Trader Joe’s Shrimp Toast
Posted: September 10, 2015 Filed under: Trader Joe's Brand | Tags: 1 star, chinese food, dim sum, shrimp, toast, Trader Joe's 8 Comments
Sponge-y, not very shrimp-y
Shrimp toast. Shrimp toast. Shrimp toast. What is a shrimp toast? No, it’s not a meaningless Da-Daist phrase (well, not just that anyway), it’s actually a dim sum phrase! Trader Joe’s Shrimp Toast is TJ’s new Chinese-inspired appetizer that combines shrimp (natch) with toast (also, natch).
| What it is: | Toast with shrimp paste on it. |
| Size: | 10 little slices |
| Worth it: | No, dry and bland. |
Shrimp toast is as nearly as simple as it sounds – toast with shrimp on it. More accurately, it’s small triangles of bread, sprinkled with sesame seeds and topped with a thin layer of minced shrimp and tapioca yeast . The result is something that doesn’t taste all that much like shrimp. Instead, it tastes like toast with a sort of mild, not easily identifiable, slightly moist topping of some sort. All authentic seafood flavor has been left far behind.
It’s not exactly a taste sensation. Shrimp toast, also known as prawn toast, has a tradition in Chinese American cuisine as a classic dim sum selection. Done right, it can be crispy and delicious – a palette cleanser between richer dishes, or eaten with a drizzle of duck sauce.
I’ve had quite good shrimp toast at dim sum – although my favorite versions end to be lightly fried. The Trader Joe’s variety is instead oven baked, and while that helps to keep the fat content down it doesn’t help out the flavor. And about that fat content – even baked, one serving (two of the tiny triangles) has 6 grams of fat (50 calories), and 2.5 grams of saturated fat. Not exactly a health food.
About the best thing I can say about Trader Joe’s Shrimp Toast is that they were easy to make. 8 minutes in the oven and they came out hot and crisp. Even then, however, they felt less like an appetizer in their own right, and more like the base for an appetizer that the top fell off of.
With a little creativity and ingenuity, you could probably whip up a topping that would make up for lackluster shrimp paste – but really I’m not sure it’s worth it. Trader Joe’s carries a lot of delicious bite-sized appetizers – but this Shrimp Toast isn’t one of them.
The Breakdown
Would I Recommend It: Not even to the most devoted dim sum-er.
Would I Buy It Again: No more shrimp toast for me.
Final Synopsis: Not very good shrimp, not very good toast.
Eating At Joes 
Try dipping them in mayo (Japanese mayo if you can find it). They are much tastier that way
Costco has an amazing shrimp toast right now!
I kind of liked these. There was quite a lot of the shrimp “paste”, as you would find in a restaurant. They are good with a dipping duck sauce.
Best shrimp toast I have had. Actually, has pieces of shrimp!!!
You probably overcooked them- I usually cook stuff longer than the cooking time, but these needed to come out right on time or they overcooked. So delicious!
Perfect! Big shrimp and crunchy. I cooked them 5 minutes on one side and 6 on the other@! Great!!
They are very tasty and fantastic me and my husband buy a bunch of them when we go shopping at Trader Joe’s do not stop making them. And the only reason why they are dry to you guys is because you’re not making them right it’s 4 minutes on one side 4 minutes on the other is called turn it over ANN Tarts
no longer carried at Trader Joe’s in California- they say “discontinued”. Where can I get them? Can I have them shipped to me? My granddaughter loves them.