We Tried Trader Joe’s Okonomiyaki (aka Japanese Vegetable Pancake)

While it’s certainly lesser known than counterparts like ramen or sushi, okonomiyaki is a dish you’ll find in many street food markets around Japan. Okonomiyaki is a savory pancake dish that starts with a base of wheat flour batter and is virtually endlessly customizable from there.

Trader Joe’s Okonomiyaki specifically comes with cabbage, yam, and green onions mixed in. That savory pancake is then accompanied by a sweet and savory okonomi sauce and tuna flakes that you add on top once it’s all cooked up. Is this new Trader Joe’s product fall flat? We tried it to find out.

New Product!

Trader Joe’s Okonomiyaki Japanese Vegetable Pancake

Trader Joe’s

Pros: Every piece of this dish is beautifully executed. The savory pancake is crispy on the outside and yet moist enough on the inside that it holds up on your fork. It’s filling without being too heavy—you can take down an entire pancake on your lunch break. Admittedly, the pancake itself is a little bland, but it serves as a wonderful foundation for the sweet and savory okonomi sauce. And the tuna flakes add a kick of fishy, umami flavor that really transforms the dish. I did share some of the tuna flakes with my cat and she thoroughly enjoyed them, too. You know, just in case you needed someone else’s seal of approval on this one.

Cons: This might not satisfy people who have access to really good Japanese street food, but it’s a great entry point for people who might be trying out okonomiyaki for the first time. Also, something gets lost in the execution here: Buying a dish that’s meant to be customizable premade in the TJ’s frozen section does defeat the very nature of the dish. Trader Joe’s definitely went for a safe but satisfying route to create a dish meant for mass appeal. And while I think they could have taken a bigger swing with the fillings, I do still think this is a new Trader Joe’s product worth grabbing the next time you stop in.

Rating:

9/10

Sporks