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Friday, August 4, 2017

Trader Joe's Chicken & Mushroom Pelmeni

Let's see...Ravioli. Pot stickers. Won tons. Gyoza. Dumplings. Pierogi. Samosas. Bao. Tamales. And the undoubtedly all-American addition, the Totino's Pizza Roll.

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!

As for everything else, it's a tasty enough bite. The dough is thin and kinda eggy but good in a comforty, nondescript way. As for the middle filling, the chicken and mushroom and whatever else gets rolled up up in some sort of soft meatball-type morsel that, strangely, doesn't taste all that much like either chicken or mushrooms. It's just kinda there. And it tastes good, again with a comfort type-vibe, but I wouldn't be able to tell you what it was. It's kinda salt and mild seasonings.

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


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16 comments:

  1. UnknownAugust 5, 2017 at 5:49 PM

    The traditional (and critical) pelmeni accompaniment is sour cream.

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  2. AnonymousAugust 8, 2017 at 10:24 AM

    I 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

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  3. Noelle-MAugust 15, 2017 at 4:21 PM

    Pelmeni 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!

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    1. bwaybabsOctober 2, 2017 at 5:37 PM

      The Trader Joe's pelmeni actually have dill in the filling, which I liked.

      Mushrooms 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...

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  4. UnknownAugust 16, 2017 at 4:57 PM

    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?!!!

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  5. Rollo the CatOctober 24, 2017 at 10:53 PM

    These are OK but they don't measure up to the ones I have had in Russian Restaurants.

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  6. UnknownJanuary 5, 2018 at 1:36 PM

    You’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.

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    1. IlyaJanuary 5, 2018 at 2:13 PM

      There 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

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  7. UnknownMarch 6, 2018 at 9:42 PM

    I 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.

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  8. UnknownMarch 14, 2018 at 7:26 AM

    Got these because they tasted great and the price was good. Just no idea how to serve them if making dinner. Any ideas?

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    1. IlyaMarch 19, 2018 at 5:23 PM

      Did you read instructions and see serving suggestion picture on the package? That is a good way to start.

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    2. IlyaMarch 19, 2018 at 5:24 PM

      I mix sour cream and ketchup 50/50 and use it as dipping sause for boiled pelmeni. Tastes amazing

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  9. Monkey SnakeMay 22, 2018 at 12:31 PM

    oh my god, this stuff is disgusting. got all slimy. looked like oysters and snails mixed together. tasted worse.

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  10. UnknownSeptember 15, 2018 at 2:51 PM

    These taste like cardboard.

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  11. veraNovember 30, 2018 at 1:30 PM

    This comment has been removed by the author.

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  12. Alora SabinFebruary 4, 2019 at 8:24 PM

    I 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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