Last year in August, I lightly reviewed some brand new items from Trader Joe’s new line of Asian products: Sriracha & Dried Kimchi. Today, I’m finally getting around to reviewing their instant ramen & seaweed salad. Recently, Trader Joe’s has pulled the seaweed salad off their shelves because they were produced in a facility that also produces peanuts & unknowingly sold them without stating that they were peanut-free. I’m not sure when they’ll be back, but I definitely hope they shelve them again because–spoiler alert–they’re actually pretty good.
Spicy Seaweed Ramen
I love instant ramen, but the amount of sodium in each serving is more than anyone should really consume in one sitting. Looking for an alternative, I was pleasantly surprised that Trader Joe’s carries instant ramen! Keen to try it out, I must say that I was sorely disappointed. The picture above is actually my second time getting the ramen because I was determined to see if I messed up making instant ramen (how?), but two times in a row, the taste was identical. I tried to dress it up, but it really required a lot of work to make it palatable.
Consistency: Noodles are nice & chewy. The soup base is quite homogenous in water, so it does mix well.
Price: $1.99
Taste: Watered down noodles with a hint of Kimchi seasoning & seaweed.
10/10 Would Recommend?: Absolutely not. This is probably one of the worst products Trader Joe’s has ever shelved. I’m practically the poster girl for Trader Joe’s & I push their products on everyone because they’re 99% of the time amazing, but this product falls flat. The soup base is flat, bland, & one dimensional. It needs stronger spices, flavor, & hate to say it, but more salt.
MOTHER OF … I Bought This, Now What?!: You can still easily fix this. Add about 2 tbsp of ponzu sauce & furikake. Add Sriracha to turn up the flavor to 11. An egg also adds a nice touch!
Seaweed Salad
Seaweed Salad is a common appetizer at Japanese & Korean restaurants, but this salad is less Japanese & more Korean with its spicy salad dressing. The red chilies they used are one of Korea’s signature ingredients. If you’ve been exposed to Korean food, you know that a lot of the cuisine is bright red with chilies, but not necessarily flaming hot. This salad takes no more than 5 minutes to prepare & is a good lunch item on the go. I really do hope they put it back on their shelves because it is really good for quick meals.
Consistency: Chewy, but soft. Kind of slimy only because it’s seaweed, but not gooey.
Price: $1.99 or $2.99 – don’t remember.
Taste: Strong, bold flavors from the spicy dressing that really complement the seaweed. The sesame flavor is notable, but the dressing isn’t as spicy as you’d think. Sure it looks like lava, but it really is no spicier than Sriracha. It does have a nice kick to it though.
10/10 Would Recommend?: If you’re a huge fan of seaweed salad & you love Korean food, yes. The dressing goes well with the salad & I didn’t add anything to improve it because it was already great. I can see myself eating this with a side of rice & soup, but unfortunately, the product has been recalled & I’m not sure when they’ll shelve it again. Bring it back, Trader Joe’s!
Sriracha is my answer to every food problem. I’ve been cutting back on ramen lately, or at least the soup base that comes with it and making my own. I haven’t found a recipe I’m crazy for yet but I’ll keep experimenting.
And that seaweed salad looks delicious! 😀 I’d love to try it if they ever bring it back.
Sriracha is also my answer to every food problem haha. Something not flavorful enough? Srirachaaaaa.
That’s a really good practice! I’ve found that http://japanesecooking101.com has a quick & easy ramen base. Also this: http://www.thepauperedchef.com/article/how-make-shoyu-ramen-home
Hope that was helpful!
This is some intense food photography, Tiff! 😉
But I seriously love Trader Joe’s. When I lived in California we had them all over the place and I went there as much as I could. Pennsylvania doesn’t have any, unfortunately. I’m going through withdrawals.
I’d usually get their Indian food when I went there. It was frozen, but it was still really good Indian food without having to go to a restaurant. I’m so glad you love them too!!
Haha well it is a food blog, so food pictures are necessary.
Their Indian food is amazinggggg. My boyfriend has just discovered their packaged ones that you just heat up in boiling water. I bought about 5 of those things with me when I studied abroad. Life savers those things.
Maybe you could get one of your relatives in California to ship you some goodies from TJ’s!
I’m starting to notice all of these sriracha sauces ever since the scandal for the rooster-brand sauce was brought up :o. It’s a bummer that Trader Joe’s took down the seaweed salad, but hopefully there are alternatives or it’ll be brought back up later on.
When it comes to instant ramen and its taste, it’s either a hit or miss. Even though the ramen wasn’t that great, at least you added some addons to the bowl for more flavor. I would say add some rehydrated dried mushrooms for more flavor but that kills the instant part of instant ramen, haha.
The seaweed salad looks delicious! I’ve been trying to look around stores for seaweed salads and only found it in Little Tokyo or West Covina but it’s a bit far from my house +__+. At least you got to enjoy some of this deliciousness before it got taken off the shelves :)!
The problem with the instant ramen was the soup base because it just fell flat when it mixed with water. It just didn’t pack a nice punch, probably because it has less sodium than other instant ramen brands, so you’re sitting there forced to add more flavor in it thereby adding more sodium into it. Vicious sodium adding cycle. I love adding mushrooms to my ramen, but I didn’t have any on hand that day. Enoki mushrooms are really light & add a nice crunchiness to your noodles without changing the flavor of your broth. If I wanted instant ramen, I’d just stick with the ones from the Japanese grocers that are refrigerated instead.
I don’t remember which part of LA you reside in, but there should be some Japanese grocers in your area. There should be at least a Marukai or a Mitsuwa nearby somewhere. I lived next to a Nijiya when I was in LA so seaweed salad that was authentic wasn’t too difficult to find. Sometimes at your local grocery store like Ralph’s or Albertson’s, they have a sushi section & there you’ll be able to find seaweed salad. At least my Albertson’s at home has one & I live in a very caucasian dominant area in OC!
Oooh interesting. I’m a total fan of Trader Joe’s also, but I don’t think I’ve ever bought any of their Asian stuff. Probably because there are a lot of Asian supermarkets that I can go to for cheaper and more authentic food. Either way, great reviews!
When I lived in Westwood, LA, the closest Asian grocer was a Japanese one called Nijiya market that was about 3 miles away from my apartment, but because it’s LA the traffic often took a 30 minute trip to the market a 3 hour trip instead. Because it’s a Japanese market, the variety of various Asian foods was sparse, so TJ’s was more convenient (because I could walk to it) & I’d just deal with my Asian cravings another day.
My roommates & I all really loved their version of Sriracha & a lot of their Asian frozen foods (gyoza mmmm) are delicious! They’re also really cheap & their tofu is about the same price as an Asian grocer too.
Thanks for your comment! 🙂
I didn’t even know Traders Joe sells Asian-y products. That ramen looks so good; it’s unfortunate that it doesn’t taste good at all. I haven’t had ramen in awhile because of the high sodium content but I have had a few delicious kinds from stores like Safeway.
And I’m not sure if I’d like the seaweed salad but it sounds delicious by the way you describe it and it looks pretty (because your photography skills are amazing).
Seaweed salads aren’t for everyone. They are kind of slimy haha so I wouldn’t recommend them to anyone who isn’t a fan of seaweed already. TJ’s has lots of Asian products from noodles to kimchi! When I was around 8-10, I would go to TJ’s with my mom to get their rice crackers. Those were my absolute favorite, but now I just get them at a Japanese grocer because they’re better haha. However, TJ’s still has tons of delicious Asian food items. Their Indian foods are fantastic & their frozen food items are addictive.
Hi, Tiff, remember me? It’s Sunny 😀 I’m finally back!! haha.
How are you? How’s life been? 🙂
Wow, that ramen looks so delicious and gourmet… I’m surprised to hear that it didn’t taste good! XD Well, actually, that bag of Kimchi doesn’t look too appealing… 😛
Hi Sunny, of course I remember you. You’re still on my sidebar, girly! I was just looking at your website the other day wondering where you’ve been.
I’m glad to hear that you’re finally back after a long hiatus!! I’ll check out your site later today. 🙂
The dried kimchi was a product I reviewed in a previous post. I do really like it, but I wouldn’t recommend it to people unless they’re a huge fan of kimchi. It works great in fried rice & salads though.
I love trader joe’s. I haven’t seen the ramen at my local TJ, and I didn’t even know that they had a seaweed salad. Have you tried their chicken salad? I really love that, it’s already pre mixed, so all you have to do is get some bread, or crackers, and some veggies, and you’re all set!
In my post, I noted a few times that they discontinued the seaweed salad.
I’m a pescetarian so I don’t eat chicken. I’m sure the salad is great though. I love most of their salads.
I actually love instant ramen! I don’t know how to doctor it up any other way; my boyfriend actually told me of a better solution.
You cook the ramen as is — empty out a little bit of the water — then you put the seasoning in the ramen and stir. It tastes better that way and I was shocked! So now I know how to make it his way and not having to salt it up a storm to get the taste! It does have a LOT of sodium that doesn’t really need to be there, and since I’m trying to lose weight, I don’t really eat it that often – only when I’m sick and if my stomach agrees with it. We do have some and I’m wanting to put some chicken and some green onions into the soup mix. One time I did put some spicy wontons in the Ramen mix, and some other things and it was delicious. I had this in the winter and it was just delicious.
I also love Sriracha. Probably the only one in the house. My boyfriend and I love spicy things and we eat too much of it. I think during this week since it’ll be raining, I should lay off of the spicy stuff and repair my stomach with Brown Rice. I still have the Sriracha bottle I purchased not too long ago. Out of curiosity, if you take it out of the refrigerator can you leave it out or will it go bad if you do? Or do you have to put it in the refrigerator?
My favorite instant ramen is by Nong shim. Their vegetal kimchi ramen is the best & has been voted that way by Best Chefs for a few years now. As you can see in the picture, I’ve added quite a bit to my instant noodles & included a suggestion of how to enhance the taste of the one I purchased from Trader Joe’s, but I still wouldn’t recommend a ramen that doesn’t taste fantastic straight out of the bag without adding ingredients to it. The way your boyfriend eats it is how most ramen bags instruct you to consume ramen.
Sriracha by Trader Joe’s requires you to refrigerate it after you open it, but the one by Huy Fong foods has preservatives so it doesn’t require refrigeration once it’s opened. You’ll find that many sauces will say on their bottle whether or not they require refrigeration. If it doesn’t say, you probably don’t need to refrigerate it.
I don’t think I’ve ever actually been to a Trader Joe’s o.o We don’t have any around here! It’s probably a good thing, because I’m a huge fan of cheap, fast Asian food, and I’d clear their shelves haha.
Instant ramen is always hit or miss for me. There are some Vietnamese instant noodles that I really like, but I can’t recall the name! And sooo sad that they stopped carrying seaweed salad. I LOVE it. But it’s always so expensive in restaurants… $5 for a tiny salad? No thanks! I normally go for the seaweed salad from Publix.
Good Vietnamese instant noodles hmmm? I don’t think I’ve ever had any before! Wait, well, that’s because I don’t want to eat the ones that are in my cabinet downstairs. They don’t really look that appealing, but let me know if you remember the name! I love the korean instant ramen noodles though.
$5?! Yeah that’s a no-no. They shoudn’t be anymore than $3!! hahaha. I’ve never tried making it myself though, but I wouldn’t really know where to begin.