We Tried Trader Joe’s Bibim-Guksu

Trader Joe's track record with Korean food items has been pretty good. Well, at least the frozen items that are product of Korea. Unfortunately, Trader Joe's Korean Style Bibim-Guksu doesn't quite measure up. I'd call it convention center quality. Mid at best. Let's get into it. To start, it's more snack sized…

ByMichelleJune 18, 20250Comments

Food News

What’s New and Returning at Trader Joe’s – July 31, 2024

It's a big week for new items at Trader Joe's. Last week was a little slim, so there are a few stragglers included in the roundup. Here's what we spotted in the Pacific Northwest. NEW: EVERYTHING BUT THE KITCHEN SINK COOKIE MIX I'm likin' the looks of this cookie mix. Chocolate chips, oats,…

ByMichelleJuly 31, 20240Comments

Product Review Recipes

What to do with Trader Joe’s Matcha Noodles (aka Soba)

I don't typically buy green tea soba, even at the Japanese market, but when I saw it at Trader Joe's, I figured why not. I tend to make cold noodle dishes and salads with soba, though of course you can use them in soups and stir fries. Yakisoba is basically a Japanese version of chow…

ByMichelleJune 9, 20210Comments

Product Review

We Tried Nissin Raoh Ramen

It Comes in 3 Varieties, We Tried the Soy Sauce Flavor Usually I am a Top Ramen girl (blue package forever), but I branched out and picked up a package of Nissin Raoh ramen - soy sauce flavor. The line actually comes in three flavors -- soy sauce, tonkotsu and miso. But I picked this…

ByMichelleApril 1, 20200Comments

Recipes

Diana Kuan’s Sichuan-Style Peanut Noodles

In the last couple of weeks, I've been bumping into recipes with sichuan peppercorns everywhere I look. First, it was the Crispy Sichuan Chile Chicken in MILK STREET: TUESDAY NIGHTS, then it was a recipe from Danielle Centoni's upcoming FRIED RICE book, and then, it was the Sichuan-Style Peanut Noodles from Diana Kuan's RED HOT…

ByMichelleJune 17, 20190Comments

Cooking Main Course Recipes

I Love the 80s: American Goulash

It's a little surprising that the wave of nostalgia that’s overtaking books and tv and toys in the last few years hasn’t made it’s way to food. Stranger Things and Strawberry Shortcake dolls and totally misguided live action remakes of 80s cartoons like Jem and the Holograms have captured our collective imagination (more or less), but that longing…

ByMichelleAugust 13, 20161Comment

Main Course Product Review

REVIEW| Target’s Archer Farms Ramen Soup Starters

Ramen has officially gone mainstream. Target is offering “premium ramen” under its Archer Farms brand in four varieties – pork, beef brisket, mushroom and chicken teriyaki. {Record scratch} Chicken Teriyaki?! The new offerings use “ramen” as an Asian noodle soup catch-all and actually include rice noodles along with the ramen and udon options. If you…

ByMichelleJune 16, 20160Comments

Cooking Recipes

I’m About to Change Your Mind on Brussels Sprouts

It's November. It's time for pumpkin spice every thing, for trotting out the fresh green bean casserole recipe and talking how it's so much better than the old canned thing your grandma served, and for singing the praises of Brussels sprouts. Ugh, Brussels sprouts? You either love 'em or hate 'em. Until recently, I thought I…

ByMichelleNovember 17, 20151Comment

Cooking Main Course Recipes

Take the Shortcut: Pork Chow Mein

Stir-fried dishes get all the glory for being quick to prepare. If you're working with tofu or chicken or just doing a quick vegetable side, it lives up to the hype. But bring noodles into the equation, as you would for chow mein, and your quick fix dinner goes out the window -- if you're…

ByMichelleJanuary 26, 20152Comments

Main Course

Rice & the Ramen Renaissance

Ramen is going through something of a renaissance, a resurgence. Whether on the kitschy side with ramen burgers or the explosion of ramen joints in NYC, most notably Ivan Ramen on the Lower East Side, the food world is paying attention again to those squiggly noodles in broth. And for the first time in years, we’re seeing new entrants to the ramen market on grocery store shelves, like Lotus Foods’ Rice Ramen.

ByMichelleMarch 12, 20140Comments

We Tried Trader Joe’s Bibim-Guksu

What to do with Trader Joe’s Matcha Noodles (aka Soba)

We Tried Nissin Raoh Ramen

Diana Kuan’s Sichuan-Style Peanut Noodles

I Love the 80s: American Goulash

REVIEW| Target’s Archer Farms Ramen Soup Starters

I’m About to Change Your Mind on Brussels Sprouts

Take the Shortcut: Pork Chow Mein

Rice & the Ramen Renaissance

Book Review: A Ghastly Catastrophe by Deanna Raybourn

The Fourth Princess by Janie Chang

26 New Asian and Pacific Islander Books for your 2026 TBR