I’m reviewing a newish entry in the world of Taiwanese-style noodles sold in the US: Trader Joe’s Squiggly Knife Cut Style Noodles with Soy and Sesame Sauce. Despite the silly name (“squiggly”? really?), this is a Taiwanese-style noodle kit that feels like a direct response to Momofuku’s popular product line. Trader Joe’s doesn’t make these in-house, but rather they rebrand from other manufacturers, so it honestly wouldn’t surprise me if these were made by A-Sha, the same company behind Momofuku’s noodles. At $4.99 for a 4-pack (at the time of this review), it’s a pretty reasonable entry point if you’re curious about this type of noodle.
The Verdict:
| Product: | Trader Joe’s Squiggly Knife Cut Style Noodles with Soy and Sesame Sauce |
| Origin: | USA (Likely manufactured in Taiwan) |
| Noodle Quality: | 10/10 |
| Spice Level: | 2/10 |
| Overall Score: | 5.5/10 |
Each pack contains air-dried wheat noodles and a sauce pouch with soy sauce, sesame oil, shallot oil, garlic powder, chili, and spices. Sodium clocks in at 920mg per pack, and these appear to be vegan (but verify for yourself). The ingredient list is a step up from Momofuku’s more basic sauce blends. There are no garnish packets or toppings.
Before I get into the review portion, special shoutout to “Peter,” the first person on traderjoesreviews.com to leave a review for this, who took the time to pen a confused one-star review because he couldn’t figure out how to boil noodles. Peter… dude… it’s printed on the back of the package.
Noodles:
These have a dense, chewy bite basically identical to A-Sha’s al dente-style noodles. They’re wheat-forward in flavor, with a texture that’s reminiscent of fettuccine. I rated the A-Sha Momofuku noodles a 10, and these deserve the same. Whoever made them knew what they were doing. I highly suspect these are in fact made by A-Sha on behalf of Trader Joe’s, but I can’t find any hard evidence beyond my own tastebuds.
• 10/10
Spiciness:
There’s chili pepper in the sauce, but you’d hardly know it. It’s subtle, almost an afterthought, and doesn’t linger at all. It’s barely spicy unless you’re super sensitive to such things.
• 2/10
Overall:
This is a decent soy-and-sesame noodle kit with a touch of shallot and garlic. The flavor balance leans heavily towards, no surprise, soy and sesame, with just enough onion and garlic to round it out, but not much complexity beyond that. There’s no sweetness or tang, and the chili doesn’t contribute much flavor. Still, it’s more enjoyable to me than two of Momofuku’s three current offerings. The real star is the noodle texture; the sauce just doesn’t fully live up to it. It’s also worth noting that there’s just barely enough sauce to coat the noodles. Honestly just a tiny bit more would’ve been a big help. This isn’t a full meal on its own, but if you treat it as a base, by adding things like a fried egg, scallions, maybe some leftover meat or tofu, it could really shine. Certainly worth a soft recommendation if you’re a Trader Joe’s regular but be prepared to doctor it up.
• 5.5/10
