Trader Ming’s Pad Thai and Satay
We recently made a quick and unplanned visit to Trader Joe’s just before lunchtime. We took this “opportunity” as a sign to try something new for lunch. We selected Trader Ming’s Pad Thai Noodles and Sauce and Trader Ming’s Peanut Satay Noodles and Sauce. We purposely avoided the sushi and sandwiches as is our usual and instead headed for the middle of the store. Today we were searching for a hot lunch item that would also be happy at the office.
There are just some of those busy days when getting a lunch together while you are trying to get out the door just seems like too much. On those days I want to have some “sure things” ready to just “grab and go” and I wanted to try some of the Trader Joe’s items that do not need to be refrigerated or frozen.
Both of these lunch items come in cardboard “takeout” boxes that double as a serving dish. When you open up the box there are two packets inside. One holds the noodles and the other one holds the sauce.
When I first read the box, somehow I was convinced that I had to boil water and use that to hydrate the noodles- like this was a dry Ramen noodle product. But Wait! That is not the case with this product. The noodles were fully cooked and soft in their package. The sauce was also nice and “saucy”.
What the directions want you to do is to open up both packet and mix them up in the little take away boxes, and then microwave to heat up for 2 minutes and WOW ! You have lunch.
So easy, right? But we don’t have a microwave….eeks!
Good news, these heated up like a charm on the stove. I only added a few spoonfuls of water to “get it going” in the pan as the sauces were on the thick side.
Bottom line: these were just delicious! We each tried both of them and well, I am not sure which one I liked better. They both were just wonderful.
So the next time you are planning what to take into the office for lunch…. Hey even if that is your home office, OK? You should give these Trader Ming’s items a try. They heated up quick, the sauces were rich and thick and they were a yummy lunch overall.
If you were at home, we would suggest adding some leftovers to these meals. A few cooked vegetables or some leftover chicken would bring these meals to a new level. OR a sprinkle of peanuts (for the Pad Thai) would be a nice touch…
What did you think of these products?
I thought these were horrible. The noodles are overcooked for no reason, the sauce is WAY too sweet and there is no complexity. Except for the ingredients, which listed about 12 things in the noodles and a lot of other junk in the sauce, including sugar as the 2nd ingredient. If you have to use that much sugar, you are trying to cover up something.
We are sorry that you found them disappointing. Yes we agree they were on the sweet side, but we felt for a boxed product they were a good alternative to fast food.
Thank you for sharing your opinion!
I don’t know why they are an alternative to fast food. Junky food is junky food. I’d rather have ramen noodles. And the one box (which pretends to be 2 servings) has 60% of my sodium intake for the day! Each tiny serving has almost as much sodium as a Big Mac (700 vs 741mg. Disgusting. I’ll take Taco Bell any day. Two Fresco crunchy tacos provide 20 more calories while having half of the sodium and sugar. And it doesn’t taste like sweet, salty spackling paste.
I think they are okay for the price but would prefer to have Pad Thai at a real Thai restaurant. The closest for me is about a 20 minutes drive. I bought these at TJ’s when I was up in Seattle since we don’t have one in Boise. I just wish they would bring the sodium content down. Not horrible but could certainly improve.
This product was absolutely awful. Tasted of rancid peanuts.
Oh that is too bad. We enjoyed these. Maybe you bought a bad box.
Nonetheless, we are sorry you did not like the Pad Thai & Satay
Thank you for reading,
Kristin and Delaina
These were awful. I had the satay. I took two bites and had to stop!
I just had the Kung Pao- they are fine! I don’t know what all the negative comments were about. If you don’t like processed food, don’t buy it- pretty simple.
Thanks Julie!