Why You Might Want To Skip This Dim Sum Dish From Trader Joe’s

The world of rice noodles is hugely diverse, and anyone who’s ever cooked with them will know how much they can vary from plate to plate. Depending on the preparation method, the cooking method, and whether they have additional starches in them or not, they can vary from delightfully springy to horribly chalky, gorgeously chewy to unpleasantly brittle. When you add the freezer into the equation, things can get even more variable: Frozen pad thai dishes and rice paper dumplings can often hit the spot; other times, they can just as easily exhibit a gummy, vaguely off-putting texture. 

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As someone very passionate about the glory of a good rice noodle, I’m always on the lookout for what’s worth buying and what should be skipped. So I observed a recent discussion about Trader Joe’s Shrimp Noodle Rolls with keen interest. And I reached the conclusion that maybe, just maybe, they’re not worth buying. 

Trader Joe’s Shrimp Noodle Rolls: Purchase Or Pass?

A few days ago, a Reddit thread popped up discussing Trader Joe’s Shrimp Noodle Rolls, with the original poster asking people how they feel about them. The verdict was that they’re kinda…not great. “Fine,” “just ok,” and “not that great” were a few of the milder comments used; elsewhere, people said that they were “insulting,” and questioned why on earth they contained ginger. 

These comments echo another thread discussing these rolls from a few years ago, which was arguably more positive, but within which several people pointed out a few issues. One customer said the rolls had a gummy consistency, while another said they fell apart when cooking them. 

It’s All In The Texture

Costing $4.49 per bag, Trader Joe’s Shrimp Noodle Rolls certainly feel like they could be promising at first glance. Each pack contains eight of these mini rolls, which are filled with shrimp and vegetables and are clearly meant to be a version of cheung fun. The difference here, though, is that TJ’s recommends pan-frying, then steaming them; cheung fun is traditionally steamed, with the noodle rolls remaining springy and chewy. 

Now, this might not be a problem if you’re just looking for a fried rice noodle dumpling, but if you wanted the silkiness and bounciness that cheung fun has in abundance, you might not get it here. The noodles Trader Joe’s uses also contain three different types of starch, in addition to rice flour – and while starches can be used in rice noodles to improve texture and structure, it seems like the store may have gone slightly too far, with the gumminess mentioned potentially stemming from these additional ingredients. Oh, and despite these being rice noodle rolls, the filling has wheat in it — so they’re not gluten-free.