Trader Joe’s Thai Style Lemon Grass Chicken

August 10, 2007 | Reviewer: Rebecca

Trader Joe's Thai Style Lemon Grass Chicken Price: $2.69
Serving: 1 bowl, 11 oz.
Calories: 390
Fat: 15%, 10g
Sodium: 4%, 105mg
Protein: 22g
Carbs: 18%, 54g
Fiber: 16%, 4g

Trader Joe says: Thai Style Lemon Grass Chicken and Seasoned Rice.

Rebecca says: On a day when everyone was eating leftover boxed lunches from ABP, I decided not to eat another Thai Chicken Wrap and to instead try Thai Style Lemon Grass Chicken and Seasoned Rice. Although I had no picture of what the food would taste like, I luckily had the “Inspected for Wholesomeness” stamp of approval from the USDA. After some quick online research, however, I learned that this does not in fact mean “tastes good” or even “good for you” as the definition of wholesomeness might suggest. Rather it means “meets government regulations for transporting meat across state lines”.

But enough with the etymology lesson—let me tell you about the food. The best thing about this dish was the flavor— the seasoning was nice and green curry-ish. It may have smelled overwhelmingly of coconut milk, but the dish actually tasted like a spicy curry sauce (yes, this is a bit spicy). Be warned — after its first round in the microwave (before I stirred and removed the film cover) it seemed pretty liquidy, but I followed the directions to the letter and the end result was nicely saucy without being watery.

Although the flavor was delicious, the texture could use some work. The chicken appeared in decent size chunks but a couple were too big and contained veiny and/or tendony parts. While the rice was well cooked (not too crunchy or too mushy), the vegetables were nowhere near tender. Both the carrots and green beans were still crunchy and too crunchy in comparison to the tender rice and chicken. By the end, I found that I was eating the vegetables separately so as not to mess up the textures.

I’m not going to rush out and buy it again but next time I’m at TJ’s, I might throw one in the basket OR I might just try one of the Lemongrass Chickens that Nicole already reviewed.

comments

7 Responses to “Trader Joe’s Thai Style Lemon Grass Chicken”

Crow on August 11th, 2007

How spicy was the dish? Was it slightly spice, somewhat spicy, or too spicy to taste anything else? I like to be able to taste what I’m eating, which is why I don’t like sodium overload, or spicy foods. This is probably some sort of sin on my part against the Mexican half of my ancestry.
Crow on August 11th, 2007

slightly spice > slightly spicy
Abi Jones on August 11th, 2007

If I remember correctly, the meal does have an appreciable hit of spice. Not hint, hit. I’m heading to TJ’s today, so I’ll have a more meaningful response next week.
Abi Jones on August 11th, 2007

P.S. Bloodtraitor
Crow on August 11th, 2007
Abi Jones on August 12th, 2007

The DC Trader Joe’s didn’t have any in stock yesterday, so I’ll have to see if Rebecca can make further remarks on the spice level of this dish.
timoni on August 17th, 2007

About five years ago, I was violently ill (twice!) after eating these. I liked them, but I can’t do it again. Just the thought makes me sick.

(The first time, I wasn’t sure what I’d eaten that made me so ill. The second time, I figured it out.)