Trader Joe’s has been applauded for offering unique, hard-to-find, and often creative groceries to customers, many of whom go there to find dietary-appropriate food sources. One of the most popular offerings at Trader Joe’s is the Vegetable Gyoza. The question is, are Trader Joe’s Thai Vegetable Gyoza Vegan?
No, technically, Trader Joe’s Thai Vegetable Gyoza was made in a facility with equipment processing meat, which disqualifies it from being safe for those subscribing to the veganism lifestyle. It is also important to note that Trader Joe’s Thai Vegetable Gyoza does not have Trader Joe’s usual “V” marking on the package, which normally indicates a vegan product.
In this article, we’ll help you understand not only veganism, but what makes Trader Joe’s Thai Vegetable Gyoza both unique as a product and unsuitable for the vegan diet. We will also offer comparable brands of food and answer some frequently asked questions on this particular topic! Let’s get started.
Understanding of Veganism
To understand what foods are acceptable for a vegan lifestyle, it is important to note what veganism is. Veganism is a type of diet that is adopted for one of two main reasons.
Firstly, someone may choose to be vegan thanks to the impact their abstaining from animal products might make toward the slaughter and mistreatment of animals that we use for food.
Secondly, someone who decides to eat vegan may be doing so because of the benefits to the human body that have been proven. After all, veganism has been linked to lower risk of not only cancer growth, but the diseases common to the heart.
Needless to say, what counts in a vegan based diet is largely plant-based foods or mineral, seed, nut, and fruit-based foods.
This is because any product that is part of an animal or is made from the production of animals, like eggs or dairy, are prohibited in a vegan lifestyle.
The question is, does Trader Joe’s, which offers a great deal of vegan-friendly products, offer vegan-friendly Thai Vegetable Gyoza?
Overview of Trader Joe’s Thai Vegetable Gyoza
What is Trader Joe’s Thai Vegetable Gyoza? The gyoza is a dumpling that is found all over Asia, though they did originate in China. The Thai version comes from Thailand, and they are stuffed full of radishes, cabbages, carrots, and other delicious veggies.
They are typically frozen and heated up in the microwave, though it is possible to prepare this product on the stovetop using a saucepan and gradually increasing heat with some oil and a lid. The product also comes with a dipping sauce that pairs nicely with the dumplings themselves.
One package usually comes with 10 of the dumplings, and costs around $5. They have been reviewed by multiple online sources and are widely popular in vegetarian circles and outside of them!
Ingredients in Trader Joe’s thai Vegetable Gyoza
Now that we know exactly what Thai Vegetable Gyoza is and how to apply the vegan standards to any given product, we can combine these sets of knowledge to determine whether or not vegans can eat Trader Joe’s Thai Vegetable Gyoza.
This starts with the list of ingredients used to make it, found below:
- Carrot
- White Cabbage
- Chive
- Green Onion
- White Radish
- Garlic
- Ginger
- Soy Sauce
- Wheat Starch
- Wheat Flour
- Corn Flour
- Sesame Oil
- Soybean Oil
- Salt
- Sugar
- Pepper
- Cabbage
- Onion
- Carrot
- Maltodextrin Corn
- Spring Onion
- Tapioca Starch
- Unbleached Wheat Flour
- Palm Oil
- Water
Upon close analyzation of these ingredients, you may be wondering why Trader Joe’s Thai Vegetable Gyoza does not count as vegan.
After all, from the vegetables included to the flour used to create the dumplings, there do not appear to be any animal-related products within this food.
However, the condemning detail can actually be found on Trader Joe’s Thai Vegetable Gyoza packaging. Usually, Trader joe’s will include the letter “V” in the shape of a stamp on products that are officially vegan-friendly. That being said, if you do pick up this product, you’ll notice that the “V” is completely missing.
Once you turn the package over to check the ingredients, there is a note at the bottom warning those who eat the food that it was created in a piece of equipment that is used to process shellfish. If that weren’t bad enough, the facility in which it was made also processes fish.
This becomes too big of a risk of contamination for Trader Joe’s Thai Vegetable Gyoza to be considered vegan!
Comparison With Other Brands
Now that we’ve covered the disappointing news that Trader Joe’s Thai Vegetable Gyoza is sadly, not vegan, you may be wondering where you’ll get your gyoza fix now. Not to worry! Other products that are vegan-friendly are available. These can be found in the list below:
- Nasoya Organic Vegan Thai Basil Dumplings – Though these may not technically be labeled as gyoza, the dumplings containing thai seasoning and a blend of vegetables certainly come close enough. These are guaranteed to be vegan-friendly, and they typically cost less than Trader Joe’s version, too.
- Bibigo Organic Vegetable Potstickers – These potstickers are not only full of delicious veggies to help cure your gyoza craving, but they come with a gurantee of being vegan and their own dipping sauce. However, they are a bit more expensive than Trader Joe’s gyoza at $9.85.
Frequently Asked Questions
Looking for even more info on Trader Joe’s gyoza offerings and what counts as vegan? Look no further than our section for the most frequently asked questions on the web concerning these topics!
What’s in Trader Joe’s Veggie Gyoza?
Trader Joe’s Thai Vegetable Gyoza contains ingredients such as vegetables like carrots and cabbage inside of a dumpling outer crust made with wheat flour. It also comes with dipping sauce!
What Is Thai Vegetable Gyoza?
Gyoza is a type of dumpling filled with delicious steamed vegetables originating in Asia. The Thai version originated from Thailand.
Final Thoughts
To sum everything that has been covered up, Trader Joe’s Thai Vegetable Gyoza is not vegan. Though all of the ingredients listed on the package seem to be vegetable or plant-based, the package contains a warning that it was processed in a facility that processes meat. Not only that, but the gyoza is made using equipment that processed shellfish.
That being said, there are other products available at retail stores and online which are similar in Thai flavor and dumpling construction to Trader Joe’s Thai Vegetable Gyoza. Some of these include Bibigo Organic Vegetable Potstickers.