Oh my! This is a winner. It’s as good as TJ’s Paneer Tikka Masala. And that is very very good.
I’ve always thought that good Thai food is exceptional. At least here, the problem is a short supply of Thai restaurants. Many have sold out to broad market appeal making their menu lean toward Chinese cuisine, subdued flavors, and little heat. That’s a shame, because the different flavors in good Thai food are about as varied as the different flavors in Indian food. And as in Indian food, heat is a complement to the flavors. When done well, either cuisine is a perfect package of fine eating.
The first thing that hits the senses after heating this is the smell. That’s a good thing because where there’s smell there’s flavor. The smell here is a little fishy. That’s also good because there’s tuna in here. Tuna is a fish. Fish smell fishy. But mixed in with the fishy smell are other smells that entice the salivary glands to go into overdrive. Along with the fishy smell are actual large pieces of tuna. See the picture below.
The excellent tuna is surrounded by a nice broth. When the spoon drops its contents in the mouth there’s a strong pervasive heat. It’s not overpowering where you’ll want to reach for a quick splash of cold water. But at the same time, it’s not for the fainthearted. The heat touches the whole mouth and doesn’t stop heating. Nor do you ever want it to stop heating. That’s just the opening act. The second act is a mystery as the other flavors start to entertain the senses. Read the ingredients label. Whatever combination of ingredients creates these flavors works extremely well.
Tuna in Green Curry Sauce is packed in a heavy-duty plastic and foil pouch. Carefully tear the top of the pouch off, empty into a microwave safe bowl and heat for a couple of minutes. There are only 230 calories in the package. That may not be very many, but they seem to be some very filling calories. Because it stores at room temperature, and tastes so good, this is an excellent office lunch. The tuna is labelled “Dolphin Safe”. The package is labelled as “No gluten ingredients used”. The price is more than right, $1.69.
The only negative to everything is the salt content. At 1520 mg of sodium, this little package is almost 2/3 of what we need in an entire day. This much salt produces a slightly salty taste at first. It was noticeable, but not objectionable. In fact, after a while, the salty taste was quickly overpowered by everything else and not noticeable.
I’ll be heading down to Trader Joe’s in the next few days to buy another box or two and verify that this is really as good the second and third time. I think it will be.
Calories 230 per package Price $1.69
Tags: box lunch, calories, curry, exotic, price, review, reviews, thai, thailand, tj, tj's, trader joe's, tuna, tuna in green curry sauce
02/09/2023 at 11:09 |
It has been years but I still miss this dish and randomly decided to look it up. It was a college staple since I could heat it up in the kettle in my dorm room (with some rice smuggled out of the cafeteria). I kept hoping it would come back. Unfortunately, it’s gone.
BUT I was reminded of it recently because there is a new-ish green curry in the frozen section that tastes pretty similar! It’s vegan (tofu sheets, that I unexpectedly liked), and is 5 dollars so not nearly as good a deal. But I think the sauce might be the same recipe! I definitely miss the Green Curry tuna, but I think that those nostalgic for it should give the thai green curry in the frozen section a shot.
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03/13/2013 at 22:21 |
I’m down to my last package. This has been a favorite of my daughter and me. A pint of cous-cous, a package of this diluted with a can of tuna-the two of us would have a satisfying meal in five minutes.
Oh Trader Joe, bring this back.
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02/09/2023 at 11:13 |
Hey, I know it’s been 10 years since Tuna green Curry was discontinued. But there is this new-ish green curry in the Trader Joe’s frozen section that tastes really similar! It’s vegan (I surprisingly liked the tofu sheets) but I really do think they might have used the same sauce from the recipe! It isn’t as good a deal, but it’s the closest I’ve found to the old favorite, and worth looking at if you still miss it as much as I do.
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02/10/2023 at 16:32
Thanks for the comments Lyndsey. I’ve been getting my green curry fix by making garbanzo beans in green curry at home. Pretty simple. About a tablespoon of green curry paste, a can of coconut milk and 2 cans of garbanzos. Dice up a jalapeno if you like a little extra hot. Even Thai Kitchens curry paste is pretty good.
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08/17/2012 at 23:36 |
I just tried the Roza green curry and first of all it’s like 1/2 the contents of what TJ used to have, and it’s simply not as good – it’s tasty, but not as good as TJ’s was.
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07/08/2012 at 14:35 |
I am going crazy trying to find this product!! If you find out please let me know!!! Thanx Pamela
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07/09/2012 at 08:20 |
I haven’t tried this. Here’s an amazon link with a product that sounds similar, http://www.amazon.com/Roza-Green-Curry-Ounce-Pouches/dp/B0078DIAMW
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06/16/2012 at 16:23 |
really sad this is discontinued. if anyone knows if the company still makes it under a different name/brand, please let us know!
This was the best meal anyone could possibly get for $1.60
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07/09/2012 at 08:23 |
Here’s a green curry version that sounds similar to what TJ used to sell. http://www.amazon.com/Roza-Green-Curry-Ounce-Pouches/dp/B0078DIAMW
and a chicken red curry, http://www.amazon.com/Thai-Ready-Meal-Curry-Chicken/dp/B00851JEVM/ref=sr_1_fkmr1_1?s=grocery&ie=UTF8&qid=1341843725&sr=1-1-fkmr1&keywords=roza+tuna+red+curry
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06/05/2012 at 12:16 |
I LOOOOVE the TJ Thai green curry tuna – but unfortunately as of 6/2/2012 this item is discontinued 😦 No more available anywhere. If you know of a good recipe, please let me know. Thanks!
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06/05/2012 at 12:32 |
That’s really sad. TJ always seems to do that to my favorites. Unfortunately don’t know of a good recipe. I’ll have to do some searching.
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07/09/2012 at 08:25 |
You might give this a try, http://www.amazon.com/Roza-Green-Curry-Ounce-Pouches/dp/B0078DIAMW It sounds similar.
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08/08/2011 at 15:55 |
My favourite meal inthe world…I eat it with Trader Joe’s brown rice and fills me up…and for $1.69 you can’t go wrong…
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