Trader Joe’s Kimbap Korean Tofu & Vegetable Seaweed Rice Roll Reviews
Korean tofu and vegetable seaweed rice rolls, sold in the frozen section.
Ingredients:
SEASONED RICE (WATER, RICE, SESAME OIL, SALT, TOASTED SESAME SEEDS, SOYBEAN OIL, DISTILLED VINEGAR), FRIED
TOFU AND BRAISED BURDOCK ROOT (WATER, SLICED FRIED TOFU
[SOYBEANS, WATER, SOYBEAN OIL, CALCIUM CHLORIDE, CANOLA OIL,
CALCIUM CARBONATE], BURDOCK ROOT, CORN SYRUP, SOY SAUCE
[WATER, FERMENTED SOYBEANS, SALT], CANE SUGAR), STIR-FRIED
CARROT (CARROT, SOYBEAN OIL, SALT), PICKLED RADISH (SALTED
RADISH (RADISH, SALT], CANE SUGAR, WATER, DISTILLED VINEGAR,
SALT, LEMON JUICE CONCENTRATE), SEASONED SPINACH (SPINACH,
SESAME OIL, TOASTED SESAME SEEDS, SALT), SEAWEED.
CONTAINS SOY, SESAME.
PRODUCT OF REPUBLIC OF KOREA SKU# 76023
Ali –
Sooooo good!!!
JEN –
Jason –
As an Asian-American who lives in Los Angeles and has access to the US’ best Korean food in KTown, I’m very, very mixed on this kimbap. Is it authentic? Absolutely not. Just like sushi, nobody eats kimbap or sushi with hot seaweed or hot rice. So that’s 0 points. Does it taste good? Yeah, it does. But it’s like if you ate cold spaghetti after cooking it in a slow simmered bolognese sauce and then putting it into the fridge for several hours and then eating a clumpy spaghetti with sauce. Does it taste good? Sure. But is it *supposed* to taste clumpy and cold? No.
Also, the sodium levels are insane. The entire pack is literally 50% of your daily intake of sodium, which is a bit stunning for just 1 whole roll of kimbap.
So I’m very mixed about this. My recommendation would be: Go to a Korean restaurant and try legitimate, authentic kimbap. Yes, authentic kimbap is around $10 (depending on where you go, of course; it’s probably around $5-$8 if you have a lot of Korean choices like here in LA). Would this do, if you’re absolutely desperate for something general that’s wrapped in rice and seaweed? Yes. But is it authentic? Absolutely not. But then again, no Asian food at Trader Joe’s is anywhere close to being authentic (and this is coming from a huge Trader Joe’s fan), so it is what it is. 🙂
Taste: 8/10 points
Authenticity: 2/10 points.