The $3.99 Trader Joe’s Freezer Find I’m Stocking up On

My chest freezer just got fuller.

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The first time I tried japchae, a veggie-filled Korean stir fry made with clear sweet potato starch noodles, I was in love. The colors! The textures! And those perfectly bouncy, chewy noodles! It was an instant favorite, and I started ordering it any time I visited a Korean restaurant or Lotte Plaza Market, our local Korean grocery store chain. 

As much as I love the dish, I never feel confident making it for myself. For starters, it has a lot of steps, cooking each vegetable separately before combining them with the noodles, protein, and sauce, so I resigned myself to only having it at restaurants. Fortunately for me, Trader Joe’s has a new Korean Japchae Fried Rice that makes the dish extremely convenient while still delivering the flavors and textures I love.

Trader Joe’s Korean Japchae Fried Rice

• Price: $3.99 for a 16-ounce bag
• Why I Love It: The combination of noodle stir fry with savory fried rice is satisfying and delicious. It’s easy to reheat and turn into a dinner-worthy meal.

Simply Recipes / Trader Joe's

What’s So Great About Trader Joe’s Korean Japchae Fried Rice?

Japchae is sometimes served with rice, so combining the noodle stir fry with savory fried rice, as Trader Joe’s does, makes a lot of sense. It turns a side dish into a more substantial meal (more on that later). I’m always skeptical of frozen rice, but I’ve had pretty good luck with a few options from Trader Joe’s, namely the risotto semplice and the kimbap, which I hoard in my chest freezer in case it’s ever discontinued. TJ’s Japchae Fried Rice is similarly hoard-worthy, bad news for my already full chest freezer!

One rule I follow when it comes to frozen meals like these is to opt for the stove-top or oven cooking instructions rather than the microwave. While it’s true that convenience is the name of the game (and that’s what microwaves are for), I find that I still save a lot of time and effort and end up with a better final product when I skip the microwave. 

To prepare the dish on the stovetop, heat two to three tablespoons of water in a skillet, add the contents of the bag, and stir-fry for about five minutes until everything is heated through. (If you decide to go the microwave route, it’s just a four and a half minute turn in the microwave and one minute of resting time.)

What To Serve With Trader Joe’s Korean Japchae Fried Rice

One of the things I love most about this dish is that it doesn’t need any additions to feel like a satisfying meal. But as someone who loves to gild the lily, I find that adding a fried egg, sautéed shrimp, or chunks of firm tofu makes the fried rice even more filling, elevating it to a dinner-worthy meal.

I also like to serve the fried rice with a smattering of banchan, which for me means several types of kimchi, pickled daikon and carrots, and seasoned bean sprouts. I like to experiment with combinations of banchan and japchae in pursuit of the best possible bite.

At under five dollars a bag, this is one Trader Joe’s find that I’ll be keeping in the freezer for whenever I need an easy win.

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