Vegetarians & vegans and people who occasionally eat plant-based, you’ve got a good xiao long bao option. Trader Joe’s Vegan Soup Dumplings, officially Steamed Vegetable Soup Dumplings, are very good. As usual, I recommend steaming them on the stove, if you can. The soup tends to dry up in the microwave, and these seem to have even less soup than other TJ’s versions.
The skins on Trader Joe’s Vegetable Soup Dumplings are a little thicker than the chicken or pork, but it just may be to accommodate the weight of the filling.
The filling includes jackfruit, cabbage, carrot, shiitake mushroom, green onion and ginger puree. Even still, the filling could use a little more flavor, so I’d go with a more robust dipping sauce. With the pork version, I usually just do a super simple black vinegar and soy sauce mix. But these could do with a little more help.
You can get a better look at the skins, the filling and the soup amount in my reel:
The recipe for the dipping sauce is below. If you don’t keep black vinegar in your pantry, check your Kroger if they have a decent international aisle. The Fred Meyer by me actually carries it. You can also use balsamic in a pinch. It won’t be exactly the same, but it can work.
Overall, I thought these were very good. Similar to TJ’s other XLB, they clock in at 230 calories/ 9g of fat for all 6 pieces in the box. Sodium: 620 mg. A great option to have if you’re vegetarian or vegan. We do eat meat, so the pork XLB remains my go-to. But if you like to mix it up, grab a box.
Check out some other We Tried’s from Trader Joe’s:
Vegan Spinach and Cashew Ravioli
I usually just mix black vinegar and soy sauce for a basic XLB dipping sauce. But I thought Trader Joe's vegan XLB could use a little more zing.
In a small bowl, combine all ingredients.