Trader Joe's Taiwanese Green Onion Pancakes

These days, you can pretty much discover via social media what new products are lurking about without ever setting foot in a Trader Joe's. It definitely hurts when you know it exists but can't find it in your store for whatever reason. I found this literally yesterday, browsing the frozen food aisle where I saw an Indian family considering this product. I waited patiently while the father deliberated - he picked it up, which left me to hastily grab the last package. OOOO WHAT A FIND. 

This is the FIRST exclusively Taiwanese product I've seen in Trader Joe's. The first product mention of Taiwanese something is in the ever popular cold brew coffee and boba non-dairy frozen dessert. It's still nice for the homeland to be recognized for something in this world, other than the geopolitical ticking time bomb in the western Pacific. 

Let it be known - this is a product of Taiwan. As a Taiwanese-American, I was raised to always support the Taiwanese economy. So when I see made in Taiwan, I purchase of course. Also on the cultural bit, at this point of shopping at Trader Joe's for over ten years, they are not perfect by any means and I've been reminded to maybe assume that the marketing team has good intentions and nobody is trying to deliberately culturally appropriate and whatever. They do try but sometimes they get it wrong, and sometimes they should just admit they get it wrong and commit to doing better. 

Green onion pancake - we call it scallion pancakes but green onions and scallions are basically the same thing. Some call it "pop," I call it "soda." Some call it "boba," I call it "bubble tea." What's not entirely accurate though is the reference to green onion pancakes being found at traditional Dim Sum. I mean, yes, dim sum restaurants do sell scallion pancakes (among other things), and certainly Taiwan does NOT have a monopoly over scallion pancakes. (Technically it didn't even originate there - we're not going to get into this because that's a rabbit hole that leads to an inevitable contentious geopolitical discussion that gets nasty on the internet very quickly). But if TJ's is wanting to acknowledge Taiwan's contribution to the green pancake, it would be more accurate to say that this commonly found in street stalls, night market vendors, and breakfast shops - which don't really exist in America. I guess this is TJ's attempt to cater to the American market that is probably more familiar with dim sum, a cuisine/style of eating that is definitely more culturally from Hong Kong/Canton.

But yes, scallion pancakes are versatile, and you could eat it plain or with stuff wrapped in it. They are very similar to Korean pajeon, which Trader Joe's calls "scallion pancake" (which is perhaps why they have to call this product green onion pancake...because this scallion pancake is different from that scallion pancake).

Each package comes with five pancakes separated by sheets of parchment. They are quite thin and only about 7 inches in diameter, so a bit smaller than the ones that I've gotten from Asian markets if I remember correctly. My mom would buy frozen scallion pancakes from the store to keep around for easy, quick meals. 

1. We prepared these exactly according to the package instructions, which state to heat 1 tsp of oil and then pan-fry them from frozen, which is so nice (the Korean pajeon have to be defrosted). I love how they included in all caps - NOT SUITABLE FOR MICROWAVE COOKING (please don't). Since these pancakes are pretty thin, the cook time was pretty fast  - it only took about a total of five minutes to get it golden brown and crispy on both sides. 

1b. Could you theoretically air-fry them? Probably?

2. There's two main types of scallion pancakes - the thicker, deep-fried kind that's similar to the Korean pajeon and a thinner, well-laminated version. This product is the latter, which is the style I prefer. 

3. While you could use this as a "tortilla" as the package suggests and wrap stuff in it like a taco (braised beef, duck, chicken, more scallion...my goodness the sky's the limit), I grew up slicing it into triangles and dipping it into a black vinegar soy sauce concoction (this is a great one from Woks of Life - use TJ's garlic powder if you're lazy like me and don't want to mince garlic). 

4. IT'S LEGIT Y'ALL. I counted somewhere between 4-6 layers, which is pretty decent for a frozen scallion pancake. The taste is on par with what I've had growing up, both from Asian supermarkets and in Taiwanese restaurants/breakfast shops. It's not too salty. It could use more scallion flavor though, which I find typical in frozen scallion pancakes. Still, the texture is quite good. The end product is crispy on the outside with a soft, slightly greasy flaky/laminated middle. Me personally, I would like a slightly thicker pancake with the same texture, but I ain't mad. 

5. The package instructions say to drain these on absorbent paper to take off the excess oil - traditional scallion pancakes are pretty much sopping in grease, soooo for "authenticity" I suppose you could skip that step. 

6. This is one of those products that I think is worth buying frozen. Yes, you can definitely make them from scratch, and there's enough recipes and videos on the internet to guide you. It's a great at-home weekend project, but I don't always want to be rolling out dough and cleaning the flour off my countertops. The convenience is such a huge plus. Five minutes to pretty legit scallion pancakes - I mean that's practically a pillar of millennial culture and also what the Trader Joe's brand strives for, at least in theory. :P

7. $2.49 for a package of 5 pancakes or $0.50 per pancake. Oh and it's vegan and A didn't even care lol.

8. Thanks TJ's for acknowledging Taiwan for something I didn't know we needed to be acknowledged for lol. 

TL;DR: Trader Joe's Taiwanese Green Onion Pancakes. Five minutes to a pretty legit thin, layered scallion pancake. 9 out of 10. Mantou Joe repurchase? Absolutely.