Yes, there are all sorts of stuffed dough pocket-type constructions from all over the world. Obviously that's a short top-of-the head list. There's some differences, of course, from dough to stuffing material to size and prep methods, but it's a very common concept. Mostly because it's tasty. But until now, I've never heard of the Russian contribution to this realm, pelmeni.
Well, here's Trader Joe's Chicken & Mushroom Pelmeni on my dinner plate. All these little bite sized little dumpling deals all up in my bowl. Please God, no borscht in here....not that I have any idea what borscht really is.
Whew. No borscht! We're already ahead here!
That's kinda the issue, I think. Again, nothing all that wrong with the pelmeni, but in a crowded field with so many similar products (most of them more familiar to the presumed typical consumer palate), there's nothing settting these apart. I wouldn't mind eating them again, and I'm not upset we still have a bag and a half of them in our freezer. But I'd never make a big fuss about getting them again, either.I couldn't tell you what the difference between these a regular bag of potstickers except maybe the pelmeni are more square.
Sandy and I both liked them for a midday lunch date at my work place. Our kids stuck to their cheese pierogi, because God forbid they ate something out of the usual. Then again, I can't say we really did, either. Eh well.
Bottom line: Trader Joe's Chicken & Mushroom Pelmeni: 6.5 out of 10 Golden Spoons
The traditional (and critical) pelmeni accompaniment is sour cream.
ReplyDeleteI love pelmeni! My mother would make soup out of it with a simple broth of veggies and potatoes. Add some sour cream and dill. SO GOOD
ReplyDeletePelmeni are absolutely wonderful! If you have them nice and hot, with sour cream and a little sprinkled dill on top! MM! You should then wash it all down at the end with some hot, sweet black tea. :) Very cozy, nice and fun little snack for a cloudy, rainy day!
ReplyDeleteThe Trader Joe's pelmeni actually have dill in the filling, which I liked.
DeleteMushrooms aren't traditionally a filling in pelmeni, it's pretty much just ground meat, generally a mixture of meats (chicken, beef, pork...) but these were pretty good. Wayyy overpriced, though. You're better off going to a Russian food store and buying pelmeni there and season the water as you see fit. And of course the sour cream...
You have to toss them in butter before serving with sour cream, but why trader joes decided to use chicken / mushroom filling is beyond me. No russian ever used that filling. Pelmeni are made with veal, beef, pork mixture. Other than that the execution is faithful, just why the filling?!!!
ReplyDeleteThese are OK but they don't measure up to the ones I have had in Russian Restaurants.
ReplyDeleteYou’d toss these away and ask one of your Russian friends to make you real ones. Everything in these ones is wrong, from dough type to the filling. You’re welcome.
ReplyDeleteThere is nothing wrong with these, dough is fine, filling is not traditional, but tastes great. You can’t compare these to good home-made pelmeni, but for something you can buy on the way home from work and prepare in 12 minutes, they are really wonderful
DeleteI have tried these, the recipe is not traditional, but very tasty and well executed. The price is far cheaper anything Russian store has to offer. I love these little devils. I have been making and eating PELMENI all my life. TJ's PELMENI are definitely a winner in my book.
ReplyDeleteGot these because they tasted great and the price was good. Just no idea how to serve them if making dinner. Any ideas?
ReplyDeleteDid you read instructions and see serving suggestion picture on the package? That is a good way to start.
DeleteI mix sour cream and ketchup 50/50 and use it as dipping sause for boiled pelmeni. Tastes amazing
Deleteoh my god, this stuff is disgusting. got all slimy. looked like oysters and snails mixed together. tasted worse.
ReplyDeleteThese taste like cardboard.
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ReplyDeleteI Googled these, found a bolg where someone reviewed them just to leave a review saying that these are horrible. It's funky it's rather air freshener-ish. I applied a liberal coat of butter and I still could not eat these.
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