I love Pad Thai like everyone else. It seems to be a staple at Thai-American restaurants. God knows in my little hamlet here in the Seattle suburbs we have no less than 4 Thai restaurants, so I have a lot to choose from. I rarely order this off the menu, but Becky loves it and gets it almost every time. If there is a vegetarian option, she’ll go for that. (She likes to play a vegetarian on TV but in real life loves meat like the rest of us!)
OK, I love Thai food as much at the next person. I even lived in Thailand for a couple of years when I was in elementary school. It was a life changing experience and I highly recommend you live overseas for a couple of years if you can. Anywhere, it doesn’t matter…
I had not seen this in the frozen section before and you guys know I love Thai food and as always just had to pick this one up! I don’t have high hopes, especially after the Pad Thai in a box disaster that Trader’s tries to pawn off on you as food. This is a vegan dish, but I think you’ll be surprised at how filling it is when you eat it. I also noticed that above the name there is a something I’ve not seen before. There are the words “True Thai” and no mention of Trader Ming’s anywhere, their usual moniker for Asian food.
Like I mentioned before, it is in the frozen section. It comes in one of those selves with a plastic box where you lift up the corner and microwave for 5-6 minutes until done. You can see strips of tofu under the clear plastic. They almost look like strips of chicken! I nuked it for the recommended time and when I opened the microwave, I knew it wasn’t going to be completely awful. It smelled pretty darn good in there!
I pulled it out and what I didn’t expect was this layer of greens and bean sprouts below the noodles. My picture on the left doesn’t do it justice to show how many sprouts were under there. There is a complete layer of sauce and sprouts/vegetables under the noodles. I highly recommend that you get it out of the black plastic container and put it in a bowl (unlike the me, I just ate it out of the plastic dish!)
Final Thoughts
Let me tell you, these flavors aren’t playing around! Bold, with just enough heat to wake up your taste buds from their workday coma. The sauce hits that perfect consistency sweet spot, not too runny (unlike those reports you need to finish by EOD), not too thick (unlike your inbox). I added a splash of soy sauce for that extra oomph, and BAM! flavor nirvana! And if you’re feeling fancy in your 30 seconds of free time, toss some peanuts on top for a crunch that’s more satisfying than hitting “send” on that urgent email.
This dish is an absolute winner for the perpetually time-starved. Fellow busy moms and office warriors, listen up! this is the lunch solution you’ve been dreaming about between Zoom calls and carpool lanes! Just over 10oz of deliciousness that actually keeps you full through that 3PM meeting where you’re secretly muted and dealing with a homework crisis via text.
I’m giving this Trader Joe’s Vegetable Pad Thai a solid 8 stars! Because let’s be honest, anything that delivers this much satisfaction in the precious few minutes between chaos deserves a spot in your shopping cart—right next to that bottle of wine you definitely earned this week.
Ingredients
BEAN SPROUTS, WATER, RICE NOODLES (RICE, WATER), CHIVES, PALM OIL, SHALLOTS, TOFU (SOYBEAN, SALT), SUGAR, CHILI SAUCE (WATER, CHILI, GARLIC, SUGAR, VINEGAR, SALT), TAMARIND SAUCE (TAMARIND PASTE, WATER), CASHEWS, GARLIC, TOMATO SAUCE (TOMATO, WATER, SUGAR, SALT, VINEGAR), RADISH, VINEGAR, SOY SAUCE (SOYBEAN, SALT, WHEAT FLOUR), SALT, CHILI POWDER.
CONTAINS SOY , CASHEWS & WHEAT.
I think this is one of Trader Joe's better ethnic frozen meals – I loved the sauce!
I agree! I don't know why they all can't be this good!