Trader Joe’s Chicken Gyoza Potstickers

December 2, 2006 | Reviewer: Abi

Product Update: Trader Joe’s stores (well, the one in DC at least) are now stocking all varieties of these potstickers. The vegetable ones are fantastic. - Abi Jones, ed.
Trader Joe's Chicken Gyoza Potstickers

Price: $2.00
Serving: 1 tray, 9 oz.
Calories: 270
Fat: 9%, 6g
Sodium: 28%, 680mg
Protein: 22g

Trader Joe says: What? You’ve never had the Chicken Gyoza Potstickers from Trader Joe’s freezers? The time has come, friends, to truly come into the fold and find out just how simple, delicious and inexpensive it is to enjoy these authentic little dumplings in the comfort of your own home.

These Gyoza are filled with a flavorful chicken and vegetable mixture. Unlike some whose â€œwrappersâ€ are thick and doughy, ours are wrapped in a thin covering that’s firm but not chewy. They’re a snap to prepare, too â€“ we’ve gotten the best results from either pan-frying or steaming them.

Trader Joe's Chicken Gyoza Potstickers

Abi says: These little guys are cute on the outside, all wrapped up in their little gyoza jackets. On the inside they contain strangely addictive gray meat. Yes, gray. But don’t let that stop you.

These (I almost said ‘little guys’ again) morsels of multi-ethnic delectability are making me wonder why my own culture doesn’t have such a delicately wrapped savory item. Yeah, yeah there are mini empanadas. And there are taquitos. But there’s nothing so fragile as these inexpensive wonders.

If you don’t do chicken, there are shrimp ones. And if you don’t do meat there are vegetarian ones too. I recommend whipping up your own dipping sauce with a bit of soy sauce, brown sugar, and ginger.

Admission: while I have made these in the microwave, I greatly prefer them steamed or sauteed. The gorgeously browned ones in the photo above were cooked in a pan, first browned in a smidgen of sesame oil, then slightly steamed with some water. Microwave gyoza aren’t nearly as lovely.

comments

20 Responses to “Trader Joe’s Chicken Gyoza Potstickers”

Marvo on December 2nd, 2006

Whenever I go to the ramen places here and order gyoza, I like to dip them in hot chili sauce. Me likey the spicy.
Justin Ruckman on December 2nd, 2006

Dang, all these posts about Trader Joe are torture because there are none where I live.
MaryAnne on December 2nd, 2006

I LOVE these things! I prefer the shrimp ones over the veggie ones. Oddly, the veggie ones have a bitter taste.
Heather on December 2nd, 2006

Hmmm, now I want to try the veggie ones to figure out what MaryAnne means.
matthew on December 2nd, 2006

I’ve had the veggie ones several times and never experienced a bitter after taste. How are you preparing them? When I make mine, I generally fry them and occasionally steam them. Preparing jiao zi (the Mandarin term for pot stickers) in the microwave will not yield the best results for them and could be a reason for the after taste.
MaryAnne on December 3rd, 2006

Matthew, you’re probably right. I microwaved the veggie ones (I don’t like the chicken, shrimp, or veggie ones fried) and steamed the shrimp ones. I didn’t even think about the cooking method changing the flavor. Still, I like the added taste that the shrimp gives. Sometimes I’ll make a stirfry and add some of these for a good dinner.
Candace on December 6th, 2006

I love these in the gray meat form…fried. FRIED! Yep. I’m not that into cooking, but i heat up a bit of oil, TJ’s jalepeno sauce, and soy sauce, and then brown the little guys till they’re fully heated. Spicy, and different consistency. LOVE IT!
Sammy on January 20th, 2007

I love these too but they are gone!!! I went to my Trader Joes today and these are not there. The people said the distrubuter is not selling them anymore or something crazy like they. The manager did say that since they are so popular they are going to bring them back somehow- but they are not sure when!!! Oh no!
Abi Jones on January 20th, 2007

Sammy-
They seem to be missing from my Trader Joe’s too (Foggy Bottom, DC). I’ll have to ask them what’s going on with the gyoza.
Stacey on January 27th, 2007

Yeah, I got the same story from my TJ’s. They said they were looking for a new distributer.
Yvetet on February 2nd, 2007

I LOVE these…but Trader Joes no longer carries these!!!!
Anyone know of a substitute?
darcy on February 13th, 2007

somebody help me im going through shrimp gyoza withdrawl
trader joes is killing me
anybody have any other suggestions of where to buy some that taste good
darcy
Yvette on February 22nd, 2007

Like everyone, I am sure missing them. My Trader Joes said that the company who made them for Trader Joe’s went out of business and were working with another company to start getting new batches in sometime late march. I hope they are just as good as the old ones. Sad thing was that I bought a package through my local grocery store and they are terrible.

TRADER JOE’S……HELP US ALL!
Sammy on March 11th, 2007

THEY ARE BACK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The bag looks a little different, but look for them. I didnt find a chicken one, but they have vegetable and shrimp. Yum!
cho on March 29th, 2007

You know, you don’t need to cook them by first pan frying then steaming as separate actions. What Chinese typically is the following:
1. heat up a pan (preferably non-stick) with some oil. You could sesame oil if you like. Make sure the oil is hot and almost smoking but not quite. Sesame oil burns easily.
2. Put your postickers into the pan. It will splatter a bit.
3. Put in several table spoons of water.
4. Put a lid over the pan and let it pan-fry and steam. It’ll be done in a few minutes.

What I usually do is I put enough water on to the lid and then as soon as I turn the lid over onto the pan the water falls in and I also get to cover it at once.

Other hints:
* Make sure the oil is hot before you put in the potstickers otherwise the potstickers won’t brown
* If you cook the meat potsticker variety, you may need to do the water thing two or three times in order to cook the meat through. Check when you hear the sizzling is almost gone. That’s when you put back in more water if needed.

Enjoy!
Jim Grannis on May 13th, 2007

Can Trader Joe’s products be found in the Dallas area?
Jennifer on June 8th, 2007

Like all of you above, I am a HUGE fan of TJs Chicken Gyoza potstickers and was going through withdrawal when I found out the co. that makes them went out of business (i thought I myself bought enough to keep them in business!) Anyway, I tried the Thai Shrimp Gyoza and they’re still in my freezer–they were just o.k. in my opinion. Anyway, I was at TJs yesterday and found the beloved Chicken Gyoza in the same bag. Just had some for lunch and they taste the same to me. Yay! Only difference is they might be a little more expensive and I feel like there are less in the bag but I’m not 100% sure about that.
Michelle on August 29th, 2007

These are great in soup with some tofu, scallions, mushrooms, carrots and chicken broth. Yeck, you could even take some frozen asian style veggies, gyoza, and some broth and you’d have a delicous and feeling meal.
Michelle on August 29th, 2007

Oh darn - delicious and filling not delicous and feeling - time for a snack.
Sue on March 19th, 2008

The chicken ones are addictive. They are best pan fried. Steamed in a pan is also good. I take them to work and steam them in the microwave. Not as good as pan fried but still a good lunch. Try them with the Gyoza Dipping Sauce. I like my sauce a little sweet so I add a little bit of water and sugar and it is delicious. I just had some and now I want more!