TJs Panang Tuna
Wednesday, June 22, 2005 9:26dailygluttony sold me on the Trader Joe’s Tuna in Red Panang Curry Sauce, and it may be la.foodblogging’s TJ’s dish of the month. I gave it a try in my own test kitchen and here are the results.
It took me a little while to find the tuna in the store, it wasn’t next to the canned tuna, it was over by the packaged food, which does make sense. I still have to get used to tuna in a pouch, I am trying to scrub the image of Tender Vittles from my head when I see it. Is this the description of TJ’s Tuna, or pet treats (it’s pet treats)
When it comes to convenience, you can’t beat our easy-serve pouch. It’s a cinch to open and pour and it keeps those delicious, soft morsels moist and tasty
I opened the pouch, still not too sure what I was going to do with the tuna. My cupboards were realtively bare, but I knew that I would have some inspiration once I got a look of what is inside.
It smelled good, looked good, but the serving size was a little small, I agree with dailygluttony, it would be a stretch to serve to three people. Once I got a whiff of the sauce my stomach growled, I don’t think I could wait to cook the tuna or some rice to spread it on. Instead, I remembered that I had salad in the fridge. I took it out and delicately laid the tuna on top (ok, I just poured it out of the pouch) and then spooned all of the remaining sauce on top.
Yum! The tuna was nice and chunky, the sauce was incredibly flavorful. The curry has strong ginger and lemongrass seasoning, and enough chili to pack a kick. Trader Joe’s Tuna in Red Panang Curry Sauce is a must have for times that you want flavor packed protein that can go with a variety of starches and vegetables. Maybe next time I will try it on a baked potato!
By Jonah (see more of his posts). Jonah is the founder of la.foodblogging and also created Digesty, a food blog aggregator and Cheww.com, a spam free foodblog search engine.
Tricia says:
June 29th, 2005 at 1:05 pm
Dude. I just tried this. It’s amazing.
Mei says:
December 9th, 2005 at 3:10 am
After reading your comments, I had to go out and try it. Let’s just say, I’ve been eating curry tuna with rice everyday for a week. This stuff is great! I highly hightly recommend it!
Constanze says:
February 20th, 2006 at 4:10 pm
Its super deelish when you mix in frozen broccoli and sliced tofu and serve over brown rice … that way it can be a filling meal for two!
Better than the yellow curry with tuna, I think.
Brandon Abraham says:
July 22nd, 2006 at 2:41 pm
OK, I have to confess that I can’t make it through the week without at least having one meal made with Trader Joe’s Panang Tuna. Frankly, it doesn’t matter whether it’s red or yellow. I often pair it with TJ’s Brown Jasmine Rice and add either their light coconut milk or a little yogurt and curry powder. Wow! What a treat!
le lion says:
December 4th, 2006 at 3:26 pm
i. love. this. stuff. so. much.
Suz says:
December 13th, 2006 at 11:06 am
Wish they made it without ALL the fat- have to spoon it off. But talk about good!
Lee says:
September 6th, 2007 at 10:20 am
I just bought this from TJs, ate some for dinner last night, am eating leftovers for lunch today, and it’s so good I googled it to find out if other people were obsessed with it too.
To stretch for two meals - I added some more coconut milk (which also cuts the spiciness a bit) and poured it over whole wheat couscous. Also, the tuna keeps reminding me of chicken — I’ve been pescetarian (veggie who eats fish) for a little over a year, so I can tell this is going to be my chicken-substitute meal when I’m having a meat craving.
Joseph says:
November 27th, 2007 at 1:41 pm
Who makes this stuff? How do I get a hold on the manufacturer?
Mike Higgins says:
August 7th, 2008 at 1:04 pm
Tuna Curry is discontinued at TJ’s, none left in stock, “poor sales”, no plans to get it back. You could go to traderjoes.com and fill in a comment about it, but it is unlikely to have an effect. Who wants to join me in tracking down the mfg and asking them to a special order run? I wonder how many of these we would have to buy…
anna says:
September 22nd, 2008 at 9:04 am
Let me know if you find the mfg. I am distraught that they TJs no longer carries the red and green tuna curry.