This hack adds sautéed cabbage, baby corn, and a quick ginger sauce to a bag of TJ’s Vegetable Fried Rice. The sauce uses soy sauce, brown sugar, ginger paste, onion powder, and garlic. Prep takes 5 minutes and the full pan is ready in 15.
The ginger sauce is what makes this worth making. It goes into the pan about a minute before the rice is done, not at the beginning, so the flavor stays sharp rather than cooking out. Tasting the sauce before it goes in lets you adjust the balance between the soy and the sugar.
The cabbage and onion go into the pan first and cook until limp before the rice bag goes in. Add the rice to raw vegetables and everything finishes at different times: the rice steams through while the cabbage stays crunchy. Getting the vegetables soft first means both are ready at the same time.
Trader Joe’s Fried Rice Hack Recipe
Course: Side Dish, DinnerCuisine: Asian-American4
servings5
minutes10
minutes300
kcalDiced green onion and chow mein noodles go on at the end as garnishes rather than cooking in, so they stay crisp against the soft rice and vegetables. The recipe also works with TJ’s Chicken Fried Rice if you prefer that variety.
Ingredients
- Fried Rice Base
1 bag Trader Joe’s Vegetable Fried Rice
1 tbsp vegetable oil
½ yellow onion, roughly chopped
5–10 oz shredded cabbage
1 cup chopped baby corn
- Ginger Sauce
½ tsp ginger paste
2 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp light brown sugar
Onion powder, to taste
Garlic powder (or fresh garlic), to taste
- To serve (optional)
Diced green onion
Chow mein noodles
Directions
- Heat vegetable oil in a large pan or wok over medium heat. Add the roughly chopped onion and shredded cabbage. Stir and sauté until the onion and cabbage are limp.
- Add the bag of Trader Joe’s Vegetable Fried Rice and the chopped baby corn. Stir occasionally and cook according to package directions.
- While the rice cooks, mix the soy sauce, brown sugar, ginger paste, and onion and garlic powders in a small bowl. Taste and adjust to your preference.
- About 1 minute before the rice finishes, pour the sauce over the pan and stir well to coat. Let it simmer for approximately 1 minute.
- Serve as is or top with diced green onion and chow mein noodles for crunch.
FAQs
What does the brown sugar actually do in the sauce?
Two tablespoons of brown sugar balance the saltiness from the soy sauce and give the finished coating a slight stickiness. Without it, the sauce is sharp and flat, and it does not cling to the rice and vegetables the same way. Reduce it to one tablespoon if you prefer a less sweet profile, but do not skip it entirely.
What is the easiest way to add protein?
Shredded rotisserie chicken is the easiest addition since it is already cooked and just needs stirring in at the end. Raw chicken should be cooked separately first, sliced thin, and added to the pan at the same time as the rice bag. The ginger sauce coats the meat the same way it coats the rice, so it does not need separate seasoning.
Can I add extra vegetables beyond what the recipe calls for?
Bell pepper goes in at the same time as the onion and cabbage, not at the end, because it needs the full sauté time to soften. Mushrooms, snap peas, or frozen edamame can go in a couple of minutes after the rice bag since they need less time. Avoid watery vegetables like zucchini since extra liquid thins the sauce and makes the rice soggy.
What other TJ’s dinner comes together in the same time?
TJ’s Sardine Pasta is a garlic olive oil pasta that takes the same 15 minutes as this fried rice. The trader joes sardine pasta at thecopycatcook.com covers how to get the sardines to melt into the oil rather than staying chunky. It is a completely different flavor direction but works from the same one-pan format.
What if I want a TJ’s protein dish instead of a rice base?
TJ’s Argentinian Red Shrimp are wild-caught and cook in under ten minutes in a garlic butter and white wine pan. The trader joes shrimp with garlic butter at thecopycatcook.com uses only one skillet and serves two in about five minutes of active work. Serve the shrimp over this fried rice and you have a complete dinner from two TJ’s products.
