We Tried Trader Joe’s Green Onion Pancakes

Name: Soy-Ginger Dipping Sauce
Prep time: 5 min
Ingredients: 2 1/2 T. soy sauce; 1 T. Chinese black vinegar (can substitute balsamic vinegar in a pinch); 2 garlic cloves, minced; 1/2 t. grated ginger; 1 green onion, cut thinly on the bias; 1 pinch of granulated sugar (omit if you're using balsamic)

First off, Trader Joe’s Green Onion Pancakes are not to be confused with the Scallion Pancakes they’ve carried for awhile (years?). The Scallion Pancakes are the Korean version, aka pajeon, and in TJ’s case have other veg in addition to the scallions. These, as the label says, are the Taiwanese version. Flaky texture, just green onion, so they’re a totally different beast.

I actually made some from scratch last May and getting those flaky layers is labor of love. So I was I happy to see a shortcut at Trader Joe’s. They cook up really simply. You just heat a teaspoon of oil in a nonstick pan and cook them until brown on each side. My pan wasn’t hot enough on the first one, and the pancake was right out of the freezer. It took about 6 minutes on the first side, but by the time I got to making the second one it was about 3 minutes per side. You can see how it went in the Reel below.

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The one tip I can share is: don’t press them down with a spatula thinking that’s how you’re gonna get more browning. It’ll just mash down the layers, and you don’t want that. Just let it cook and flip it. It’ll brown. When you make them from scratch, you can add more green onion, so if I had one wish for these, it would be more green onion. So I ended up just putting some in the dipping sauce.

I mean, nothing is gonna beat really gorgeously flaky ones made from scratch, but for the convenience, I think Trader Joe’s Green Onion Pancakes are pretty dang good. I’m gonna pick up a package the next time I’m at my local Asian market and see how they compare.

They’re best hot and reheat pretty nicely in the pan if you need to do that. I’ll include the recipe for the soy-ginger dipping sauce below.

Nutrition facts: