriyaki

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    June 26, 2015 | Post a Comment
    Dumplings from Asiana Restaurant, West Chester, OH
    Sides from Asiana Restaurant, West Chester, OH
    Beef Kalbi from Asiana Restaurant, West Chester, OH
    Grilled salmon teriyaki from Asiana Restaurant, West Chester, OH

    My mom took me out to eat at Asiana Resaurant in West Chester, OH. I ordered my favorite Korean foods: Beef Kalbi/Galbi and dumplings / mandu. My mom ordered a lunch box combo that came with grilled salmon teriyaki.

    The dumplings / mandu were pan-fried vegetable dumplings, and they were nice and crunchy. I couldn't really tell what vegetables were in it, but it was delicious.

    The kalbi came out nice and sizzling. However, the taste of the kalbi was more salty than sweet; it wasn't as sweet as I would have liked. A lot of the beef was either fat or bone so there wasn't much meat to get out of it.

    My mom's grilled salmon teriyaki was cooked very well and wasn't too dry. The teriyaki sauce also wasn't very sweet, but it went fine with the salmon.

    The meal came with the usual Korean side dishes and rice. There were six side dishes, I was very happy to see fish cake among them. I looove the slightly sweet taste of fish cake so, not surprisingly, that was my favorite side dish. I also enjoyed the kimchi since it wasn't a sour kimchi, and it was nice and slightly sweet. The remaining side dishes had mostly a salty taste and were a little too salty for me.

    Overall Rating:
    OK
    Food: Dumplings, Kalbi, Salmon Teriyaki Lunch Box Combo
    Source: Asiana Korean Restaurant, West Chester, OH
    Rating (Dumplings): Delicious
    Rating (Kalbi): OK
    Rating (Salmon Teriyaki): Good
    Rating (Fish Cake & Kimchi Sides): Delicious
    Rating (Other Side Dishes): OK
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