Dear Diary of Frozen Food Adventures,
Last night, in a moment of grocery store curiosity, I decided to try Trader Joe’s Thai Roti Red Curry. As a vegan food explorer always on the hunt for convenient plant-based options, I was excited to see this fully vegan offering in the frozen section. I know I have a large vegan audience and I had wandered past this frozen dish a million times and decided to finally taste it.
The Vegan Marvel
First, let’s appreciate that this entire meal is 100% vegan, no animal products whatsoever. This product is also known as Roti Canai in SW Asia. The ingredients list proudly confirms it with its plant based lineup and “CONTAINS SOY, WHEAT, COCONUT” warning (notably absent: any animal products). In a world where “vegetarian” often secretly means “we snuck some fish sauce in there,” finding a completely vegan ready meal that actually lists “coconut milk” instead of “cream” feels like winning a small lottery. Trader Joe’s is a vegan champion!
The Not-So-Instant Preparation
Unlike those “just nuke it for 2 minutes” frozen meals, this one demands a culinary commitment. The roti and curry come separately packaged, requiring different cooking methods and timing – because apparently, we needed a multi-tasking challenge with our dinner. The roti needs to be heated in a pan (don’t even think about microwaving these oil-soaked treasures unless you enjoy sad, soggy flatbreads). Meanwhile, the curry packet must be thawed in warm water before heating it in either a microwave or stovetop. It’s like a culinary obstacle course that ends with washing multiple dishes. Sure, the box says this is simple enough, but so is quantum physics if you break it down into steps. Let’s say this, I probably won’t take it to work.
The Tale of Two Components
The curry? Absolute star of the show. Rich coconut milk base with an impressive lineup of spices, lemongrass, garlic, shallots, birds eye chile peppers, nutmeg, cumin, coriander, white pepper, and that mysterious “galangal” (which I had to Google, apparently it’s a “cooling, pine-like spice” similar to ginger). The green eggplant, cabbage, and potatoes maintained their dignity despite being frozen, and the flavors were genuinely impressive for something that came out of my freezer. I appreciated the authentic touch of Thai basil and red spur chile peppers that gave it that distinctive Thai character. My only complaint? There simply wasn’t enough of it! I found myself rationing little spoonfuls to make it last through all three rotis.
The Roti Reality Check
Now about that roti… This was my first roti experience, and I had innocently expected something akin to pita bread or naan. Oh, sweet summer child that I am. What emerged was a wheat flour flatbread drenched in rice bran oil and rice bran oil shortening that had me reaching for a stack of paper towels like I was cleaning up after an oil change, not preparing dinner. The ingredient list doesn’t lie, oil is listed twice in the roti ingredients, and you can definitely taste (and feel) it.
Was it flaky? Yes, impressively so, I’m still finding little pastry bits in unexpected places around my kitchen. Was it tasty? Also yes. But was it worth the oil slick on my plate and fingers? I’m still deliberating. Not sure it’s worth it unless it’s something you are familiar with.
The Caloric Conspiracy
The box casually mentions this simple meal packs over 800 calories, which had me doing a double-take. After some forensic nutritional investigation, I realized the culprit wasn’t my beloved curry but the oil-drenched roti. Those innocent-looking flatbreads are essentially oil delivery systems with a side of wheat flour. If you are counting calories, just be aware.
The Vegan Compromise
As someone who appreciates the vegan lifestyle, I’m torn. On one hand, this is a convenient, tasty, completely plant-based option when I need a quick meal. On the other hand, I could probably consume less oil if I deep-fried a salad. But, thanks Trader Joe’s for continuing to offer more vegan options.
The Verdict
Would I buy it again? Maybe. The curry alone deserves a standing ovation, you can literally buy the red curry in a different frozen meal, but was truly delicious vegan fare that doesn’t scream “COMPROMISE!” with every bite.
For now, this vegan offering gets 7 out of 10 stars, extra points for flavor and plant-based integrity, deductions for turning my dinner into an oil wrestling event and the skimpy curry portion.
Next time, I’ll have paper towels at the ready and possibly a side dish to supplement the curry shortage. Because in the world of frozen vegan meals, you take the flaky with the smooth.
Yours in plant-based adventuring, A Person Who Now Owns Stock in Paper Towel Companies
Ingredients
- ROTI (WHEAT FLOUR, WATER, RICE BRAN OIL, RICE BRAN OIL SHORTENING, SUGAR, SEA SALT, XANTHAN GUM)
- RED CURRY (COCONUT MILK [COCONUT, WATER], WATER, RED CURRY PASTE[WATER, GARLIC, RICE BRAN OIL, DRIED RED CHILI PEPPERS, LEMONGRASS, SHALLOTS, BIRDS EYE CHILE PEPPER, GROUND NUTMEG, CUMIN POWDER, CORIANDER POWDER, SEA SALT, SUGAR, GALANGAL, WHITE PEPPER, GROUND CARDAMOM, CITRIC ACID {ACIDIFIER}] , GREEN EGGPLANT, CABBAGE, POTATO, RICE BRAN OIL, SUGAR BLEND [COCONUT SUGAR, CANE SUGAR], THAI BASIL, SEA SALT, RED SPUR CHILE PEPPER, SOY SAUCE [WATER, SOYBEAN, SALT, WHEAT FLOUR]).
- CONTAINS SOY, WHEAT, COCONUT.
