Sharing a few of my latest finds and new products from Trader Joe’s.
Crispy Crunchy Mochi Rice Nuggets
Soft mochi that is cut into small pieces and then dried and fried, producing a crunchy snack. I adore mochi, so I was quite excited to try this out. I’m actually surprised I didn’t come across this type of mochi snack during my visits to Japan or to my local Japanese grocery store.
The little square shaped nuggets are incredibly crunchy and you do taste the familiar glutinous rice flour flavor of mochi as well. These were so addicting. I had to pace myself, but finished my bag in just a few days. I definitely need to buy more.
Dried Hibiscus Flowers
I tried dried hibiscus flowers a few years ago and really enjoyed them. I buy them whenever I can, but they are hard to find and usually expensive so I was really happy to find them being sold at Trader Joe’s for a reasonable price. These ones are drier then some of the other ones I’ve had– a little too dry for me. I do like that they are only lightly sweetened.
Mini Thai Tea Mochi Ice Cream
Trader Joe’s continues to expand on its mochi ice cream creations, this time introducing a Thai tea flavor. Since I love Thai tea, I liked these. Thai tea is not a flavor I’ve seen for mochi ice cream either, so I love that it’s offered here.
Rambutan
Rambutan is a tropical fruit that is fairly hard to find here. So I was quite surprised to find my local Trader Joe’s selling fresh rambutan. Until now, I’ve only been able to find them at specialty fruit stores and Asian grocery stores, and even then they are quite expensive and usually not good quality.
The ones sold at Trader Joe’s were fresh and bright red. The fruit inside the shell looks similar to lychee, though it’s not as juicy or as sweet. The flavor and texture are similar to grapes.
That’s all for now. I did purchase quite a few things on this trip, but most of them were staple items. As always, please let me know of any of your favorites I may have missed so I can try them next time!
