The pros: Trader Joe's General Tsao Stir Fry Sauce should be added to things you should really try if you enjoy their frozen Asian inspired selections.
The cons: No recipe suggestions on the bottle. Sugar is the first ingredient.
The verdict: There is something oh so magical about Chinese food. There is something oh so magical about American Chinese food. At work, my students are fortunate to get to take Mandarin. Not the type of program you would expect to offer kids in the Bronx, but it works. It's a level playing field for the kids too. Best of all, they really end up adoring the language. They teacher they have is from China, so she can speak to authentic Chinese culture. Before we go to Chinatown every year, she goes over what is and isn't authentic Chinese cuisine.
I have lunch with her some days too. She keeps it as authentic as you can get. And yes, her Dad's cooking becomes my measure to which all dumplings will be measured against. But of all the times we've had lunch, I've never seen her bring General Tsao's anything. In fact, the bottle seems to confirm a few things. There was a General Tsao. However, there is a Huffington Post article about the origins and goes into greater detail than this little bottle could. All we know is that he is known for war in China, but not for chicken.
In fact, my colleagues lunches are rarely sweet. It's even more rare to see her with anything fried. So, this is a sauce that caters to American taste buds. It's both sweet and spicy. But it's not too spicy either. It's just a great balance for American taste buds anyways. When you have something salty like a fried chicken, it plays well with something that hits the contrasting notes of sweet and spicy. If you fry your chicken, you'll have the added crunch. If you are looking to cut calories, you can do that here too by adding some grilled chicken. A quarter cup of this sauce is only adding 130 calories.
One of the bummers of this bottle was that there was no suggestion on how to really make it like the restaurants do. However, a bit of egg and cornstarch (along with some frying) will yield the crispy exterior. Add the sauce at the end and have it bubble for a minute and you'll feel like you are having take out. I went with some Jasmine rice and felt like I was having dinner at my local Chinese restaurant. For $2.99 this is a bottle worth trying.
Here is the visual run down of what you get if you buy this product:
The bottle of Trader Joe's General Tsao Stir Fry Sauce:
The nutritional information and ingredients:
How Trader Joe's describes the origins of this product:
After being cooked with some chicken and plated with some rice you get:
Would I buy this again? Yes, I would buy Trader Joe's General Tsao Stir Fry Sauce again. It was really delicious.
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Did you try it? Let me know what you think in the comments section!
I've been wanting to try this but was always hesitant. Definitely picking it up next time!
Would love to hear what you think of it!
Gotta try the GYOZA sauce….my favorite! Sooooo good!!
I did. I loved it too!! Thanks for stopping by! https://www.becomebetty.com/trader-joes-gyoza-dipping-sauce/
I brought this sauce yesterday. Now I am anxious to try!
Would love to hear what you think about it!
Always loved this sauce. They used to have a bok choy mix at Trader’s that I would stir fry with their frozen chicken breast strips and this sauce. I would make that for dinner and switch it off with their Mahi Mahi and Broccoli slaw for dinner every night. I lost 35 lbs just doing that. It was all delicious.
Hey Dawn! Your stir fry sounds pretty darn awesome and I have the Mahi Mahi waiting in my freezer. Wow! Congrats on losing weight. That is an impressive feat. Thanks so much for stopping by!
This is my favorite product at TJ. Have bought hundreds of bottles over the years. I just stir fry chicken with sesame oil and some onions, combine with rice, then pour sauce over and mix in. Even out of refrigerator, the sauce is warmed up by the food, but probably could add into the pan at the end to heat up a bit. Have not found anything comparable. Powerful flavor, so can error on the sparse side of how much you use.
Hey Marc! I like this sauce quite a bit and I think this rivals the frozen Chinese take out options in the freezer section. I'm from NYC and we have some great takeout options, but in terms of at home, I too haven't found anything nearly as good as this either. Thanks so much for stopping by and sharing your thoughts on this!
Going to try it tonight 😁. Do you dip the chicken chunks in egg, then corn starch and stir fry in some oil?
Thanks
You can do it either way. I hope you share how you liked it when you are done.