Trader Joe's Japchae

Japchae has been cool and delicious for a long time. "Japchae" has been added to the Oxford English dictionary along with 25 other Korean words. It is so like Trader Joe's to jump on food trends and expand the Korean food repertoire. But I ain't impressed with this - why they gotta mess with perfectly fine japchae and make it vegan? (I ain't hating on vegan Korean food...some people do it pretty well actually). I will be impressed when they make something with squid or something actually spicy LOL. 

 

I can't say that I've seen frozen japchae at Korean grocery stores either. Usually, you can find premade packages of this in the premade food section. It hits different when you know that a middle-aged Korean lady made this because while it's pre-made, it's also homemade. There is a time and place for frozen food (hello dumplings and scallion pancakes!), but this here ain't it. 

Yay it's made in Korea. This isn't the healthiest thing ever but it's not bad either. Even though Trader Joe's always has cool new things to try, I really don't try much of the frozen food because it's usually super high in sodium. I need to save my sodium allotment for snacks. The serving size is quite sad. This package is 10 ounces, and they are claiming that it has 2 servings. It's about the same size as a frozen thing of chicken tikka masala. 

1) The noodles LOOK like japchae noodles - sorta sticky glass noodles but they are undercooked. Like al dente undercooked. I do not mind the texture so much, but the texture is wrong. Japchae noodles are supposed to be stir-fried and have a squishy chewy texture without being mushy. These noodles are not mushy, which is good, but they do not have that soft, elastic texture typical of a glass noodle. 

2) I am amazed that with a sodium count that high that this would be so lacking in flavor. For the record, you do taste a soy sauce based flavor with a hint of sweetness and that sesame oil fragrance. The package instructions say to mix the noodles in the sauce (which settles to the bottom of the package), but there was not much sauce to begin with. They also haven't used enough aromatics. Where is the garlic and green onion? 

3) Nothing to write home about the vegetables. They don't taste bad. They also don't taste amazing. They are what they are...reheated frozen vegetables. 

4) If homecooked japchae by Maangchi or basically any other ahjumma with a food blog boasts 100% japchae flavor, then this boasts like 20% or 30%. There isn't anything too egregious, besides the improper noodle texture, and it's definitely "japchae-inspired." But it's a weak flavor. Japchae really is not difficult to make as long as you can get your hands on the sweet potato starch noodles. The portion size is abysmal. For $2.99, it's more worth your money to buy a pack of frozen dumplings. 

5) Nope not repurchasing. 

TL;DR: Trader Joe's Japchae. Convenient, vegan Japchae for people who want a less authentic Japchae flavor. 5 out of 10. Mantou Joe repurchase? Thank you, next.